Dyes

[rjweb]

Is anyone using dyes to change the colors of wood for intarsia, if so what brand works well, thx RJ

[Scrappile]

I do not know, I get the impression that dyes are frowned upon in the intarsia world.  It is all about the natural color of wood.  But I am not an intarsia artist, and I would do what it takes.  I am very interested in dyes.   I hope you get good responses.  I would love to learn.

[jollyred]

If you dye or paint intarsia it is known as segmentation and is how I do most of mine.  I have used oil base stains, acrylic paints and aniline dyes. I decided to color the pieces after doing intarsia for a couple of years and many of the pieces darkened to shades of brown.  This is typical of most woods when exposed to sunlight. This can be delayed using some finishes with uv preventive properties, but they will still darken eventually.  How you want to make them is entirely up to you. By painting or dyeing the wood, you do not have to select only woods that have a particular color.  I generally select woods that are as white as I can find. usually aspen, poplar or soft maple.

[TAIrving]

We create art in wood.  Art is in the eye of the artist.  Some form of wood art is called intarsia, another is called segmentation.  You create what you see as art and call it what you want to call it.  Don't feel constrained by someone else's definitions.  

[barb.j.enders]

The never ending discussion.

I feel that if you use dyes then state that you have used dyes.  My understanding is segmentation is just using one board to cut the pattern from.  Intarsia uses different woods and the grain of the wood to create the picture.  

I am sure @FrankEV will chime in.  He has been using dyes/paint on some of his intarsia pieces to highlight some of the woods.  Blues & greens in particular as they are hard to come by naturally.  See his mallard duck posting.

[BadBob]

13 hours ago, Scrappile said:

I get the impression that dyes are frowned upon in the intarsia world.

I would ignore that and do what I want if they don't like it. That is their problem.

Edited February 18 by BadBob

[rjweb]

Thx for all the information, as of now I am just getting my feet wet with intarsia or segmantation as you refer to the one board deal, buying of the different wood is sometimes difficute to find and can get exspensive, thx again will keep working at it, RJ

[barb.j.enders]

21 hours ago, rjweb said:

Thx for all the information, as of now I am just getting my feet wet with intarsia or segmantation as you refer to the one board deal, buying of the different wood is sometimes difficute to find and can get exspensive, thx again will keep working at it, RJ

I used to think that Intarsia was insanely expensive.  Turns out, that yes it is expensive, but you actually use a small amount of woods.  I have purchased as small a piece as 3" long.  It was Wenge and have used that block for 4 different projects.  Usually end up using it for eyes.  I will cut the eye then resaw it (thinner than the whole project) and use plywood underneath to raise it up.

[TAIrving]

We do use exotic woods for intarsia and they can be expensive as priced by the board foot.  But, as Barb said, we buy small pieces and use even smaller pieces.  We make do with the wood we have on hand and buy the exotic wood we have to have for the project at hand.  Over time we accumulate a supply of exotic wood and "make do with what we have on hand" gets easier and more creative/artistic.  

[FrankEV]

As Barb said I would, I'll chime in on this subject.  First, there is a signinican difference between Segmentation and Intarsia. 

It is my understanding the Segmentation pieces are made from one piece of wood, most often a softwood like pine, with the intent that the individual pieces will be sanded, possibly shaped/sculptured, and painted prior to assembly.   Grain orientation is not of concern as the paint is opaque and hide all of the wood character.   

Again I understand that Intarsia is an art medium that celebrates wood of all kinds.  Most often Intarsia pieces are made from many various types of wood utilizing the natural colors of the wood to create the art.  Usually only a clear finish of some type is applied to enhance the wood color and prevent the wood from dulling and darking as unfinished wood of any kind  will do.

However, to answer the question, yes, dyes and various other stain type products that are usually tranparent or translucent, are used by many Intarsia makers to enhance wood for colors like Blue, Green, white, and even Black.  For these exact reasons, many of our well known Intarsia makers, and those looked upon as Intarsia experts, have noted that they have used a dye, or the like, for individual pieces of an Intarsia. And, even though a dye or something similer has ben used, the wood grain is usually still visible.

