tis truly the holiday season

 So yesterday I started an ornament and finished off the carving portion last night. I see many things I like with this guy and a few I am not that fond of but that always seems to be the case. I am slowly building up to have a paint session and will get to it shortly. Also have the book that is in need of being completed so need to get a more refined schedule to make sure I take care of my shop but also get the book out as well.

as always, 

Good night and May God bless

time to let go

 Well this year I made the decision to not hold on to some carvings after all I can carve more. But for me some carvings are like certain illustrations, they just hit a nerve with me and in the past it has made it hard to let them go, but that was then and this is now. After all don't I want people to have a chance to own some of what I consider are my best carvings, well don't I?

Give me a minute, I'm thinking about it.

So yeah when it comes down to it I do. I came to this realization at the Hickory show this past month when talking to a fellow carver. He made me realize that some of my most treasured carvings are the ones that will best represent me and my work, so why would I want to hide them away. So one or two of these are already in my shop and more will be shortly. I hope that they will bring the same joy in their new homes as they did to me while in mine.

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and as always, 

Good night and May God bless

practice pieces

Here are two of my practice pieces, just some face doodles to work on how I carve the features of the faces. After all we always have some scrap wood so why not put it to good use. On the first one my main focus was the nose and eye area and the depth I was getting from previous carvings. I am working on having stronger profiles for my characters.

The second one was just playing around to see what I might come up with. This one was not as deep so I only worked the two sides though I could have carved something into the sides but overall I was happy with what I had so I left it as is.

Both have some good qualities to them and will continue to doodle and strive to improve my overall detail and design.

as always, 

Good night and may God bless

new carver old wood and a study stick or two pt 2

I have modified the study stick just a tad; this is now my Three Dog Night version of a study stick. Yes I am old enough to make a Three Dog Night reference and if you are scratching your head, you are not old enough to understand it. Let's move on, I wanted to get an idea of how this wood would take to a stain and sealant and I also wanted to make it a unique piece for my friend to own. In wood carving there are carving principles but there are no rules, if you can think it you can carve it, for the most part. After all I was told a few years ago that you can't paint butternut, that due to the grain the colors would bleed and it would be just horrible. "Not so fast my friend", it paints different than bass wood but it paints just fine and it gives it a wonderful and vintage look.   

Matter of fact I will be painting this guy in the not so distant future, cause that is what I do, I paint butternut.

as always, 

"Good night and May God bless"

new carver old wood and a study stick or two

So I met a veteran through the local DAV, he was actually the one who won the auction for my donated soldier and then he graciously gave it to the DAV commander for all he has done for the vets there.


Well he contacted me and said he wanted to get into carving and could we get together so he could pick my brain on all things carving. So the week after I got back from the Hickory show we got together and talked carving and spent some time getting to know each other. He showed me a carving he had done with Vic Hood and also showed me what tools he has at present time. Then he showed me some wood he had and wondered if it was good enough for carving. He gave me the wood to take home so I could cut it down to workable pieces and also try some to see if it was still good enough for carving.

So I took it home cut a few little pieces, then broke my blade so I regrouped and gave one of the pieces a try. I decided to carve him a study stick, everyone needs at least one study stick to work from. I carved both sides to show some variation and also to give more stages as I was one shy the first go around. I may apply a clear finish on this before handing it over to him and have even considered adding a stain to one side just to make it a fun piece for him.

as always, 

Good night and May God bless