Lone Elk

Lone Elk is carved from butternut. He measures 13" long. First photo shows the carving before being sealed with Deft lacquer.

Wood Spirit

This wood spirit is carved from cottonwood bark found along the Missouri River. Finished with three light coats of Deft Satin. He measures 17 3/4" long and 2 1/2" - 3 1/2" wide.

El Jefe

El Jefe is carved from half of a catalpa log. He measures 14 1/2" long, 6 1/2" wide and 3 1/2" thick. Sealed with Deft Satin lacquer.

Ten Bears

Let me introduce you to Ten Bears. I knew his name would come to me, sooner or later. Carved from basswood, he stands 10" tall including the cherry base. I think he turned out pretty good.

Carving completed, I use a Sand-O-Flex to soften the carving before applying the finish.

I apply boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits mixed 50/50. Later I will apply several light coats of Deft Satin Lacquer and follow with Howard's Feed-N-Wax.

First Carving of 2014 Update

Progress on my latest carving, still haven't named him. Still have more detail to add, but he's lookin' better.

I detailed the braid wraps, adding subtle texture for the fur. Also carved the leather necklace.

 
I have carved the hair using gouges, again trying to keep it subtle, no v-tools. I also rounded the base.

First Carving of 2014

Winter is here, it was -10 degrees Fahrenheit this morning and only reached 4 degrees above for a high. Brrrrrr! A good day to stay in and carve. I started this realistic bust on Jan. 2, I took pics along the way to show progression of the carving. Hope you enjoy!

I start by band sawing the blank from a basswood block, and begin rounding off corners.

     

Next I carve the basic face structure and lay out the hair line. I remove wood from the back of the carving.

After drawing in the upper eyelid, I carve it with a small u-gouge. 

Then the same with the lower eyelid. Being careful not to make the eyes too large, a common problem with carvings.

Round the eyeball with detail knife and take a small wedge out of both corners of each eye. Carve in a bag under each eye. More detail to come later.

Rough in the dental mound and carve the mouth.

I have started to rough in the fur wrapped braids and separate the carving from the base.