[Kenny_S]

Washes don't work for me. I have tried over theyears, so many times, I can't count on me fibgers and toes of everyone here on the board. Maybe it is the way I perpair the piece, They come out splochy.

Read and read the painting book from Fox with knowed carvers and experts but somewhere, I am not doing it correctly. Layering does not work for me. The only way and that is ify sometimes is dipping the brush in water first and loadeding the brush.

I resign myself to go back to the thicker paintong techmique and what some calls the plastic look or just leave them natural.
Ho Hum!!!!!!

Hey y'll, don't get me wrong, I am not dowing the wash technique, More power to those who uses it and I have seensome of your carvings and view them with envy. I am just saying, it ain't for me. However, I will try again, but not soon.

[Claude]

Kenny:
I've been successful with washes (I think...) and I've found that I need to seal the wood before applying the wash. I use an oil-based Minwax sealer. I let it dry for a week after application (usually by dipping), or until I can't easily smell the reek of the sealer. It's important to wash the carving with soap and water and a small brush, like a toothbrush, to get it really clean and grease free before sealing. If I don't seal, the wood soaks all the moisture out of the paint the instant I touch the brush to the wood and it ends up blotchy and thick. I usually thin the acrylic paint, around 3 drops water to one drop paint. It usually takes me 3 coats to get a deep enough color, but one I can still see the wood grain through.

Take a scrap of basswood, clean it, seal it, and try painting it. Paint a small area with paint right from the bottle, then another mixed 2 drops paint to 1 drop water, then another that is 1 to 1, another that is 1 drop paint to 2 drops water, another that is 1 to 3, and 1 to 4 and 1 to 5. After everything drys overnight, apply another coat of everything that is 1 to 1 or thinner, and keep applying coats of the thinned paint to each, as applicable, until it gets the color depth you want. Several thin coats will give you a rich color, but one thin enough to see the wood grain.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

wet down the area with water first. I have found that if you just wet down an area at time, the color will tend to stay where you want it and the pre-wetting of the wood keeps it from obsorbing so much paint when you put it on....goes on a lot easier. I still paint solid sometimes, and sometimes some areas are solid...seems each carving is different and each piece of wood is different............do it however you like it!

[Paul_Guraedy]

Kenny, I know the feeling and the frustration. I, too, had decided that washes just did not work for me. No matter how or what I tried, the paint (acrylic) looked splotchy or was so heavy it seemed to weigh more than the carving.

Then, a friend (carver, instructor, painter), John Engler, got me started with water color. It worked! The eagle carving attached here was finished with these washes (except for the white). I wet down the bare wood (don't forget this step or it will leave a line that simply has to be carved off to get it out). Then start with an extremely thin water color wash. It takes a long time because I let each coat dry before applying the next, especially when there is a change of color. John paints heavier and does not wait as long for drying; but, he knows what he is doing. I still lack that kind of confidence and am willing to take a week or so in the painting. I have no idea how many coats are on this carving (at least 7 or 8 in each color) because I keep the coats thin and coat until it gets where I want it (kind of a dummies guide to water color washes).

This method also makes blending easy. Just keep the area you want to blend wet and the two colors will blend together as the paint is applied.

The white is a different ball game. John does not recommend white water color. He uses gesso and I did not like it's look and liked my ability to control it even less. Another artist friend, listening to my complaining, suggested gouache. I tried it and once again, it worked!

When the carving is finished, I spray it with several light coats of Krylon, flat.

[BobD]

Phil and Vicki Bishop suggest washing your carving good with Simple Green, then rinsing with water. Then you start painting the entire thing while the carving is still wet...

That said, I really haven't painted anything I've carved...so I'm just passing on second hand information <grin>

Bob

[Callynne]

Paul, that eagle is beautiful!! That look is why I want to do washes, but like Kenny, I haven't been able to pull it off. I haven't tried water colors, but given your success I'll have to try them! Thanks for sharing, really beautiful work, both in the carving and painting! Deborah

P.S. Bob D.....yet another use for Simple Green, great stuff, isn't it?!

[Kenny_S]

I guess I need to review my postings as I did not clarify myself. I have tried the wateringdown the paint even to a 15 drop of water to one drop of paint, tried the pieces wet, dry, soaked sealing some before.

I haven't given up on the technique but ,,,, I guess maybe I am disappointed in my ability to do washes. Not much of a painter anyways,

Paul, love your Eagle and what appeared to me a little of the wood showing on each feather. I have not tried water colors. Next on my list of things to try.

However, I do appreciate all of your responses. Thanks.

[Thor]

I use either watercolors or oils instead of acrylics. Mostly, it's because of the medieval themes of my pieces and they just didn't have acrylic paints back then.
Washes in watercolors are usually successful, because watercolors are transparent pigments. If you want opaque colors (white for instance) then goauche is what you need to use. They are a good quality tempera paint like children use. I do have to let each color dry completely before I apply another color next to it or it will bleed.
Another advantage is that your pallet can dry up and you can apply water and it will be usuable again, and brushes are safer. Dried paint doesn't hurt them. Acrylics dry once, and that's it.

After I paint them with watercolors, then I use boiled linseed oil with a little bit of burnt sienna to seal them. It seals the paint so that it won't run if it gets wet. Then I wax over it with paste wax. Folks seem to enjoy seeing and feeling the finish, so I think it works well for me. I'm no expert, and there are a lot of very fine painters on this board. But, when something works for me, I figure it is worth passing on to others who might not have tried it.

Paul, that eagle is magnificient.
Thor

[Kenny_S]

Ok, Just finished a little ornament, Going to either seal it first like claude said or I am going to try the watercolors like Paul and Thor suggested.
What do I have to lose? What sanity I have left?ROTFLMHO!! Yeah right, what sanity!!! Beat you to it Dave! I can always go back over it,eh?

Thanks all for the suggestions and for the moral support.

[Canopener]

Kenny,
I hear what you are saying. To tell the truth, I am not in love with painting and can't wait for it to be done. No patience. All of the above comments are very good, albeit different approaches. Maybe I should be in politics, because I agree with everyone; even opposite techniques.
Paul; nice eagle and I think if one looks closely, you can see you have used layering to great effect.
One thing that I agree with is you gotta clean the carving very well, and that is my favorite time to paint, but it can be the hardest because the wash wants to run around where you don't want it. [I think we have agreed we want it thin]
Nobody mentioned brushes? I like taklon or something fairly stiff like it; neither top or bottom of the line. Never cheapos. A trick I use in house painting,and works well here is to condition your brushes with hair conditioner or Downey Softener. It has some sort of anti-flatulant that lets the paint flow nice instead of getting hung up on the bristles. Hi-Ho has mentioned lard oil and some other things in the past, they just give you more control. He does nice work.
Sealing is also a great option for control; whether a light dip in the BLO, a dusting of poly spray or I once tried Folk Art sanding sealer. It leaves a "velvety feel" as advertised. I never figured out if I loved it, or hated it; but it worked.
Since I lack painting ability, I try to get shading by a light sanding or working it over with a brown paper bag in between coats. It also accentuates the cuts.
A practice piece is vital for experimenting. WHOOPS!
I do not care what anyone else thinks; but a BLO with burnt umber finish, dry it a couple days and finish it with paste wax is the only way to go for a warm and fuzzy carving. Probably cost me votes.
Hope you are not too cornfused to go back at it and have some fun!
Jim