Before I start to paint I look at the piece and imagine the FEELING she will have when done. Basically by this point she has a life of her own, and I’m only trying to capture it. This one is a really warm and welcoming gal, a sister to the waitress who welcomes you to my website.
Once having gotten the FEELING of this gal, I grab my most ratty paint brushes and set out on the first coat of paint. I paint the whole piece one color at first, usually something warm or neutral. This first coat of paint acts both to seal the wood and also to unify the piece.
In order to seal the wood, I literally have to scrub or force the paint into all of the exposed carved edges. The point is to seal her against moisture getting in, especially into the end grain of the wood which, unsealed, would act like an open straw to suck in moisture from the air. I push, scrub and force the paint in. So that’s why I use my ratty brushes first.
Once the piece is all painted one color the shapes are easier for me to see and paint. Another benefit of one base color is that later, when I paint other colors on top, some of the first layer of paint will remain and glow out behind the top colors, unifying the piece.
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