GRAINING OAK.
Oak may be overgrained by using a very thin coating of asphaltum for
the shading color; thin with oil and spirits.
Oak may be grained in distemper--that is, using beer or alcohol for a
vehicle with the color, instead of oil. Good work can be done in this
way, but not so quickly as in oil. A little sugar added to the beer
makes it dry slower and work better than without it. If a tablespoonful
of alcohol be added to a pint of beer, the work can be combed while wet
almost as well as if in oil. First dampen the ground with a sponge
wrung out in clean water, and then rub on the color the same as in oil;
comb while wet (or use an overgrainer when dry) and blend lightly with
a badger blender; then wipe out the veins or champs with a wet rag
before the color dries, or afterward, as desired. A similar effect for
light veins is obtained by using the fitch tool to put on the veins or
champs and lifting off the color with the blender, thus leaving the
champs light. For dark veins the work is put on with a fitch and left
as put on. The heart-work may be done in the same manner, both for
light and for dark pieces, but it cannot be done so successfully as if
done in oil.
Of all the woods we have to imitate, I think oak is the most difficult,
hence I have tried to explain the different ways in ordinary use of
imitating it; and in closing I would say, Do not overdo your work. Most
grainers put in more work--that is, showy grains--than would appear in
the natural wood unless it were all selected. And remember that a nice
piece of combed work is just as good a representation of oak as the
majority of the heart-work often seen.
[Illustration: Plate 7.
HEART GROWTH OAK, PENCILLED.]
[Illustration: Plate 8.
FLAKED OAK, LIGHT, SHADED.]
[Illustration: Plate 9.
HEART OF OAK, CHECKED AND SHADED.]
[Illustration: Plate 10.
FLAKED OAK, LIGHT, SHADED.]
ASH.
In graining ash in oil the colors necessary will be raw umber and raw
sienna and a little Vandyke brown or black. Mix the color much the same
as for oak, and the same tools can be used. After the color is rubbed
in comb the places intended to be plain, and with the fitch tool or
sash tool add lines, streaks, etc., if desired, using some color
darkened with Vandyke brown or black, and blend lightly lengthwise with
the dry brush. The heart-work or growth is represented by wiping out
the color with a soft rag, the same way as for the heart of oak, but in
ash the hearts are less complicated, and the points of the growth will
be found to run more regular, and generally with a rounding edge
instead of being serrated, as are the majority of oak-growths. The
hearts of ash are also more narrow in proportion to the width of the
board than are those of oak, and their imitation is much less
difficult. Lightly stipple all wiped-out hearts with the dry brush. I
think ash is one of the easiest of woods to imitate, as oak is one of
the most difficult.
A very good imitation of a dark piece of heart-work may be done with a
small fitch tool when the color is partially set. Sometimes the work is
outlined roughly by lightly wiping off some of the color with a folded
rag and describing the general direction of the grain to be followed by
the fitch. The work is then put in with the fitch tool, and the edge of
the color so put in is lifted with the blender, showing one edge light,
and if carefully done, it looks well. The fitch tool is also employed
to brighten the effects of the wiped-out hearts and to blend slightly.
Where both means are used--that is, the fitch tool and the rag--in
doing hearts of ash, the work presents a very woody appearance, and
looks much better, if carefully done, than either method of doing
heart-work does without the other.
Ash is greatly improved by being overgrained, but a great many of the
dark streaks can be put in while the color is wet. Allowance can be
made when it is intended to overgrain the work, and the dark places
can be done more successfully when the color is dry by overgraining.
The same color used to grain the work will do for overgraining it, or
by adding a little black and thinning with spirits of turpentine and
japan for inside work, and japan and oil for outside work where it is
not to be varnished.
Ash may be grained in distemper by using stale beer or vinegar for
thinners and the colors dry or ground in distemper. The effect of
combing may be obtained by using an overgrainer. Where hearts are to be
introduced, the work should be lightly stippled with a badger blender;
and when dry, the wet rag or sponge may be used to wipe out the color
preparatory to putting in the hearts with the fitch tool; this makes a
fair job, and is the way followed by many in representing ash. The work
looks fully as well, and I think cleaner, if the hearts are put in on
the stippling without using a rag or sponge; do not stipple the work
too heavily.
In matching Western ash a little blue sometimes helps to counteract the
redness of the umber, and will be found to match the dull-gray shade
often seen better than black, but ash is of so many varieties and
colors as to allow the use of a wide range of colors.
In matching ash the filling of wood has to be taken into consideration.
The filling used by the average painter is often anything but what it
should be, and the beauty of many an ash door has been destroyed by the
miserable attempts at filling often perpetrated by some ignorant
painter. This is applicable also to other woods; but particularly to
ash.
[Illustration: Plate 11.
FLAKED OR QUARTERED DARK OAK, SHADED.]
[Illustration: Plate 12.
HEART OF LIGHT ASH, WIPED OUT.]
[Illustration: Plate 13.
HEART OF LIGHT ASH, WIPED OUT, SHADED.]
[Illustration: Plate 14.
HEART OF ASH, DARK, PENCILLED.]