The Process of Woodburning a Portrait

Once the chosen piece of wood has been thoroughly sanded and all loose particles removed from the surface, an outline of the portrait is drawn on the wood. After 6 hours of sanding, drawing, cleaning and woodburning, the picture to the right was the outcome!

Woodburning is a process of applying layers.  Once I have a basic outline, I apply additional layers to give depth.  As you can see from the previous picture, this portrait is starting to evolve from a one-demensional (flat) portrait, into a three-demensional picture.  Developing hair takes an enormous amount of time as many different layers are applied.  At this point I begin to apply shading to the neck and facial areas. After 12 hours of woodburning, the picture to the right was the outcome!

Next, I start to concentrate on the development (shading) of the face and facial features.  I work on the small details that make the portrait stand out:     * Completed the jewels in the hat    * Gave depth to the eyes    * Placed a shadow under the nose    * Teeth in the mouth    * Roundness to the cheeks and chin    * More layers of finely placed hair After 17 hours of woodburning the picture to the right was the outcome!

After 17 hours of woodburning I take a step back and compare my work to the picture.  I usually take a good day to see what other shading I can do to enhance the portrait.  In this case, I continued developing the hair and shading the face to show the age of the woman.  I worked on the nose and gave a fullness to her lips. After an additional three hours of actual woodburning, the picture to the right was the outcome!

I decided to go with a solid black shirt as opposed to adding the sparkley jewels.  This took about an hour of woodburning.  Then I gently sanded the wood and cleaned the remaining particles of sand with a damp cloth.  Once the wood was dry and free of loose sand I applied a "Natural" coat of stain to bring out the shading.  After ten hours I applied another coat of stain.  Once ten additional hours had passed, I lightly sanded the wood to get rid of any tiny air bubbles that may have developed.  Then I wiped the wood with a clean damp cloth.  Finally, I attached a hanging device on the back of the wood.