Santa bust, maybe

Yeah maybe a bust, I added color to the Santa bust and bricks at the base. I am thinking too much color, or should I say too strong a color. I didn't obey one of the rules of carving I have been taught, paint the color on a spare piece of wood first to test it. The red of the bust is too strong for my taste and gives it a cartoony effect that based on the title of the blog you would think I would like, yeah, no. I have found that a thinner color best suits my taste for the overall look of a carving, so this one in some ways is a bust. You be the judge, and if I am right, “don’t tell me I don’t want to know”. Good grief Charlie Brown. 

My son had an idea I might try, to put chimney smudges on Santa, make it look like he has been busy.  

Santa bust

My latest is a Santa bust from Mark Akers collection. I have carved a few of his and though I like this one it is probably not my favorite. Not because of the rough out itself but because, from time to time, the knife or should I say the holder of the knife makes a slight mistake and it impacts the carving. Somehow I nicked the nose flare and had to re-adjust the nose on this one. Even though it ended up looking OK  I still see how the nose just isn't the way I wanted it. I feel like with this one I have made some strides in my carving of the beard. This one seems to flow better, although back when I had a beard mine never flowed, maybe I didn't grow it out long enough. Overall I like the design of this one and am happy with the result. So here it is and of course color will proceed shortly.

bottle topper gets color

Well here it is, bottle topper with color. I still need to put a finish on it but I can at least show it now that the paint has been added.

 I haven't decided whether to paint the beard or not. I have painted some beards on my ornaments and I have left some natural. I like them either way, I wonder, since he is an elf should he have a white beard if I do paint it. What color should it be if not white?

rough out carving, bottle topper

Well I wanted to make a bottle stopper but instead made one of Mark's bottle toppers. I thought this would work better for most bottles but not sure, I don't drink wine. I was happy over all with the carving and really enjoyed playing with the design of the cap. I am not sure if I exaggerated the fold of the cap to much but I thought it gave it a nice flow. I should have spent more time on the ears and cleaned them up better, but you get the idea that they are ears so let's move on.

I still need to refine my beard carving, I don't get the flow that many do, so there is more room for improvement. It's not like that is a bad thing. Overall I am happy with the carving, wait til you see it in color.

color added to both

Well two more have been painted and awaiting finish coat. I have been experimenting with a thinned out paint application compared to my earlier works and have been happy with the results. It almost seems to be too faint in color but once the finish is applied all colors darken slightly. This does help with the wood grain still being slightly visible even after the paint and finish are applied. So here they are awaiting a finish to complete the carving.