Tuesday, January 6, 2015

A new recipe...


How Much?
A. Filetti - 2015
  As always I am out there ever searching for something new to learn about this art and I was fortunate to be taught a new finishing recipe.  As with all recipes you are seeking to improve your outcome and this was an experiment to do just that.
  The figure pictured here was featured in the previous post and is the completed piece.  The carving is now at home with a friend but the experience was an excellent learning experience.  During the holidays I turned to youtube.com to see what was available in helping to pick a color palette for painting the figure.  It turns out there are several videos on color theory which provide a whole range of information.  For me I tried to keep it simple using complementary colors (blue and orange) in order to create an attractive piece.
  Put the color study together with a new finishing recipe and you end with a finish as shown.
  The new recipe involves first slathering a 60/40 Mineral Spirits/Boiled Linseed Oil mixture on the entire fixture and letting it dry,  painting it with thinned Acrylics (to allow for the wood grain to show),  sealing it with Deft Spray Lacquer (I prefer Satin or Matte), and then once dry carefully applying BriWax Original (Golden Oak) with a toothbrush and then buffing.  Care should be taken when applying the wax as it will darken the finish drastically (The jeans were painted a denim blue and the shirt a light blue.)  When applied correctly the recipe seems to work well resulting in a warm and attractive finish.  It is my recommendation that if you attempt this you must first try this on a test piece to master the application of the wax.  Also, I do not believe you will get a better result with a substitution wax as the color tends to enrich the carvings shadows.
  I hope this information helps...its darn cold outside but the coffee is hot...so what are you carving???