My First box

 

As I mentioned a while ago, it is my intention to use Marquetry to make a Jewellery/Keepsake box for my granddaughter. Having settled on which method I shall use, and having done a practice piece of the main 'character' for the box, it is time to turn my thoughts to the box itself. 

Being a novice I have many questions about how to veneer a box so clearly the sensible course is to do another practice run. To that end I picked up a small and extremely cheap plain soft-wood box from a local discount store. 

To start I removed the imitation brassware, measured the box carefully, and then spent several hours drawing out a design on paper, a task that proved to be less easy than I expected. Obviously, had I thought this through properly, I could have used the 'character' for the lid and covered BOTH practice sessions at the same time, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Cutting out the veneer shapes from the template was relatively straightforward and I applied them to the sides first and the lid last. I sanded the edges as I went and ran into a zillion issues I hadn't expected. At times I was wrestling with glued shapes and getting more on me than the box. 

Gradually the box took shape and all that remained was to apply a polish and reattach the brassware. 

The end result is far from perfect and there is no question that a practice run was well worth the effort. There are things about this box I definitely want to get better the next time around.

Here are previous posts on Marquetry

Second attempt
Different technique

Flower design
for drawer front

Practice
for Major Project

Artistic Licence

 As many of you know, my favourite medium after Graphite Pencil is Pen and Ink. Now there's a thing .... why do we call it "Pen and Ink" ..... what use is a pen without ink? LOL. 

Anyway, I was taken to draw a snow scene using just my Pigma Micron Fineliners and chose this Old Oast House as a subject. The reference photo contained no snow so all the "white stuff" is a figment of my imagination. Isn't Artistic Licence wonderful?

More Pen and Ink Drawings

Boat at Craster

Canal Cottages

Paddle Steamer

Lighthouse in storm

 

Following on from my previous 'stormy sea' drawings, I decided it was time to try another one. Scouring the 'net I came across a fabulous photograph of a lighthouse at dusk taken by John Lund, and his photo ticked all my boxes of crashing waves, high seas and lots of atmosphere. To avoid copyright issues I dropped John a line and asked if he would kindly give me permission to use his photograph for reference, and he agreed.

The drawing is on my usual Daler-Rowney Heavyweight paper and was drawn with my favourite mechanical pencil containing 2B leads. I used a regular 8B pencil to touch in some of the darkest areas. Before I started I gave much thought to the square format of this picture. I used my image editing software to crop the photo into a landscape format but found that the reduction in sky and sea reduced the impact of the lone lighthouse .... the scene needs the big sky as much as it does the big sea, to drive home the smallness of the lighthouse when surrounded by the elements.

More Seascape Drawings

Force Ten

Flamborough Lifeboat 1971

Bridlington Lifeboat

Practice for major project

While I was working away on my last Marquetry piece I was pondering the way 'pictures' can be made using wood veneers and my mind drifted to decorated antique boxes. The thought processes went round and round, as they do, and I thought it would be nice to buy a couple of small plain wood boxes to decorate. From there, how do you veneer boxes; veneer the sides first or the top; what designs could I do; what to do with the finished boxes ... and on, and on. 

Out of the melee of sparking brain impulses came the idea that I'd like to decorate a box for my 6-year Granddaughter. Knowing that I didn't have sufficient knowledge or experience to just dive in and produce a nice box, I decided I'd have to do some practicing first. My final target was to produce for her a jewellery box with a picture of her favourite cuddly toy on the lid, with sides decorated with Unicorns, Ice Skates and her name. So the first objective was to have-a-go at creating the cuddly toy.

I'm quite pleased with how it turned out but there's a technique called Sand Shading that would help give the face more definition. I'll have a go at that when I'm doing the box proper. 

