It has happened once or twice where
people have asked
me to carve but not paint a seat for them. At first, (in the old days when the customer was always right) I carved up what they asked and showed them the seat. Imagine my disappointment when they refused
to pay for it because it did "not look the way they had thought" Well, this only has to happen once before you gain a little wisdom. Now I refuse to do requests that I know are going to look bad, even if the customer "thinks" they know it won't. A small study: I have carved up two panels in relief. One slightly deeper than the other. Both are carved in oak ( a very strong grain) Notice how the grain slightly interferes with the design on the non painted panel. To combat this, I carved the design slightly deeper and more undercut than normal. I could also have selected a finer grain wood to carve in ( like bass wood or maple) Without the strong shadows, the design could be lost in a strong grain wood. However, the painted panel is much more forgiving. It is carved only 1/8" deep and is completely painted ( an extreme example) The strong shadows are exchanged for colors to show off the design.
I also wanted to show off a previous carving in an old cherry
stump some years ago. It has been collecting dust for some time, but every now and then I like to dust it off and admire it. It is 100% carved of one piece! The antlers are attached! ( stupid me for making it so difficult) It checked quite badly,
but now I just think it is part of the design. ( I didn't know about wood cracking back then.) Even with the years of dust,
I thought it shined up pretty good. As for tonight. The sun once again graced us with a blue sky and a bright sunset at the beach. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!
people have asked 
me to carve but not paint a seat for them. At first, (in the old days when the customer was always right) I carved up what they asked and showed them the seat. Imagine my disappointment when they refused
to pay for it because it did "not look the way they had thought" Well, this only has to happen once before you gain a little wisdom. Now I refuse to do requests that I know are going to look bad, even if the customer "thinks" they know it won't. A small study: I have carved up two panels in relief. One slightly deeper than the other. Both are carved in oak ( a very strong grain) Notice how the grain slightly interferes with the design on the non painted panel. To combat this, I carved the design slightly deeper and more undercut than normal. I could also have selected a finer grain wood to carve in ( like bass wood or maple) Without the strong shadows, the design could be lost in a strong grain wood. However, the painted panel is much more forgiving. It is carved only 1/8" deep and is completely painted ( an extreme example) The strong shadows are exchanged for colors to show off the design. 
I also wanted to show off a previous carving in an old cherry 
stump some years ago. It has been collecting dust for some time, but every now and then I like to dust it off and admire it. It is 100% carved of one piece! The antlers are attached! ( stupid me for making it so difficult) It checked quite badly, 
but now I just think it is part of the design. ( I didn't know about wood cracking back then.) Even with the years of dust, 
I thought it shined up pretty good. As for tonight. The sun once again graced us with a blue sky and a bright sunset at the beach. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!
3 comments:
Absolutely gorgeous, I would be torn because I like them both! I can only imagine how beautiful the painted one becomes as it ages!
Well you are a master carver indeed. Sure glad you showed up at my place or I would never have known you were here. I admire your skills. The Moose is really neat.
I used to fancy myself as a wood carver, then I tried stone and slate and did some things in those but gave it up because I have breathing problems and while I don't breathe in wood chips I do the dust. I will be back to see what else you are doing.
You probably don't remember when people lived and died at home and endured wakes. I wrote about it here. http://bing-it.blogspot.com/
Your work is so beautiful! You are very talented. I like both effects of the carving and would have a hard time deciding whether I'd prefer painted or unpainted. The moose carving is unbelievable!
Thanks so much for commenting on my blog. I'm hoping to find some more interesting subjects to share.
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