Will Hayden  was elected into the Caricature Carvers of America  in 1996 and has been an Emeritus Member since 2002.  Even though he has been in failing health with great difficulty in breathing, yet he is still able to do some carving in his very unique style.  In 2011 he carved several of his caricature men and pictured here are a few of his most recent carvings along with a family gathering at Christmas 2011.  The tallest figure is five inches and the shorter ones are four inches tall.

Study each photograph in the galley below to capture Will’s style of caricature carving that has been his signature throughout his long carving journey. (clip on each photo to enlarge)  Thank you Will for your generosity of spirit given to the carving community both in your carving, cartoons and teaching throughout your career. Read the rest of this entry »

Don Stephenson,  my good friend whom I call the “Idea Monster”  is a carver as well as an artist with pen and paper, camera and wood burning.  Don has given me many carving ideas through his artist gift of drawing.  He is turning many of those original drawing ideas into his own carving projects some of which make up the gallery presented here.  Read the rest of this entry »

Steve Prescott  is a founding member of the Caricature Carvers of America  and has been gracious in sharing some photographs of his recent carvings with the visitors of this blog.  Pictured above are two caricature cowboy carvings for our viewing as well as subjects for this tutorial for “adding the extras”  to a caricature carving.    The first two photographs are of a cowboy with minimum cowboy outfit and accessories.  The other two photographs show a cowboy with extras in detail added. (click on photos to enlarge for better view) Read the rest of this entry »

The beginning of a New Year signals a clean slate of opportunities and possibilities for having a “Carveful”  New Year. Like a block of wood awaits the heart and hand of creativity to unlock its secrets, so the New Year awaits the carver to carve out a new niche for creativity.  That will only happen as hand is put to the carving tool to guide its sharpness into the wood to shape it.  Carving is learning by doing and the only way one grows in the carving experience is to carve.  “Would be carvers would be carvers if they would carve wood,” has been the WOOD BEE CARVER’S motto born out of the experience of carving for over forty years.

None of us are getting any younger and we lament for not starting to carve earlier in life. Well, today is the rest of our lives, and to make the best of the life we have left, today and every day is the best time to carve more to open up the secrets hidden in the carving experience. Read the rest of this entry »

My wife Frances surprised me with a gift this Christmas with a commissioned carving by Robert Biermann of  St. Louis, MO.  Robert is a regular exhibitor at the Dayton Artistry in Wood show and I am very honored to have one of his special carvings.  This caricature likeness of me as I appear at wood carving shows has captured a likeness that is undeniable. The figure measures four inches tall by  two inches wide.  A gift of love is always a surprise as well as woodcarving is full of surprises.  Always expect to be surprised in love and in  carving.

Heroes are depicted in photograph with The Rifleman on left, coal miner in center and The Lone Ranger on the right.  Each was carved out of an inch square by four inch tall block of basswood and colored with artist oil paint and boiled linseed oil. Read the rest of this entry »

Commission Carvings can now be shown on this blog in that many of them were to be Christmas gifts.  The photographic journey of each carving is presented with multiple views for careful and carveful study.  Each one is an example of Whittle-Carving that uses only knives in the carving process.  The finish is a combination of boiled linseed oil and artist oil paint with the monochrome color being raw sienna and boiled linseed oil.  The polychrome coloration is various colors of artist oil paints and boiled linseed oil followed by an application of Deft, a brushing lacquer.

The photographic journey that follows depict a Civil War Soldier bust carved out of basswood hen egg; Cow Pokes carved out of a two inch tall by inch square block of basswood; CSA Soldier carved out of an inch and half square by six inch tall block of basswood and a  Crony With Cigar knife blade cover.  Read the rest of this entry »