[Donna_T]

Well, ditto on what's been said so far. But I'll go one farther. For some painting projects (and for some reason I use this on relief projects mostly) where I'm mixing my own colors, I like to use watercolors (the kind that come in a tube and can be bought at Dick Blick or Hobby Lobby or Michaels, etc.) The main reason I like them is the brightness of the pigment AND the fact that when the water dries out of the color mixture, I can reconstitute it with water with no compromise to the color. Acryllics can't do that because of the "plastic" component--when they dry, they turn plastic-like and you can't reconstitute. So 2-3 days later, when I get back to a project, if I mixed my paints in little containers, I'm back in business at exactly the same color.

My preference is Jo Sonja and of the cheaper stuff, Ceramacoat. For fish, I use WASCO paints, too.

My overall preference is for the luster and depth you can get with oil paints, but asthma has pretty well eliminated my use of them, except for some outdoor tinted-BLO treatment of finished carvings. Even using the stuff outdoors, I have to leave the carving out in the shop for 2-3 weeks to let the fumes air out before I can stand to have it in the house.

Donna T

[Bartster]

capt grant

the method of painting i use is as follows:

first 99% of my carvings are basswood so when im finished carving i scrub it clean with a cleanser like simply green or liquid soap works just as good.
know i can do 1 of 2 things here i can paint the eyes and teeth and buttons and let it completely dry and dunk it in linseed oil and then finish painting it or i can go ahead and paint it completely and then let it dry then dunk it in the linseed oil.
usually i will go with the latter cause i want to see it painted right then and wont wait an extra day.


the paint i use is delta ceramcoat acrylic alot of colors to choose from and it just seems to work better for me i used to use americana by decoart but it seemed when i painted the peice and it dried it left a glittery look to it so now i use mainly ceramcoat.

when mixing paint for basswood i will put a drop about the size of a pencil eraser or a dab bigger and add a teaspoon of water. if it is to strong add more water or to watery add just a little paint you want it thin so when you dip a brush in it it will drip out easily.
use a test stick if you can see the grain it should be good. when you have finished painting it completely let it sit overnight and then you are ready for the linseed oil. the oil does 2 things it seals the peice and it also make the color pop out. when you have painted the peice and it is dry you will notice a chalky haze on it. thats ok the oil will kill that and it will look like an antique carving.

the linseed oil mixture is about 16 ounces of boiled linseed oil and about a 2 inche squeeze of burnt umber or burnt sienna artist oil paint you can play with this making it lighter or darker to suit your preference.

well hope this helps and if you have any questions just ask


BART