Graining and Marbling / A Series of Practical Treatises on Material, Tools and Appliances Used; General Operations; Preparing Oil Graining Colors; Mixing; Rubbing; Applying Distemper Colors; Wiping Out; Penciling; The Use of Crayons; Review of Woods; The Graining of Oak, Ash, Cherry, Satinwood, Mahogany, Maple, Bird's Eye Maple, Sycamore, Walnut, Etc.; Marbling in All Shades.

by F. Maire

MAPLE.

102. The graining of maple differs materially from that of the woods described heretofore. In color it is on the same order, however, of a light buff tone. It should be given a ground color just off the white by the addition of a trifle of ochre to the white lead base. There is considerable variation in this and if one is required to match or imitate some aged maple the general tone will need to be much deeper, and may require a ground as deep toned as that of oak or ash, as maple darkens considerably by age.

103. Again as fashion has decreed that maple should be stained a light gray one has to grain it in imitation of that and the ground must then be made by the addition of lamp black to the white base sufficiently to make a faint pearl gray. The veining proper is not very prominent in maple. This consists of very fine lines with little if any feathering. Maple is a very close wood and shows but little if any porousness, therefore should never be stippled. The chief beauty of ordinary maple lays in its mottlings and not in its veinings. Plain maple being what is now under consideration, curled and bird’s eye maple will be taken up in a separate lesson.

104. Plain maple is never grained in oil as it would be too tedious to imitate it by wiping. Therefore its graining by distemper work is the only method worth the while to describe. To be able to grain it well the student must have its character well made out—in his head at least. The color if the wood is grained in its natural color is made from raw sienna weakened down to suit by the addition of whiting. The character of the wood is best produced by the application of the color with a sponge. This should be blended at once and if the color has been properly applied with the sponge, the mottlings produced by the blending of the color will usually suffice and a few more of a deeper tone may be added in the overgraining. As soon as dry, which requires but a few minutes, the veining proper may be put in with the same color with a camel’s hair pencil, but should not be blended. This should be done with a fine pointed brush as it should not be prominent. The better way to vein maple is to use a light raw sienna toned crayon pencil and to draw them out where desired. These produce an even stroked vein much easier to obtain by their use than with a brush.

105. The overgraining of plain maple is done in oil and consists of a few darker mottles made with a brush specially made for this purpose, but which in reality is little better than a plain double thick varnish flat brush, and the latter will be found good enough for this purpose. If the color happens to be too thickly put on, it can be wiped out with a clean rag and left only where it is desired. It should be made of raw sienna darkened with raw and burnt umber and thinned with raw linseed oil and turpentine, half and half. It has been supposed all along that the maple graining was done in its natural color. If gray maple is to be imitated the distemper color should be made from ivory black toned down with whiting and the overgraining color from ivory black thinned sufficiently to produce the tint wanted.

QUESTIONS ON LESSON XIX.

100. What is said in general of chestnut graining?

101. How should chestnut be grained?

102. What is said of maple graining in general?

103. How should gray maple ground be prepared?