Friday, April 24, 2009

Small Carvings

I am in the process of carving and finishing several smaller carvings. These smaller pieces are drilled to be threaded on a 1/8 th inch dowel rod. The photo shows the basic three steps that I go through. The first is a rough shaped carving. The second or middle piece has the carving finished, the line burned in that will separate the colors, and the vest painted with watered down acrylic paint. The Gnome on the right has the painting completed. The final step of the finish is yet to be determined. Some folks just spray a matte finish on. Others concoct a mix of boiled linseed oil and burnt sienna and dip/wipe.

Anyone want to suggest some way to finish, antique or otherwise??

3 comments:

diy said...

So long as its not a gloss finish they'll look good.

Kaaren said...

Thats exactly how I finish mine, Tom. I antique with a mix of boiled linseed oil and burnt umber oil paint to a consistancy of sour cream then lightly mist a few times (outdoors of course) with a matte spray. This not only sets the antiquing medium but also provides a nice finish to the piece.

Bob Tinsley said...

As you know I've been using an application of hot shoe polish on my carvings, but lately I've been using a commercial product called Williamsville Wax that I discovered at Woodcraft. It's a combination of beeswax and unspecified "natural" oils. One of which, I suspect, is some kind of citrus oil. There are no solvents, so the rags aren't going to combust. I really like it. Easy to apply, no muss, no fuss.