The 'Taylor Technique'
Bill Faulkner demonstrates a method for adding fine detail first developed by the late Frank Taylor from the St. Alban's group.
The basic outline of the tree branches are cut as normal. The picture is then glued down and scraped/sanded level. (Sorry - it's not the best of photos!)
Using a small punch (a moderate size nail will do) small indentations are made where each leaf is required. A little care and practice is needed to get the dents the right depth. The dents are filled using a contrasting colour of wood dust mixed with PVA glue. This is smoothed over the worked area, leaving the surface slightly raised, and allowed to dry.
Once dry, the surface can be scraped or sanded again to remove the excess coloured filler and the picture polished as normal.
With care some very attractive results can be obtained.
The Taylor Technique can be used to add many fine details to pictures - markings on animals, embroidery on clothing, lettering on distant signs and much more. The only limitation is your imagination.
