Combination of Style Permissabl or no. no?

[STAR]

At present I am working on a carving that I suppose will be about 8 inches high. My predicament is that I am unsure of what style it fits into and can you use a combination of many.

The object is a toad in the shape of a Rugby player. This is important for my US friends. Our guys where short sleeves and play in shorts unlike youir team with helmet long sleeves and long pants. The reason for the Toad is it symbolizes My States football team. The Toad is to be given as a gift if it turns out ok.

So far I am happy but am having a few thoughts about the style. If I had not heard of this forum then this question would not be needed. because the Toad is part caricature, and part in the round I have some problems. Apparently caricature carving does not use sanding but this project is only part caricature. If I am right In the round does employ sanding to a fine detail. I feel the Toad is somewhere in between.

The people who see it would not know the finer points of carving, I tend to feel using a percentage of both styles suits this style of carving, Do the two blend together or should it be one or the other.

Either way I am going with the combination approach but it would be nice to know if I should persist in the future or concentrate on improving my technique so it can be one or the other.

Pete

[William]

Hey Pete,

Two or more styles blend very well and many carvers do it, like doing the hair and beard in the flat plane style and the face in Caricature style with exaggerated features like a big nose and then sand only the face, this combination makes a very nice carving, many of the very best carvers do that style so you are in good company.

Bill
^v^

[SlowMover]

It is YOUR carving, so you get to decide how it is done. Whatever looks and feels right to you, is ok n your own work, so go for whatever you feel is needed. Show us some pictures when you are done.

[Buffalo Bif]

Imagine if Picasso had asked a question like this? Or Andy Warhol. Go for it, whatever it is.

[CV3]

I second the thought that it is your carving. Do what is in your heart and head to do.

[AlArchie]

Yep, it's YOUR carving so do it as YOU like it and don't worry about what "style" it may be called.

By the way "in the round" does NOT imply sanded smooth. It simply refers to a three dimensional carving, one you can look at from all sides. Caricature carving for the most part is "in the round", although I suppose there is room for caricature in relief carving, too.

Some caricature work is done in the "flat plane" style which involves little or no sanding and some is done with fine sanded smooth features.

Al

[Hugh-P]

Great response to this question, its much the same with bird carvers, at least it is for me. I'm pretty well self taught, have taken Jim Sprankle, Pat Godin, and many other bird carvrs technique's an applied it to what I can do, and what I like. Once had a lady ask me at a carving exhibition. "do you carve your birds from memory" I told her I use photos of birds for general reference, well she thought that was cheating, that I should carve and paint from memory. LOL. My dear little wife always agreed with every one and did as she pleased. Its a good practice for a carver to follow also.

[big dave]

there is no carving police that I know of, I don't think anybody is going to show up and haul you away for doing your own thing just go for it

[Steve Reed]

Pete, there are no hard and fast "rules" on any of this stuff. Agree with the statements above, it is YOUR carving. I personally don't sand any carvings, except chip carvings, but that's just me. There are plenty out there that do. Do it your way my friend, and if anyone complains, it's their problem not yours. You won't be served with an arrest warrant by the carving Interpol enforcers!
Steve

[Claude]

I agree with the others. Much carving in the round is caricature carving, although I've seen several really good relief-carved caricatures. To sand or not to sand; that is the question... Some sand everything, some sand nothing, some sand a bit here and there. All depends on what you want. I hardly ever sand my carvings, unless I'm doing a stylized carving. Mixing styles is the same way. You could do the whole carving as a caricature, or the whole thing as realistic as possible, and you can certainly mix the styles. Look at Lynn's cowboys: the heads are definitely caricatures, but the bodies are often carved very realistically.

Claude