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Graceful pieces of driftwood, planks from old barns and aged wooden objects make a good canvas for folk art painting. You need no formal training to create beautiful pieces of folk art. However, as with any painting, the surface must be prepared to receive the paint, whether it's a wall, furniture or wooden plaque. This article explains how to prepare wood for folk art painting

Choosing The Wood

Choose wood that is well dried and isn't warped or covered with knotholes. If the wood is damp, it must be completely dried before you begin to prepare it for painting. Once you have chosen the wood, sand it smooth and fill any holes with a good wood putty. Allow the putty to dry completely before sanding.

About Aged Wood

If you are using an aged piece of wood, sanding will remove the patina that has built up over the years due to environmental factors. It you will be painting the whole surface and do not wish to preserve this patina, then the whole surface must be evenly sanded down to the new wood.

Another option is to stain or seal the wood and then sand lightly. This will allow the grain of the wood to show through and become a part of your folk art painting style. Natural knots or burls in the wood can produce an outstanding piece of artwork and do not therefore, need to be treated.

Sanding

It is best to start with a heavy grit sandpaper and sand gently, moving on to a finer grit paper and ending with the finest of grit. Hard sanding or sanding against the grain will cause the surface to be rough and possibly have gouged places.

Dealing With Knot Holes

Sometimes, it's unavoidable to have a few knotholes in your surface. If not treated properly, the knotholes will allow the sap from the wood and its natural resins to bleed through to the top layer of paint leaving an ugly stain in your artwork. The only way to stop this from happening is to lightly sand the area and paint with shellac or an aluminum based primer.

Sealing

After the final sanding is complete, wipe the surface well to remove any dust and seal all surfaces with a water-based sealer. If you omit this step, your paint will cause the grain to rise and will cause a rough surface. Allow the sealer to dry and sand once more with a fine sand paper. Wipe the surface with a slightly damp cloth, allow to dry and proceed with your artwork.

Following these steps for how to prepare wood for folk art painting will give you a finished project, of which you can be proud. Who knows, you may be the next Grandma Moses in the making.

Sources

www.twooldcrows. com

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