Back to Pyrography. Having attempted a couple of scenes on scraps of wood I decided it was time to buy something more suitable. Thinking about a smooth surface, and also the cost since I am only experimenting at this stage, I bought a sheet of 3mm Plywood from my local DIY store.
I cut a piece about 8" x 6.5" and smoothed it over with a very fine sandpaper. I used a fine point nib and tried to move the 'pen' over the wood as smoothly as possible. I still had issues with the nib 'catching' in the grain of the wood despite it's super smoothness, so I guess that's something that experience will help with eventually.
Just as when I'm drawing with a Fineliner ink pen I allowed the darker tones to build up by repetition and just kept adding marks to deepen the tones as required.
Since producing this piece I have discovered that Plywood is NOT recommended for wood burning because of it's construction. Man-made woods such as Plywood, Particle board (MDF) and Chipboard contain glues. I may use up my sheet for small and quick practice pieces but for anything serious I need to find a natural wood such as Cedar or Maple, to name just two.
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Nicely done!! Glad you found out about the plywood not being recommended for this process before you used it for something really special.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed. Thank you Joan.
DeleteFabulous! I can understand that these manmade materials are not the best for your fine work. Lesson learned. :)
ReplyDeleteIndeed it's a lesson learned Judy. Still, I shall use the wood for practice, and I certainly need plenty of that. Thank you for visiting.
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