The "Lathest" News
May 2013                    Issue #42
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In This Issue  

 

In this issue Gord shares his experience while in South Carolina at the airbrushing course designed specifically for woodturners.  This hands-on workshop was organized by Brian McEvoy and Gord Langer.  Gord will also share some of the comments from his fellow participants who worked hard and had loads of fun while gaining a ton of experience working with an airbrush.

 

Before continuing with the newsletter, we are also extremely pleased to announce that Carter Products will be starting production on a new version of our Boring Bars.  For over 80 years Carter Products has designed and manufactured products that enhance the performance of industrial and amateur machinery of all types. Today Carter Products is a leading manufacturer whose engineers carry on the tradition of listening to the customers and then developing new products to make your work quicker, safer, more accurate and less costly.

 

Carter, in an effort to expand its offerings and better serve its customers in the turning market, has acquired for manufacture the deep hollowing system from Brian McEvoy and

Gord Langer . This product adds perfectly to their existing line by extending the benefits of a roller based hollowing system to even bigger hollow forms and larger platters. The "Hollow Roller XL" as it will be called is intended to turn larger pieces where the standard Hollow Roller system accommodates  smaller range turnings and has an optional large bar to accommodate medium sized turnings.  Two systems for two distinct size ranges give Carter the largest capacity range in the market. The system will be made in the USA and will be available directly from Carter Products and its distributors.  Both systems will be on display at the Tampa AAW Symposium in June so stop by and check them out. Gord Langer will be on hand to demonstrate and answer any questions. Final price and availability for the Hollow Roller XL has yet to be determined, but should be in place for the AAW Symposium.

 

 

 

To see all of the Carter products such as the Carter Steady

Rest which Gord uses extensively check out their web-site @

www.carterproducts.com.

 

 

 

  

Woodturners Airbrush Workshop

by Gord Langer

 

Brian and I are often asked, "How does one get started in learning techniques in airbrushing?" and our answer is normally "take a course and get some instruction".  Courses are often available locally and instructors can be found through local art supply shops or by looking on bulletin boards or in your local newspaper.  However, in more specific response to this question, Brian and I decided that we should organize a class with one of the world's best airbrush artists, Dru Blair, at his airbrushing school in South Carolina.  The course sold out quickly with people coming from throughout the United States, Canada, and as far away as China.  As you will read from several of the participants, it truly was a resounding success and a great amount of knowledge was taken home by each of the attendees, who you see in the photo below.

  
This was my second trip visiting Dru and his team and they did not disappoint, offering a friendly environment, onsite accommodation with Dru's wife Cris preparing fabulous home style meals.  The instruction provided by Dru, Melanie and Krystina was excellent and while the days were long with instruction provided until late into the evening, the time passed quickly and I believe we all were sad when we reached the end of the course.

"The First Annual Airbrush course for Woodturners could only be described as a resounding success!  It definitely disproved the old adage that you can't teach an old dog new tricks.  Like most woodturning events, we had a few young folk, but the majority were seniors.  A few of us had attended the school previously and knew what to expect.  It was fun to watch people, who had little to no art or airbrush experience, become quite adept in a short period of time.  The course taught them the principles of photo-realism, colour theory and most importantly, how to easily correct errors using a knowledge of the colour wheel.  Each of the projects (all painted on wood) were designed to show the variety of techniques that could be used to paint any picture.  Because everyone was a woodturner, the camaraderie amongst the group was very positive.  I look forward to the Second Annual course." Ruby Cler

Our first day's instruction was provided by Melanie Alexander, an excellent airbrush artist in her own right.  We learned how to handle the airbrush itself and how to disassemble it for cleaning or repairs.  The studio had the main instructor located at an elevated desk: with high definition cameras, the instructor was able to take micro close-up images which were displayed on large flat screen televisions so everyone had an excellent view of exactly what the instructor was doing at all times.

There was a wide range of airbrushing experience among the participants, from raw beginner to well-experienced airbrush artists.

 

This was in no way a problem as we started at a basic level. The process allowed everyone to improve from where they were and have fun doing the basic exercises of learning how to make dots, thin lines, thick lines, dagger strokes, and shading, along with other techniques that would serve us well as the workshop continued to increase complexity and skill levels. 

 

 

"I would recommend this course for anyone.  I showed up to Dru's without ever having touched an airbrush.  I left with enough printed material, training, and experience to get a good start on decorating my turnings, or anything else for that matter.  Now it's up to me to develop this new found skill."  Dick Donohoe

Once we had some of the basics under our belt, Dru (seen here with Krystina Cutler on the left and Melanie Alexander on the right), took us through a day of theory.  Dru does a lot of photo realism painting, creating a close-to-exact replica of a photograph.  This takes a clear understanding of hue, saturation and colour value.

Dru also covered the differences between transparent colours and opaque colours.  I found it fascinating.  I don't look at photgraphs the same way now, noting where the light source is coming from, how many light sources there might be, and the effect that these light sources (or lack of light) make on a photograph or a painting.  Truly an eye opening experience.

 

We then started our projects which focused on multiple techniques.  We really must thank Brian McEvoy here as he was instrumental working with Melanie to develop a series of projects to teach us techniques that we could apply to future projects.  It was unfortunate that he had to bow out at the last minute. 

 

Shown here are the photographs that we used as the source material to replicate with the  airbrush.  These soon to be learned techniques included hair, feathers, texturing, masking, and trying depth of field as shown here with the maple leaf, creating a 3-D effect.  At first it seemed like a daunting task, far beyond my skill level.