Here are previous posts on Marquetry

Marquetry
First attempt

Second attempt
Different technique

Flower design
for drawer front

Steam engine 41218

Once upon a time, as a teenager, my friends and I used to go train-spotting. Sometimes, as a special treat, we would take a packed lunch and catch a train ride to another station a stop or two down the line so we could 'spot' other trains. One very regular engine on those runs was an Ivatt class 2MT 2-6-2T No 41218.  It was built at Crewe works in September 1948 and remained in service until July 1965 when it was withdrawn and ultimately scrapped.

Talking about trains with my brother-in-law, who used to do the same runs and is immensely enthusiastic about steam engines, we reminisced fondly over 41218. Fired with interest I did some googling and found a couple of photo's of similar engines of the same class. I used them for reference to recreate the engine in graphite.

While drawing this engine I took photo's along the way and created a Work In Progress page for anyone interested.

Other Work-In-Progress drawings on my site

Sunset over Venice
(Pencil)

Eilean Donan Castle
(Pen and Ink)

Gorilla
(Charcoal)

Flowers design for drawers

A while ago I bought a small set of plain wood drawers for my study. I'd originally thought I might paint them, or maybe varnish them, but my new found interest in Marquetry has opened up another option. 

For my next adventure into Marquetry (every project is an exploration at the moment) I decided to decorate one of the draw fronts. I chose a photo of a Fuchsia from my considerable collection (what do you expect from a keen photographer and Fuchsia grower - LOL) and used image editing software to create a suitable design.

I found choosing a nice mixture of veneers was more difficult than I'd expected and with the benefit of hindsight I think my choices weren't the best. Still, I cut out the various elements of the design, pieced them all together, applied them to one of the drawers, sanded and finally polished and waxed. 

The remaining drawers offer me plenty of future practice opportunities but I won't be sticking to a coherent floral theme. The finished cabinet will be a mish-mash of whatever takes my fancy and will be an eclectic record of my Marquetry progress.

Here are previous posts on Marquetry

Marquetry - My first attempt

Second attempt - Different technique

Nothing ventured....

I did this Pen and Ink Wash drawing some years ago. Although it hangs on the wall in my study, it has been largely forgotten, which is a shame because it was one of those special, 'first attempt' revelations, like we've all had at various stages along our art journey. Rather than write about it again, the experience for me can be summed up by the opening and closing comments I made at the time on my Work-In-Progress page.

I begin:-

I've never tried using ink washes but it's something that appeals, probably because of my love of Pen and Ink. I haven't done any research nor watched anything on YouTube so I'm very much making this up as I go along. What I've decided to do is draw a building using Fineliner pens and then add shadows and shading using diluted ink applied by brush. I have no idea how it's going to turn out ... could be a disaster.

and I close:-

Well, what a learning experience that was. Like every 'new' medium we try, the unexpected can be a pain or a joy. Overall, though there are many things I've learned about working with ink, this experience was more joy than pain. The way the neat ink bled into wet pale washes was superb. A few areas are darker than I wanted but learning to control the ink was half the fun, and I love the way some patches have purple hues in them. This is certainly something I will do again and I'm keen to try different inks .... Sepia might give some interesting results.

Here are some more Pen and Ink Drawings

Arches at Knaresborough

Bungalow

The Old Water Mill

Harley Davidson

Having gone through a long spell of not drawing anything significant, I fancied trying something challenging and something that I haven't tried before. I've always liked the way silver and chrome can be easily replicated using graphite pencils and I had the urge to find a chrome subject to play with. I couldn't get inspired by the numerous pictures of silver teapots, cutlery, and shiny ornaments but I eventually found something that hit the spot. I chose this picture of a classic Harley Davidson motorbike.

The picture isn't very large. I decided on A4 size (8.3"x11.7") Daler Rowney Smooth Cartridge paper and it's the first time I've used it. For a smooth paper it took many layers of graphite quite well. With the benefit of hindsight I wish I'd used something larger but that's only because it might have made some of the complex areas a little easier. For anyone interested I've put a better explanation and a step-by-step Work In Progress page on my main website.

Here are some more Pencil Drawings

Force Ten

Radiating Fog

Flamborough Lifeboat 1971

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.