Fighting Hares

Hi all, I managed to finish my latest pyrography project this week. The two Mad March Hares picture can be seen below.

I am quite pleased with the results and even went out and purchased a frame for it. If you are going to do any pictures with your pyrography iron, I suggest taking advantage of charity shops. They have everything from photo frames to more elaborate offerings that look like they should be surrounding a Rembrandt. Anyway, the one I chose cost me two quid and I reckon that's a bargain.

Regarding the picture itself there are two things of note. The veneer I used is 'steamed beech' and with hindsight I think the picture would have worked better had I used 'white beech' which is, as the name suggests, a lot lighter.

The composition was another issue when I was doing this picture. When it was still just a pigment of my imagination, I pictured a background behind the hares that consisted of fences, gates, trees, hedges and perhaps a ploughed field. and a tractor being followed by a flock of seagulls. However, after I'd completed the hares and the foreground I decided to keep it simple. The hares are the main focus of attention and a background would make the whole thing look too fussy.

If you are thinking about doing an animal study with your pyrography iron, I think the most import thing is to make sure all the fur marks you make are in line with the way the fir would grow on the animal. The direction of growth can be used to define the anatomy and looks silly if you get it wrong. It is also worth noting that you do not have to put in every hair, in fact, if you tried to do that with a pyrography iron it would not only take you months, but could also spoil the whole picture.

Now I have an admission to make. Those of you who follow this blog will know that I use a spoon tip for nearly all of my pyrography work. However, in this picture most of the marks were made with a small skew tip, which gives a very fine line. Below is a picture of two tips. The one on the left is my well worn spoon tip.

The small skew tip is ideal for the hairs on fur and much finer than those that can be produced by my spoon tip. The skew tip is actually made for a 'Razor Tip' pyrography machine,  but as far as I can tell they work just as well in a Peter Childs machine.

I'm not sure what my next project will be so be prepared for a surprise, and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me.