And Yet Again I Have
Painted Yet Another Day
Still working at
painting the totem, and yesterday I was able to install eyes in all the
different figures except the low man on the totem pole. The reason I didn’t do
him was that I am still not finished with painting him as I work down on the
totem. The reason for this is that if I drip paint as I do then I still have a
chance to correct mistakes. My paint after I mix it is more like a wash, and I have
to be careful and make repeated efforts to apply several coats to get the color
to a stage I like. Doing so offers plenty of opportunity to make mistakes as I do.
Splotched paint can usually be blended in or covered over. In some areas it is
best to work with the darker colors first and then proceed to the lighter
colors. A grinder or even painting an area white helps to eliminate unwanted
blotches of paint. All color correction needs to be done prior to sealing the
totem
Once the totem
is sealed it is harder to change the colors and generally requires one to grind
off the old paint and varnish back to bare wood and then blend it back in and
reseal the entire sculpture to assure uniformity of painting procedure. I am
thinking of leaving the low man on totem pole’s face alone and just seal him as
he is. I have some splotched paint I need to remove but from experience I have
noticed that when applying the final seal coat of Helmsman spar varnish it
tends to drop the values of the paint accordingly, making the darks darker and
the lights a tone darker also. So what you see now will change even more after
sealing. The face will appear darker when sealed and should have just the right
tone I am looking for. In some ways it does make the carving more visible to
the eye but it does change the values of the colors respectively. I only use a
satin finish when finishing any sculpture of color as the glossy tends to
reflect light as the satin captures that light and magnifies the values of the
color. These are my personal preferences and for my use of carving. Your needs
may differ, say if you are going to sculpt a mermaid and wanted a glistening
look then glossy may be appropriate.
You should always
use a spar urethane to seal your carvings and avoid polyurethane especially for
outdoor use. Use only marine grade spar urethane if using anything other than Helmsman’s
as their product I am sure is fully capable of meeting those standards, as well
it protects against U.V. light damage (ultra-violet).
I was going to
spray this carving but was having trouble getting the paint to spray and needed
to up the value of the paint so I went to mixing in a small can and painting by
hand with a ¾ inch wide painters brush designed for oil paints. It is round and
has about 1 inch long bristles that allow me to thoroughly saturate into crevices
the paint needed to create a uniform color pattern. It also allows blending
more readily as I use the brush to swirl new paint over wide areas. I also use
regular artist’s oil paint to paint when painting, and this comes in tubes and
requires me to have the same amount squeezed into a thinning agent to make the
paint concentration easier to repeat time after time in a uniform manner also. I
test usually on a side piece till I have the right concentration to proceed.
Well after
writing out how to carve a totem I myself have begun to see an awakening in
respect to how much actually does go into making a sculpture of this size and
it does get more complicated with painting as opposed to burning, but again I like
the results. Painting wood sculptures dates way back in time and is mostly
religious by nature. But wood has been painted for centuries and will no doubt
be used as a medium for many more or at least as long as we have woods to use. Who
knows some day we may have to visit a tree museum to see any , according to the
song ‘Big Yellow Taxi’, by Joni Mitchell. It has always been a favorite of mine
since I first heard it.
As I see the
paint bring my sculptures to lifer and change the nature of a log from firewood
to an art piece it overwhelms myself completely and it is the reason I do what I
do. Out of all of these blogs I have done on the subject of totems I hope
someday, that someone may use them as reference
on how to carve. These along with my art will help others understand what is
involved, and may give a better understanding to the effort involved on both
the artistic and the writing levels as an author explaining the process. I only
hope I have done well.
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