[Woodcarver] Paints

[Ivan Whillock]

Hi Dan,

I've written on the subject of painting and have material together to do another article soon.  (Now that I've said that, Marnie will be after me to get it done! Dang it! Another job:))

Here are some of the highlights:

1. Carvers who want an opaque look, to totally cover the wood, often seal it with  gesso which keeps the paint from "sinking in" or being absorbed more in one place than in another.  Gesso takes most paints well and, in the case of a carousel horse, for example, where there are often many laminations, it can help fill in some of the gaps.

2.  On the other hand, carvers who want a transparent look will use a clear sealer or none at all.  A sealed surface takes the color more evenly, an unsealed surface accentuates the cuts, so you take your choice on what you like best.

3.  There are three types of paint used most often: Oils, acrylics, and water colors.  They each have their qualities.

4.  Oil dries slowly and therefore is good for wet-in-wet painting.  In wet-in-wet you lay a color down and then on the figure itself mix a different color into it.  You can create shading and variations of color very easily with this method.  One example would be adding a blush onto the cheeks after the flesh color was painted on.  Oil stays the same color when it dries, so precise color matching is easier with oil--which is the reason many bird carvers prefer it over acrylics--which darken as they dry.  To let the wood show through, many use oil paints more like a stain than a paint.  They will apply it with a brush but then wipe it off with a cloth until they get the transparency they like.  I've used the "sandwich method" that I observed in Austria.  You seal the wood with lacquer, stain it with oil paint, and then spray a coating of lacquer over that.  Not a good technique indoors, however, without a spray booth.


5.  Acrylics dry faster and can be thinned with water, which is a benefit for people who prefer them.  Acrylic paint is very opaque.  Therefore, many apply the acrylics in very thin washes, building up the color to the desired density through additional thin coats.  Some achieve gradation of color by varying the tone of the washes.  You might, for example, paint a shirt blue and then put a thin wash of brown over the top of that, which dulls the blue and adds variation to the color.  It looks artificial to have a solid blue color "straight from the tube" because in nature most colored surfaces are varied through shadows, highlights and lowlights.  Varying the shades of the washes avoids that "straight from the tube" look of the colors.

6.  More and more carvers are discovering the benefits of watercolors in polychroming their carvings and still letting the wood show through.  Watercolors are transparent by design, so they are easy to manage for that effect.    A standard procedure with water colors is to seal the wood with a hide glue, or unflavored gelatin (which is about the same thing), and then paint it with water colors.  The kind you get in the toy department works, but for pure colors go to an art store.  The pigment in acrylics has a binder that hardens when it dries, holding the pigment in place.  Water color has no such binder.  Thus, water colors can be moved, can be rewet and picked up with a brush or wiped off with a cloth.  This can be used as an advantage in getting the effect you want, but it also means that the carving probably needs to be sprayed with a top coat sealer to keep the paint from being smeared later on.

7.  To get away from that garish "straight from the tube" look of the paint, or to "antique" it, some use a glaze which puts a common tone onto all of the colors.  There are several formulas for such glazes.  An easy one is to mix burnt umber and boiled linseed oil.  Vary the amounts until you get the density of color you like.  Commercially made colored wax stains also are available.  I've seen some carvers who even use shoe polish.

8.  Some carvers like to stain the wood before painting it.  This has the effect of bringing out the grain.  It also tones down the color of the raw basswood.  The stain needs to be compatible with the color which will later be applied.  An oil stain will reject water-based paints.  However, a water based stain can be used under oils.  Rule of thumb: fat goes over lean-just like around the waistline!

9.  Each technique has its drawbacks.  Oil paints are thinned with paint thinner which has its own disadvantages--odors, more complicated cleanup, fire hazard, etc.   Acrylics and water colors are thinned with water, which, on some carvings, can raise the grain and even close up some detail cuts.  Also, the surface must be clean and free from oil.  Again, you choose your poison.

I know carvers who tried one technique and settled on that; others have "tried everything" and still are searching for that "perfect" technique. Part of the fun is experimenting and developing your own signature painting style.

Ivan Whillock

Ivan Whillock Studio
122 NE 1st Avenue
Faribault, MN  55021
Visit my website at
http://www.whillock.com
Visit my Picture Trail album at
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?username=ivancarve




  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: djsamyrs 
  To: [Woodcarver] 
  Sent: Saturday, January 13, 2007 7:56 AM
  Subject: [Woodcarver] Paints



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  Hello all, I was wondering what kinds of paints everyone uses out there. Acrylic?. Oil? Painting a carving when I'm done with it is my big downfall. I hate doing a nice job of carving and then messing it up with a horrible paint job. Are there any books to instruct a person on painting carvings? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks a lot. Dan Myers


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