Saturday

Freda bought a bird bath and plant stand at Nando's shop in Helotes, but we three were unable to lift the bird bath from the back of my car, so Will is going to do that for us tomorrow.

El Chaparral, was--at its been for fifty years--excellent.  We got there early and avoided the lunch rush.  Although we didn't go, the first Saturday of every month, we learned, is Market Day in Helotes if you're interested in shopping for crafts and antiques.

After my nap, I learned how to transfer photographs onto canvas and was happy with the results of my first efforts.  I used three flat small canvases and three reverse-printed photographs.

                                   Here's how:

You print out photos on a laser printer, mirror images. My new Epson inkjet printer is supposed to do the same thing as it uses a permanent ink, but I'd already copied these three at Kinko's.

Be sure to print the photos as mirror images.

Cover the canvas generously with matte medium, then cover the FRONT of each photo with the same medium.  Place the photo on the canvas, image down, leave it for a few hours or overnight, then scrub off the paper pulp on the back of the photo with a wet sponge.  Voila!

Then you can paint or scribble or write on the canvas around the photo and even on top of it if you like.

I learned this technique on Bluprint.  The artist, Adam, used much larger canvases and photographs than I did and he did some cool writing and coloring of the photos and backgrounds.

Now that my canvases are done, and now that I've made two little baby cakes, one for Elena and Will for lunch and one for her best friend, I'm going to watch a Dutch series Betty recommended on Acorn, OLDENHEIM 12.