Artist Brianna Thaxton
Is it wood burning?
Yes! I am burning wood with a hot iron. Until March of 2024 I had been using the basic soldering tool with a temperature gauge that is easily found in craft stores and online. I now use a 10 amp detail burning system with interchangeable pens that is found in specialty stores and online.
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Wood burning is a technique often used for burning lettering and/or basic imagery onto wood. It is generally perceived as a craft and commonly associated with youth groups/activities. As apposed to laser etching/cutting/engraving where a machine is used to make the marks, wood burning is done by hand.
When the burning process is improved upon and greater details are achieved the technique is then referred to as Pyrography: a more specific style and higher attention to detail yielding a plethora of compositions and designs. For myself, I don't use stencils nor do I trace anything. I prefer freehand drawing and burning!
You can burn in color?!
No no, haha. It's airbrushing with acrylic paints! Sometimes with acrylic or watercolor applied traditionally with a paint brush in isolated locations.
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I mix the colors myself both for value/hue as well as for viscosity.
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I'm currently using a mini 12V compressor with a gravity fed airbrush.
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Part of this painting process involves masking off my burn marks to protect them from overspray. I use masking frisket or masking fluid (often used with watercolor techniques), plastic wrap and painters tape. This allows the freedom to paint loosely while maintaining the hard edges in my original burned design.
Now what am I doing?
Say hello to my little friend: the scorch pen!
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This tool has been immensely helpful in decreasing the time it takes to burn some textures and designs. It essentially operates like a paint marker but with a chemical compound instead of paint. That chemical can then be treated with a heat gun and it proceeds to burn or 'scorch' the wood, but only where it was applied so there's no "overburn."
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The heat gun operates very much like a hair dryer although it gets much much hotter. Be careful of the metal nose, it's hot!
Last, but not Least
The actual paint marker and/or liner brush. Either way, they are both used for the bright highlights as a final touch to better distinguish the unicorn (and a few doves) from their surroundings.
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After this step comes framing and mounting hardware such as wire for hanging.
​And that's all she wrote!
