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.

Iris

I moved into my present house in the winter when the garden was as 'dead' as it could be. I could see that I had inherited many Iris plants, and that pleased me as they are one of my favourite flowers. What I hadn't expected was the range of varieties in the garden. Some with small flowers, many with regular size flowers, and one with giant flowers. And the colours range through bright yellows, cold blues, warm oranges, autumn colours and deep Indigo's. 

That first summer I couldn't wait to get outside with my camera and as each bloom opened I was delighted to discover 16 different varieties. As a fairly useless, uninformed, wanna-be gardener I have no idea what the names of them are so I lump them all into one category ..... "Gorgeous". 

It was obvious that I'd have to paint them at some point, and the one above is the first.

 

Second attempt - A different technique

I've now had a second go at marquetry using a different technique. Without getting technical, the first one was done using the "window" method and this one using the "Double Bevel" method. This technique involves cutting two veneers at the same time, but that ensures the shapes fit together better, with much fewer gaps and a much tighter fit. So that I had a sound comparison between the two methods I used the same Robin picture as before, but reversed. What I hadn't expected (though I should have) was the huge effect the veneer choices had. The two Robins look quite different from each other and although I'm happier that this piece is more technically sound, I prefer the overall look of the first piece despite its faults. Lots to learn, that's for sure.  ;)

Marquetry - my first attempt

I've always liked the look of wood, especially polished wood with pronounced grains. I have a very old wooden model boat that I wanted to restore and while researching online how I could strip it back and polish it up, I stumbled across Marquetry. Though I put it out of mind initially, the idea of making pictures from wood veneers kept niggling at me. Obviously it was an itch that just had to be scratched.

Many hours were spent watching online video's and reading articles on the subject, but I've never been one to learn that way. I'm very much a hands-on, trial-and-error, figure-it-out-as-you-go sort of guy, so I sent for a small pack of mixed veneers so I could have-a-go. Though many sites suggested very simple shapes to begin with, I thought I'd learn more by trying something a bit more testing. 

From my own collection of photos I chose a picture of a Robin that I've painted and drawn many times, and I traced over it just in very approximate outlines. I played with various veneers considering the direction the grains should run and the overall 'tonal value' of the wood. Viewing the photo in greyscale helped a lot when choosing lights and darks.

There are a number of different techniques with Marquetry. As a beginner I chose the "Window" method as it looked the easiest. The first thing I learned when cutting is how easily the knife slices through the wood when going with the grain, but how hard it can be when cutting across the grain. Cutting irregular shapes proved harder than I'd expected and the very thin veneers often split. I'm hoping experience will help me get better at that.

Finally I had all the pieces taped together and I glued the whole thing onto a scrap of wood. I gave it a good sanding and several layers of Shellac varnish to finish it off.

Though this isn't an accomplished piece of work, I'm not disappointed in it. The gaps between the  various pieces leave much to be desired and the veneer choices could have been better, but I learned so much from the process. Next I will try a different method to see if that suits me better. If YOU have experience of Marquetry I'd love to hear from you.

As for the model boat.... I'll be covering that in a future post.

A change of emphasis

It's been almost 2 years since I last posted and I just can't believe where the time has gone. One of my main reasons for not posting has been a shift in my interests. I found myself spending more time with other hobbies, and also getting involved in new ones. Suddenly I didn't seem to producing 'art', which is what this blog was all about. Don't get me wrong, I still draw and paint but much less so than I did, and I still have my Art Forum which remains as active as ever. Looking back at some of my posts I was amazed to see that I eluded to this very thing back in May 2021. It's time to do something about it.

I considered having multiple blogs for the other subjects, but didn't want to spend all my time managing blogs. The only solution that seems to make any sense is to have an eclectic blog that covers anything I get involved with, so that is what I'm going to try.

Going forward to intend to post about my radio controlled scale model Toyota Venture 4x4 vehicle, my photographic endeavours, my growing collection of postage stamps, my beginners efforts at both Marquetry and Pyrography (wood burning) and an occasional drawing or painting. It will be an interesting journey and I hope some of you will tag along. 

Hobbies A1 Treadle fret saw

When clearing out my fathers attic I came across a few parts of his old treadle saw. I recognised it instantly and very fond memories of watching him use it flooded my mind. I searched his loft space for the rest of the saw and was delighted to find every part. 

As a young boy I remember watching my father pedalling away as he skilfully turned the wood to cut out various shapes and patterns. Many a toy was made by him .... castles, garages, farms, dolls houses, jig saws, etc. Dad used to sit at this saw pedalling away for hours on end. 

Once I had the various parts of the saw back home I laid them out and tried to figure out how they all fitted together. It was a bit of a puzzle but I managed to assemble it. As expected, it was no longer in workable condition. 

So what to do with an old 1940's fret saw that doesn't work? Easy! I used wire-wool to remove the small bits of rust and polished it with a wax polish to restore it's shine and give it a protective coat. I fashioned a few new wooden components and gave them a varnish just to make it look complete and functional. Then ...

... I stood it in my garden. 

I'm well aware that over time the weather will take it's toll and the rust will eat it's way back into the metal, but in the meantime, every time I step into my garden I see it standing there and my mind races back to when I was a boy watching dad knocking together the next thing for me to play with.