intarsia wood selection ?

[JimErn]

So I have these patterns, the color code has mystical notes like
Dark - walnut
Med Dark
Light Dark

What the hey?  Any wood suggestions for med and light dark woods that go with walnut?

[dgman]

Walnut will have subtle color changes through the tree. The sap wood can almost be white. But there are many options. Sapele, Mahogany, cedar and aspen are a few. Even Red Oak is an option. Just remember, it is your choice what colors and textures to use. 

[tgiro]

Jim - how realistic do you want your piece to be? When your are doing horses, dogs, birds landscapes, etc many colors will work. But some animals, ( raccoons, zebras, birds, tigers, elephants, etc) are specific colors. 

Again - I always do a "Google->images->subject matter" search. You'll find hundreds of pictures of the real thing, plus some artist renditions. Then you can choose your colors to best suit your project. For example: if I am working on raccoons -- go to Google, click on Images and type raccoons in the search block == https://www.google.com/search?safe=active&hl=en&tbm=isch&q=raccoons

 

[meflick]

Like Tony said - what woods depends on what I am making and how realistic to the "natural" colors I want to be.  What is "dark," "medium" and "light" can all be of the same wood type just different color variations that give you that "dark," "medium," and "light".  For example JGR often did some of her early work using only western red cedar, just used different shades of the wood for the contrast in colors.  You can find a lot of "shades" in almost any type of wood so the best thing to do is to find one of the shades you want to use in a particular piece of wood, and then go darker or lighter from there as needed for the pattern.  Some people print the pattern pieces on acetate so they can "try" the pattern piece on different pieces of wood to see how the grain, and the color work.

[JimErn]

3 hours ago, meflick said:

Like Tony said - what woods depends on what I am making and how realistic to the "natural" colors I want to be.  What is "dark," "medium" and "light" can all be of the same wood type just different color variations that give you that "dark," "medium," and "light".  For example JGR often did some of her early work using only western red cedar, just used different shades of the wood for the contrast in colors.  You can find a lot of "shades" in almost any type of wood so the best thing to do is to find one of the shades you want to use in a particular piece of wood, and then go darker or lighter from there as needed for the pattern.  Some people print the pattern pieces on acetate so they can "try" the pattern piece on different pieces of wood to see how the grain, and the color work.

I understand intellectually what y'all are saying, but I live with a budget, I do not have the luxury of stocking multiple boards of one kind of tree or many kinds of trees in the hopes I find some variation that works.  JGR is the pattern maker I got this from, I sent an email asking about it - no response - ahh well.

just hoping someone with more experience than I have would have wood type suggestions.  And on top of that the wood color changes once you put a finish on it, darker usually.  I do not have an artistic eye for things like that, and often what I think looks good raises some eyebrows in others when they see it.

 

Thanks to all for trying

 

 

[tgiro]

Jim - what pattern did you get from Judy - is it the stallion pattern?

[meflick]

Jim, I know that Judy has recently posted that they have gone to a 4 day work week as a trial to see how it goes. That may explain why no answer from them yet (depending on when you sent it of course.)

Regarding wood and “stocking” it. First, most Intarsia projects don’t necessarily require large pieces of wood so you can often get smaller pieces and scraps to keep on hand you don’t have to buy large pieces. With small pieces rather than large boards, it often doesn’t cost much to buy different pieces. Also, keep those small pieces from other projects. I seldom throw any “scrap” away always figuring it might work in some Intarsia piece. After a while, you find you have a good collection. I haven’t tried it yet, but if you have any cabinet makers in your area, some folks have said they have gotten free scrap from theirs in their area. I have been working with Intarsia for almost 4 years now and my husband is a hobby woodworker who builds and turns so I also get scraps from him and then I look for small pieces and such whenever I am anywhere I can find it. After 4 years, I have built up a bit of a stockpile. If you find you like Intarsia, you will too. In the interim, see if you have any good sources in your area where you can get small pieces to work with.
 

if you tell us what pattern you are looking to do, we might be able to give you more ideas on colors or wood types. Like I noted before, Judy originally did a lot of her early work in Only western red. cedar, just used a dark, med., and light shades to give the variance in color shades. She recommends doing that when you are first learning and starting to work with Intarsia.  You can do that with any wood that you can find varying shades of. 
 

Finally, you probably have more of an “artistic” eye then you think. Trust yourself and remember, it’s just wood and worse case, you cut another piece if you decide you don’t like it. You are not trying to please anyone but yourself so don’t worry about others who might raise an eyebrow.

[JimErn]

4 hours ago, tgiro said:

Jim - what pattern did you get from Judy - is it the stallion pattern?

No the deer pattern

https://intarsia.com/collections/all-patterns/products/i-12-buck-deer

[JimErn]

@meflick

I understand stockpiling odd pieces and I am starting to do that, but since this is my second intarsia I am still not sure if I will stick with it.  In some ways I enjoy it, but in other ways (sanding, lack of an artistic eye) it drives me nuts.  Time will tell.  I know when I finished the first one, "Horse Run", I was very satisfied with the work, even though I could see where it needed work and experience I hope will help with that.

[Dave Monk]

I have about the same amount of experience as you at this intarsia thing but after looking at that picture and knowing what wood I have on hand I would be using walnut, alder and I have some maple that is also a light brown. I have found that alder is super easy to cut sand and shape.  A lot of time I will put some mineral spirits on the wood to see what it will look like after it is finished.

[tgiro]

5 hours ago, JimErn said:

No the deer pattern

https://intarsia.com/collections/all-patterns/products/i-12-buck-deer

OK - the Black Walnut is for the eyes and snout. My bet is that Judy used mostly Western Cedar for most of the body. The light color in the body and, probably the antlers, could be  a light colored Poplar. Go for the whitest Poplar you can find. Both the Poplar and the Cedar can be found at Lowes or Home Depot. If nothing else - look at Cedar siding - look for the brownest Cedar you can find in their stacks. Cedar siding has one side roughed up so it needs sanding, and it is a little thinner than the 3/4" recommended, but you can sand the rough smooth and laminate a couple of pieces together to get thicker wood.

That's a good pattern and after seeing what you did with the stallion head with little understanding - I think you'll do just fine with this one.

BTW -- https://www.google.com/search?q=bucks+head&tbm=isch&hl=en&safe=active&chips=q:bucks+head,g_1:deer:wfabVNfbur0%3D&safe=active&hl=en

[JimErn]

Thanks Dave and Tony appreciate the suggestions

[meflick]

Yes, in the description under the pattern info. on Judy’s site it says she used various shades of western red cedar and aspen for the white. 

[tomsteve]

poplar can have many different colors. im thinkin walnut, cherry,and maple. although not sure how much the sherry will darken with time