This Whittle Doodle Supreme was commissioned by Rich, Holli and Skylar Smithson of Helvie Knives to be added to their private collection of carvings by a variety of carvers. This Whittle Doodle Supreme was carved in a basswood block fifteen inches tall by three and three quarter inches square. Approximately one hundred twenty hours of carving time over a five week period were invested to complete the Whittle Doodle. It was carved using a variety of Wood Bee Carver Signature Series knives made by Helvie Knives as depicted in the photographs displaying the knives used on the completed Whittle Doodle.

The knives used in the first row of the photograph above are left to right: Hornet Bee, 3 Wasp Bees, Bumble Bee and Hornet Bee and on back row Chip Bee, Sidewinder, Sidewinder II, Dragon, Dragon II, # 2 and # 4.

A Whittle Doodle is a carving project that shows a variety of subjects carved into a block of wood using only a knife to do the carving. It is called a “doodle” in that like doodling with a pencil on paper, doodling with a knife is to allow imagination to take the carver where it will. Doodle carving is free hand carving relying upon the serendipity of imagination to create and explore during the carving process. The WOOD BEE CARVER has carved several Whittle Doodles of various sizes over the years with this Whittle Doodle Supreme being the largest.

The first series of photographs above are a panoramic view of all sides of the Whittle Doodle. The following photographs are of close up views of the various parts. The top crown is of four heads fronting each side of the Whittle Doodle. The heads are an Indian, Pirate, Gandalf Wizard and Santa. The photos of the four heads begin with the finished carvings followed by the same heads when they were carved to their basic form before detailed carved features.

The side panel under the Indian head depicts a relief carving of a wizard holding a crystal ball, profile of Abraham Lincoln and a relief carving of a log cabin. The photos are a variety of unfinished and finished depictions of the carvings.

The four corners are embellished with a variety a free hand chip carved designs with each side of each corner having a different design treatment from its twin. Once again, a doodling of design using the chip carved motif.

The side panel under the Pirate head depicts a Civil War Soldier with pipe, a Skull, Eyes peeking through a hole in the wall, a Man with Cigar and an Incised Lines of a Face. In the middle is a profile of the Nickle Indian followed with a relief carving of a Wood Bee on a free hand chip carved textured background.

The side panel under the Gandalf Wizard depicts a Pipe Smoking Man and Hands prying an opening in the wall. In the middle is a Kilroy Was Here character followed by Hands holding on to the jail house bars.

The side panel under the Santa head depicts a top border of free hand decorative chip carvings, a relief profile of a female and a relief of a very hairy face and at the bottom is an Alfred E. Newman character. The hairy face relief carving in progress is depicted in the photographs that show the steps in carving the eye details.

The completed Whittle Doodle was finished using artist oil paint Raw Sienna thinned with boiled linseed oil to stain the entire carving in the monochrome color. A final coat of Deft, a brushing lacquer, was applied for a protective finish.

The WOOD BEE CARVER often says, “Woodcarving is more the journey than the destination,” which means that the fun part of any carving project is the journey of the process imagining and carving. Each segment of the Whittle Doodle was the fun part while the completed combination of all the segments makes for a nice carving to admire while the value for the carver remains is the doing. The Smithson’s will give it a good home in their private collection and I am honored by their friendship and appreciate the excellent carving knives they make.