For myself, I'm not a purest and wood cost is a consideration, so much of the very high end woods are not a consideration.  I have used dyes, but they tend to be blotchy as they will effect diferent parts if the wood differenly, so I have taken a different route - Paintwash.   I am an a Air Brush user and have found I can mimick a dye, but with a more uniform coverage, by using a highly diluted Air Brush Acrylic Paint applied in very light coats.  The paintwash is quite transparent and will allow the grain to show when needed. I will also use the appropriate wood to be painted, such as Poplar that I will apply a  green paintwash to as it already has a slight natural green coloration. 

Hope this helps.         

 

 

[rjweb]

Thx again for the lesson on intarsia, I am still trying to absorb all I can on the subject, RJ

Edited February 19 by rjweb

[JimNC]

I just learned something! 

I have done a few  pieces that I have been call "modified intarsia" because the parts are painted. My wife paints them and I cut and assemble them. I knew they were not truly Intarsia. The few that I made have all sold at shows. So now I will call them Segmentation Art because I make from one piece of wood (mostly cuts offs) and painted.

I actually feel better calling them Segmentain Art and not intarsia. 

[rjweb]

Jim could you post a picture of one of your "intarsia / segmentation" pieces, Thx RJ

[JimNC]

Edited February 23 by JimNC

[JimNC]

My "intarsia / segmentation". These were the first two that we made. For others we used a clear mat over coat which I think looks better. These we kept but all the others sold at first show because I believe they are someone else's pattern.

[rjweb]

Jim, thx for posting, beautiful work both cutting and the artist, RJ

[JimNC]

4 hours ago, rjweb said:

Jim, thx for posting, beautiful work both cutting and the artist, RJ

Thank you

[Zoot Fenster]

I love dyed wood.  It is an easy way to get vibrant colors, especially red, green, orange and blue.  The base wood is often curly maple which adds to the 3D look.  And it makes complex sections easy to cut and guaranteed to fit together.  Transtint and Transfast dyes are the most common.  One is powder and one is liquid.  A 15ml test tube is usually more than enough for a project.  I have a small rack of test tubes with different strength dyes and sanded wood dust.

[Sycamore67]

I will be different as I do not dye or paint wood.  I like the traditional Intarsia of picking woods for their color and grain structure and also carving and shaping the pieces.  I do not consider painted pieces Intarsia.  Some just cut the wood pieces and round all the edges and are done.  If it makes you hapoy..great.

This is a piece I did where I really enjoyed finding the right wood and grain and then spent many hours shaping pieces.  This is my type of Intarsia.

 

[rjweb]

Larry, that is an excellent piece, RJ

[BadBob]

Wood changes color as it ages or is exposed to light. So what do these look like when they are ten years old?

[FrankEV]

6 hours ago, BadBob said:

Wood changes color as it ages or is exposed to light. So what do these look like when they are ten years old?

Intarsia will look fine for a very long timeif it is finished with some type of clear product, preferably one that provides UV protection or the wood will darken over time.   Intarsia Artist use various clear coatings from Oils that finish with a soft feel, along with Polys, Varnishes, Laquers, and Acrylics that are more hard.   I like Spray laquers but have gone to using a Hobby Lobby product called 'Clear Acrylic Finish' , as it is very inexpensive compared to the name brand products, dries fast and requires only minimum sanding between coats.  It is available as a Gloss, Satin  or Matt.  I prefer the Gloss for most of my work.  When hung on the wall it is the  eaisest to dust!!!  

Edited March 11 by FrankEV

[BadBob]

2 hours ago, FrankEV said:

Intarsia will look fine for a very long timeif it is finished with some type of clear product

So, depending on the type of wood, you may need to get it done and finished quickly.

You make some very nice intarsia.

Edited March 11 by BadBob

[rjweb]

Thx for all the info on to use dyes or not to use, and Bob I won't be here in 10 years, RJ

[FrankEV]

22 hours ago, BadBob said:

So, depending on the type of wood, you may need to get it done and finished quickly.

You make some very nice intarsia.

Not sure your definition of quickly.  Stored wood can take a long time to darken. Shaping and sanding will usually remove the thin top surface which reveals the actual wood color again. It is recommended to do a final very fine sanding just before applying a clear protective finish to insure you have the color desired.  There is no need to rush a build to prevent darkening.  The darkening process takes time and exposure to daylight.  So, an unprotected art piece hung on a wall will look good for a while but will darkening over time. A protected piece, like furniture, can last a lifetime if kept out of direct sunlight.