The two photos above are presented for comparative study with the goal to “see to study and study to see.”

A carved project that does not have any finish on it can be considered a “Naked” carving while a carved project that has received a finish of monochrome (one color) or polychrome (multiple colors) can be considered a “Dressed Up” carving.  As the carver is shaping up a carving project it is being carved in “bare” wood and the carver is seeing the carving in its naked or bare appearance.  When the carving receives a colored finish, it has a “dressed up” appearance and is no longer naked.  The carver has seen both the naked version and the dressed-up version.  It is the dressed-up presentation that is seen out in public view while normally the naked version is seldom seen other than in photographic study purposes in a before and after presentation.

It is in this “before and after” illustration that is being presented here for educational purposes to emphasize that the “bare wood” or naked version offers a view that is camouflaged by the “dressed-up” version of a colored finish in natural or multicolored finish.

While studying the Naked version, keep in mind that this is what the carver has viewed throughout the carving process and this view has concerned itself with the proportions, the texture of the tool cuts on the bare wood and the detailing of the various areas of the entire project.  The carver was relying upon the form, texture and detailed shaped to be the color before any color was added.

While studying the Dressed-Up version note how the finish and it colors have enlivened the bare wood to give an amplified depth to the various parts of the overall carving. At the same time notice to see if there are areas on the carving where the colors have camouflaged or toned down any detailed textures quieting the overall presentation.

A lesson to be learned is painting does not always improve or fill in for what may have been omitted or overlooked during the carving process.  Putting lipstick on a pig does not clean up the pig.  An observation lesson learned over fifty years of carving is that “wood carving is more the journey than the destination,” which means that the real enjoyment of carving is while doing the process of carving.  The completed carving project as the destination is momentarily since the carver is ready to get back to carving another carving project where the action is waiting. The real fun is imaging, shaping and detailing the carving project which means this is where the project becomes complete in its naked form to the best of the carver’s skill and ability at the time.  The dress-up time of the finish applied completes that project and then it is on to the next.  Whether it is the naked or the dressed-up version the key is to “see to study and study to see” the carving in its best look.