Woodburning: A Lion

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.

Previous posts on Pyrography

Pyrography
First attempt

Pyrography
Second attempt

Pyrography
Third attempt

More Wood Burning

 

For my third attempt at Pyrography (wood burning) I thought I'd try a more complete scene, with greater detail and tonal values than my first two experimental efforts. I chose this view of a cottage beside the Grand Union Canal because its a scene I've drawn and painted several times before, and because it offers a wide range of textures ... water, brick, foliage.

I knew I wouldn't be able to burn this freehand so used Carbon paper to trace out some rough outlines as a guide. Again I found the nib of the burner 'snagging' on the wooden surface. Most of the time this was quite annoying but it actually helped when it came to drawing the water. Most of the drawing was approached in much the same way as drawing with a pen, the main difference being the speed of movement .... slow moves producing thicker, deeper lines and fast moves producing thinner, shallower marks.

Wood burning is quite an enjoyable process so now I need to buy myself some better wood so I can tackle something proper.

Previous posts on Pyrography

Pyrography
First attempt

Pyrography
Second attempt

The same scene drawn
with Pen & Ink

Pyrography - Second attempt.

I was so pleased with my first wood-burning attempt that I decided to jump straight in and have another go, this time at something a little more ambitious.

Not knowing which is the best wood for burning I thought I'd try anything and found an offcut of feather-edged fencing board. The wood was a bit rough so I sanded it to smooth up the surface. For a subject I chose the Clumber Park Boat house from one of my forums old Monthly Painting Projects. I've drawn this subject a few times in pencil and pen, and it felt like the sort of thing that might work well with a wodd burner. I'm very pleased with the way the 'drawing' turned out and, as usual, learned a great deal from the process. In particular, I was surprised by how much the burner 'caught' in the grain of the wood despite being smooth to the touch. I also found areas of the wood that burned easily and others that didn't. I think wood selection is going to be very important if I decide to a serious drawing.

Pyrography is certainly something I'm enjoying. 

Trying my hand at Pyrography

Pyrography is the posh name for Wood Burning. While searching online for information about my new-found hobby of Marquetry I came across several videos on wood burning. I became equally interested in having a go so dropped a hint in my annual letter to Santa. As always, he came up trumps and presented me with an inexpensive Wood Burner so I could dip my toe in this particular pond. 

I grabbed a scrap of hardboard from my garage, gave it a light sanding, and marked out a rough outline of a Hare in pencil. Once my burner was up to temperature, I set too burning the wood with a fine pointed tip. As a pen and ink artist I found the process of 'drawing' quite familiar and was very pleased with my first effort. There are obviously lots of differences to drawing with a pen. The slower you move the burner, the more burnt the wood so the darkness of line is achieved by the speed of the nib. 

Lots to learn, that's for sure, but I certainly enjoyed this first effort.