Relief "Old" Barn Suggstions

[One Thumb Carver]

Originally Posted by brianrickman

It is recognizable, but I think it needs more depth and/or separation between the elements (tree vs barn). If the wood is thick enough you could lower the background further. A little color would help too, if you don't object to using paint or stain.

Edit:
Re-reading what I wrote above, it seems more negative then I intended. It's clear you've worked hard on this carving. I think you're off to a good start. With a little more work, the final result will be a great addition to your home.

Brian

I enjoy the comment” it is recognizable”. I knew that I achieve one part of my goal in carving LOL. You have some very good points Thanks for stopping. Have a great day Bill

[One Thumb Carver]

Originally Posted by Big Barn

To my 'untrained' eye, it looks a bit too busy to truly see the carving within.

Big Barn

Thank you, this was to have been carved on an 8x10 I carved it on 5x5.25. I just learning and using tools is my objective Thanks very Much for taking time to stop by and give you in put I really appreciate it. Have a great Day Bill

[Mottles]

Bill:
I hope that you will stay encourage and continue to practice and study the relief carvings of others. We all started where you are now practicing and learning as we go. I'm looking forward to your next relief carving. If I can help just let me know.

[One Thumb Carver]

Originally Posted by Mottles

Bill:
I hope that you will stay encourage and continue to practice and study the relief carvings of others. We all started where you are now practicing and learning as we go. I'm looking forward to your next relief carving. If I can help just let me know.

Kathy
Thank you very much I have another carving in mind. I know I need more practice. I will post the next one in Chip and Relief. I will let you Know. Kathy I appreciate your support. Have a Grand Day and the rest of the week Bill

[Irish]

Bill, l

Learning to use your tools - learning what cuts they can make and how you can use those cut strokes to create a texture or shape is a fantastic reason to work any carving. Everyone of us go through a learning curve in this craft that must include exactly what your carving represents.

We all need to discover just what each tool can do - what profile cut it makes, how deeply you can take that tool into the wood, how to move that tool tip through a curved line or into an intersection.

We have all been through that early process of learning just how great an impact the softness or hardness of the wood effects the cut line, how the changing grain of the wood determines from which direction a tool's edge needs to enter the cut.

If your early projects are relief carvings we need to experiment with how to get that wide cutting profile into some of those tight, deep spots and once you do get it into place and start that cut how to get the tool out again without chipping out another area.

For me, I came into relief carving after experimenting some with 3-d character carving on 2" x 2" x 6" practice blocks of basswood. It just so happens that I ran across several of my very first pieces about a week ago.

They gave me a big grin! The intersection lines are a bit nasty, some of the deeper cuts are just down right narly but more than anything else for all my trying to turn that block of wood into a wood spirit it still looked first and foremost like a block (square) of wood.

They look more like little relief carvings done on all four sides of the block that happen to have the pattern lines join at the corners ... And boy, did I smile when I found them as they were my start to this craft.

I believe your carving is a major success. You accomplished your goals wonderfully and I, too, am excited to see what you will do next.

Very well done,

Susan

[One Thumb Carver]

Susan
Thank you for your information and words of encouragements. I will start another project in a week and post it in Chip and Relief. I have two of you books on Relief. They are beautiful and I hope I will be able to carve some of them and at the same time do them justice. Currently I am trying to learn how to use the tolls of this craft.
Have a Great Day
Bill