another butternut pilot pt 2

So I got the pilot all painted up and sealant applied and have to say am really happy with how he came out. he is set up to be able to be hung but also has enough wood at the end of beard that he stands alone nicely. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with him, of course two of the main options were too either put him up for sale in my shop or hang onto him till August and enter him into the CCA competition for 2017. Both seemed to have merit but then I was reminded of the 4th annual Tom Brown memorial raffle that will take place in July at Eastern Woodland Carvers Club show in Converse Indiana. What made me think of this was a wonderful in the round carving that was done by Dwayne Gosnell that will be part of the raffle. Tom Brown was known to carve a pilot or two back in the day. Here is some information that Rich Smithson owner of Helvie Knives shared with me in reference to the auction;

The woodcarving club EWCC was formed by Tom Brown and a buddy. Tom joined the Caricature Carvers of America in the 90s and grew the club. They purchased their own clubhouse and became a nonprofit organization. They support various organizations and woodcarving functions at the clubhouse. Tom passed away 5 years ago and we honor all he did for woodcarvers all over the USA in July during their woodcarving show. Tom loved to carve pilots. If you go to the CCA page the banner of carvings across the top has a Tom Brown pilot carving I think it is towards the end of the banner.

So as you can see this is a wonderful organization and a great event to donate too and so I did. If you want a chance to win this carving contact either Rich Smithson at Helvie or contact the EWCC, both links are on my "Wood Carving Links" page, third tab to the right.

as always, 

"Good night and May God bless" 

another butternut pilot

I haven't posted anything in a while as life has kept me busy. Of course a portion of this may be due to my being a bit unorganized. None the less I have actually gotten a few things done in the not so distant past, two of which are the butternut carvings posted.

The first and favorite is the vintage pilot. I debated on giving him a cigar but this time I have left that out though looking at these images I still think it would have been fun. I won't do a fancy paint job on him just basic colors but I will most definitely paint him. I know many who never paint butternut due to the grain being so beautiful all its own. Trust me when I tell you that properly painting butternut can give you a better vintage look than you can get with bass wood and all the antiquing that you would need to do. I will post images of him painted and you will see how great it can look with some basic color.

as always, 

"Good night and May God bless"