Author Topic: Colouring carvings and embellishments  (Read 4008 times)

stevie

  • Guest
Colouring carvings and embellishments
« on: December 30, 2011, 09:26:26 AM »
Hi all,
As a newcomer to colour and texturing/carving I have been experimenting with carving and texturing and cutting spirals etc. And I wan't to add colour stains or acrylic paint or ebonising spray with maybe a lighter colour in the caving/texturing and in the grooves of the spirals, and darker colour on the high spots i.e. with white, red or gold with black etc. And I would dearly like to know if there is any technique to applying the colour so as not to get the colour on the high spots into the low spots or visa versa?

Any help would be greatly appreciated,

Steve  ;D

Andy Coates

  • Guest
Re: Colouring carvings and embellishments
« Reply #1 on: December 30, 2011, 01:29:59 PM »
Hello Steve, welcome to the forum.

There are a number of approaches for what you want. None is better or "right", just alternatives. Each will give different results but you may not know what you want until you see it, so play with them until you find something you like.

Firstly, if you have already carved/textured then the process can be difficult if you want high spots and low spots. You may need to apply in the lows with a small brush. It's better to use the lighter colours here as any over paint can be obscured with the darker colour on the high spots.

Another approach is to colour the vessel, usually on the lathe, before you texture. This provides a cut through to clean wood which can then be coloured with the lighter colouring. A similar method is to turn the piece, texture it, apply the colour you want in the low spots and then abrade the outside, removing the colour from only the high spots, and then to carefully re-colour the highs to blend with the edges of the low spots.

To be honest my advice would be to simply play with the colours and see what happens. There are also many methods of applying the colour which can also have an effect on the final result: brushes, foam pads, scrunched up paper/tissue/foil, spray diffusers, spray guns, fingers, feathers and any number of alternatives. All can produce great results and all can be good fun to try. Just remember to enjoy it and not be too down if the results aren't what you wanted. One of the things about the lathe is that it can often be used to re-work a failed attempt.

have fun!

Andy

stevie

  • Guest
Re: Colouring carvings and embellishments
« Reply #2 on: December 30, 2011, 02:33:09 PM »
Hi Andy,
many thanks for replying to my post and for your ideas and thoughts, I shall be off to the shed to try them out. I shall post some pictures in the gallery once I've the hang of it!

Happy and prosperous New Year to you and yours,

Steve ;D