PROCESS: Panel Transfer Time-lapse

Over the years I've developed a system that takes a drawing from sketchbook to screen to paint. The part of the process that always makes me the most anxious is transferring the image from paper to the wood panel. If the transfer isn't accurate, the finished painting can end up looking crooked.

Each painting begins as a drawing, usually around 8" × 10" for my landscapes. I scan the drawing and digitize it in Illustrator, creating a vector file that can be scaled to any size without losing quality.

For this piece, which measures 30” × 40”, I sized the artwork in Illustrator and divided it into 11” × 17” sections so I could print it at local my FedEx Office. After taping the sheets together, I have a full-size version of the image ready for transfer.

The printout is taped to the panel with graphite paper sandwiched in between. Using a ball stylus tool, I trace every line, transferring the drawing onto the primed wood surface. A ruler helps keep the architectural lines perfectly straight.

Once the image is transferred, the painting stage begins. At this point it’s essentially a giant paint-by-numbers project, with the challenge now being mixing colors that match my CMYK palette.

This time-lapse was created by capturing one image every 30 seconds.

Music: “No One Really Knows” — Larry Coryell