new Santa ornament

Well I haven't posted much lately so while I am at the computer I will share my latest carving. This was carved last night and the main tool was one of my Helvie signature knives, actually my Wayne Shinlever knife. You know how it is your favorite carving tool is the newest one added to your arsenal.

I was not feeling great last night so don't know if I was testing my skills or just being lazy but the main bulk of this carving was done with one knife. Usually I am utilizing my gouges and other tools during the process but not last night. This was a good time carving as it made me look at certain lines in a new light. When you use a gouge it can be easy to fall into the same old same old of making a quick cut and moving on to the next cut. But those same lines carved with a knife you pay more attention to the depth and angle of the cut.

You may have noticed that I didn't carve any detail into the beard area and I am not sure if I will. This was kind of done in a flat plane style (somewhat) and when this is done the beard doesn't have cut to highlight it. Sometimes it is left with the simple shape and basic color sometimes it can be painted and then the carver comes back and highlights areas with a faint line painted on the edges. The verdict is out as of late on how I will proceed, probably won't make the decision until late this morning or worse case after the Nebraska game. Yeah not a great year for my Cornhuskers but it is part of my heritage so always a fan no matter how the season goes. But whatever I decide (about the carving) I will share more in the next few days.

as always, 

Good night and may God bless