A Treble Clef proudly stands erect on a base in the form of a Grand Piano with the name of the recipient carved into the music rack. This carving out of butternut wood was a commission piece for a birthday gift to the wife of a loving and appreciative husband. As a commission piece the commissioner offered the general idea of a grand piano to be carved for his wife of fifty years who plays the piano. The carver was instructed to come up with a design that would by symbolic of a musician who is a pianist. Read the rest of this entry »
WHITTLE FOLK MONKS are Whittle-Carved out of a one inch square by three inch tall block of basswood. They are often used as a class project for the teaching of face carving only with a knife. The face is the first thing seen on a carving and since the body of the monk is covered with a robe the face received the most attention of detail carving. An earlier posting of Whittle Folk Monk Faces presented a photographic study of faces. Read the rest of this entry »
MASTER SERGEANT is a commission carving that was presented as a gift by a loving wife and son to Air Force Master Sergeant Dan J. Williams as a retirement gift. Even though the carving is of a Civil War Union Soldier, yet some artist license was taken to include personal symbols to have significance to the recipient. Read the rest of this entry »
The MAGNIFICENT SEVEN represent the first of a beginning series of Whittle Poke Busts. Each is carved only with a knife using a one and half inch square by three inch tall block of basswood. A natural finish of artist oil Raw Sienna paint mixed with boiled linseed oil brings each carving to life with a soft glow that shows off the texture of the carving cuts. Texture is color easily seen through a natural finish. Read the rest of this entry »
As a student in a class taught by Bruce Henn, I carved a Sombrero Guy using one of Bruce’s rough outs putting my own interpretation of what was inside the rough out. Every carving project is a learning experience with challenges and new paths to follow. That is one advantage of taking a class in that one learns not only from the instructor but also from the camaraderie of fellow students and the carving process. There was plenty of wood within this rough out for me to turn the head slightly, thin the face and add the bandoleer across the chest of the Sombrero Guy. Read the rest of this entry »
TOM TROLL came about from my good friend Don Stephenson who gave me a drawing of a troll. Don is a creative artist who comes up with delightful drawings from his imaginative mind and artistic ability. He has given me a lot of good idea drawings for carving projects that will surely come to life as a carving. Trolls are imaginary creatures who are more lovable than scary although like humans some trolls stray from their nobler purposes. Trolls may be ugly but ugly is beautiful if one takes the time to see the beauty. Trolls may be thick skulled but slowness of mind understands the simple. Often it is the simple who are the wisest and beauty is an inner quality. Read the rest of this entry »
“The more one carves the better one carves,” is part of the learning journey of woodcarving. The two photographs are of an early version of Lone Wolf that was the subject of a previous post in early 2008. https://woodbeecarver.com/?p=192 It was whittle-carved using only a knife out of a one and half inch square by six inches tall block of basswood. It was colored using the Painting Softly method of artist oil paint mixed with boiled linseed oil. It was based on earlier versions of the same pose carved several times out of a smaller piece of basswood. Read the rest of this entry »
ELKHORN is another example that every carving project is a learning journey of attempting to carve certain effects into a carving. Native Americans have been a good subject for carving projects because of their noble facial features and ornamentation of their dress. Read the rest of this entry »