luck of the irish pt 2

Painted and posted. Michaleen as he is known is finished and posted in my Etsy shop. He was carved out of butternut and when I first looked into an optional wood to carve I came across this one. It has a wonderful grain that can work well with the carving but can also be an issue to deal with. Most of what I read about this wood was that you can't paint it because the grain makes the colors run. I have found that if you put a sealant coat on before you begin the painting process that it will take paint and no issues with the grain. So I dip my carvings in the sealant, take a paper towels and wipe them down to get an even coating and then let them dry. Once they are completely dry I begin the painting process.


I found this out by accident really, I had carved my tree shelf elf and applied the sealant on him thinking that was the final step. With no paint at all for me the grain was distracting more than anything and I decided to try to apply paint to in my mind save my carving. I liked the look of the grain but if you compare the carving on the left to the carving on the right you will see the difference between the two. Maybe it is my cartooning background but I still like the one with color. To see the completed carving go to my posting on December 9th.

But from this I have learned that you can paint butternut and for me and my carvings I think it works with some color added.

as always happy trails

and

Carpe diem 4 carving