Our first project was the moonscape photograph.  This project introduced us to using frisket. This clear masking material allowed us to paint the blue background by covering up the space for the moon with the frisket.

 

We continued with our instructors taking us through this and all the projects with a step-by-step process that we followed. In the end, we were all able to replicate the photo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"This course, airbrushing on wood, is by far the best I have ever attended.  I felt fully engaged as the class progressed through the step by step presentations and exercises.  From some of the comments in previous newsletters, I was not sure I would like to paint till 11 pm.  This proved easy to do because the work is so absorbing.  People who are considering instruction at The School will want to be aware that the leisure time is usually during and after meals.  The rest of the time will be spent learning."  Tom Farrell

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here you see my completed first project which included learning how to make stars and using shadowing to show the Milky Way.  We used various techniques to make the  reflection of the moon on the water. 

 

 

 

 

Our next project was one I was really looking forward to learning: how to replicate hair.   I imagined many future projects that could utilize this technique. 

 

Learning how to paint hair can be used in portraits or when painting animals.  It wasn't long until we were able to pick up on the technique.  Hair is made by scratching off various layers of paint using an exacto knife.  Once I had the process down I found it surprisingly easy to paint the hair you see here.

 

 

 

 

Our next two projects were the feather and learning how to  "texture" by painting the elephant skin shown here.

 

To show texture in painting the main "tool" used is actually an eraser.  Who would have thought?

 

The texturing process is one that includes adding thin layers of paint and erasing much of it  then applying more paint.  This process gives the illusion of texture and depth.

 

While painting the feather we learned various techniques to replicate the feather as close to the original as possible.

We used several types of erasers throughout the various projects.  These included both hard and soft and even an electric eraser.

 

The erasers and adding thin layers of paint helped show texture in the feather project as well.  

 

Besides the airbrush and paint, the eraser and exacto knife were mission critical to the airbrushing process.

 

 

 

"If I had to be critical, I would say that the food was too good, the course too short, and we didn't even have time to go shopping for souvenirs in Downtown Blair, South Carolina. The instructors packed a lot of instruction into the few days we were there."

Gary Dickey

 

 

 

 

Our next project was my favorite, not just because I'm Canadian - the maple leaf.  I also have had the most compliments on it since returning home and plan to paint several maple leaves on future turnings. 

 

I particularly like the 3-D effect as the leaf seems to leap off the board.  Here we learned to paint the black background to show the shadow of the leaf making it appear to be 3 dimensional.

 

Our last project was the eagle.  We did use a lot of frisket to mask off many areas of the eagle.  If all goes well,  the same piece of frisket can be reapplied as required.  It is cut out using an exacto knife and then applied to the painting.

 

Even though we painted past midnight on our last evening, we didn't get all of our projects done.  This certainly was not the fault of our instructors as they happily would have provided instruction for longer than we were prepared (or able!) to work. 

 

Here is my final collection of work completed during the course.  While I have not yet finished the eagle, I am certainly planning to do so in the future, once life slows down a bit.  I am looking forward to applying the techniques I learned to my future turnings.

I think everyone who participated in the workshop would agree that it was great!  If you ever have the opportunity to visit Dru Blair at his school, it would be well worth your while.

 

If you would like to learn the basics of airbrushing, our Embellishment 2-DVD set includes four projects from start to finish and over 4 hours of instructional video.  Two of the projects include airbrushing. This would be a great addition to your DVD collection, while providing you with an opportunity learn Brian's  woodburning techniques as well.  This DVD is available from our websites:  

www.onegoodturn.ca

www.langercraftworks.com

 

  

 

Missed one of our old newsletters?

Click on the link below to access our archive home page:  

  

  

TWO IN ONE SAFE DRIVE AND FACEPLATE

See a live demo on YouTube:

 

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQQI_Zr7bC8


 

Now available in three sizes and are black zinc coated.

 

 
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This is the ultimate tool kit for piercing your work. These pneumatic piercing systems are comfortable to use, the lightweight design and the 400,000 r.p.m. speed are ideal to embellish your work. The handpiece design allows for unwavering control of your cut. The carbide dental burs seem to last forever but when the need arises, take only seconds to replace.
 

The kit includes the handpiece kit, ball valve assembly, regulator, filter, hoses, aerosol oil, male and female quick connects, two burs. 

 

 
Available for immediate shipping at:
or
 

Two Piece Hollow Form DVD
 
2pc

Over 70 minutes of instructional footage.

 

Amateurs and professionals alike will learn Brian McEvoy's secrets to producing beautiful works of art using only basic woodturning tools.  Once you have mastered the two piece hollow form, you can let your imagination run wild and use this simple technique to turn out museum quality work.
 
Our Price: $29.99 + Shipping
Embellish your work


 
This 2 DVD set has over

4 hours of instruction and covers 4 projects from start to finish. 

 

The techniques covered in these 2 DVDs include: Woodburning, Piercing, Airbrushing & Texturing, a great value.

 
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Preview our DVDs
 You can preview our DVDs on YouTube or at:

 

Deep Vessel Boring DVD

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Over 90 minutes of instructional footage plus 20 minutes of bonus features.

 

Join master woodturner Brian McEvoy who will show the process from raw wood to sanded piece in easy to follow steps.  Create amazing pieces quickly with these never-before-seen secrets from a master woodturner.

 

Our Price: $29.99 + Shipping
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