Painting an inkjet-printed photo

[CSMacLaren]

I apologize if this is considered off-topic. Someone I know just lost his young daugther to cancer. I wanted to create a portrait of her and give it to the little girl's parents.

I have a remarkable photo printer and have a small graphic which I enlarged and used Photoshop to make into something that looks like it might have been a cross between watercolors and acrylic.

My goal was print this out on the Canon inkjet on photopaper, then use some kind of clear acrylic to apply some to the photo with a brush to create a brush-like texture so that it looks a little more like a real painting.

I am not a gifted portrait painter by any means, so this is the best I can do artistically for the family.

My concern is that the clear acrylic might interact with the printout's inkjet ink and begin to smear.

However, I know that in certain mass produced commercial paintings, they use a similar technique to add texture to printed reproductions.

Any advice would be most deeply appreciated. Thank you all for your indulgence.

 

[SurferGeek]

I don't now your time constrictions but you could always send your file to a company like this one:

http://www.md-canvas.com/

Being on the canvas it will look more like a painting and if you still wanted to embelish it you would have no problems with smearing.

 

[TridCloudwalker]

I recently printed out a screen capture on an inkjet to use as a background in a shadowbox display I'm making. I VERY lightly misted clear coat from a rattle can onto the paper in several coats over a period of two days. It sharpened the image up nicely, and darkened it over all a tad. If you do this, you can paint whatever you want on top, and it's not going to affect the printout at all.

 

[NavMidn]

I haven't tried it myself, but I've heard of using clear gesso for this purpose. A google search will yield oodles of dealers.

-John

 

[CSMacLaren]

I recently printed out a screen capture on an inkjet to use as a background in a shadowbox display I'm making. I VERY lightly misted clear coat from a rattle can onto the paper in several coats over a period of two days. It sharpened the image up nicely, and darkened it over all a tad. If you do this, you can paint whatever you want on top, and it's not going to affect the printout at all.

I love this idea. What kind of inkjet paper did you use? Plain or photo

I guess I'd have to very lightly mist it then, else there is a chance the clearcoat can cause the inkjet ink to lift and bleed. I'll give it a shot!

 

[CSMacLaren]

I don't now your time constrictions but you could always send your file to a company like this one:

http://www.md-canvas.com/

Being on the canvas it will look more like a painting and if you still wanted to embelish it you would have no problems with smearing.

Thanks for the tip. Are these guys expensive for custom stuff? I see pricing for their regular stock stuff.

 

[shiningwater]

http://www.photo2canvas.com same company

Medium canvas 34"x 22 1/2" $195

Large canvas 46" x 30 1/2" $295

 

[TridCloudwalker]

I love this idea. What kind of inkjet paper did you use? Plain or photo

I guess I'd have to very lightly mist it then, else there is a chance the clearcoat can cause the inkjet ink to lift and bleed. I'll give it a shot!

I just used regular old cheap printer paper. I didn't have any problems with the ink running or bleeding, but like I said, I misted very fine coats on and let each one dry completely before the next coat went on.

 

[Raffles]

I've used this technique several times, works great!

 

[Darth Lars]

Be sure to use "archival"-rated ink and paper if you are going to use an inkjet print. I have heard a few horror stories about inkjet color prints having faded noticably within a month, even when printed on "photo" paper. It is not just UV-resistance, bad prints can fade even in the dark.
Perhaps a photo lab could be an option for printing the image?

 

[Johnny Fever]

As TridCloudwalker already said clear coat works wonders. I myself prefer a lacquer-based spray-paint over the photo paper and print offs. My condolences to the little girls parents. -John

 

[CSMacLaren]

Thanks guys! I'll give the spray a shot. The canvas printing is a great resource too!

For any of you interested, the little girl was Maria.

http://www.prayersformaria.com/