A whale of a problem

whittlingjoe · #1 07-28-2007, 02:19 AM

I carved this after watching Moby Dick with my boys. I woke up thinking "what would Ahab have done if he had gnawed off a limb to escape the whale? You know . . . what if he had lived and retired after his voyage?" Well I figured he would have been on the pro fishing circuit. Species of choice would have to be the white bass.

The problem is I have open space to the right on the dock that needs something... but what. I have considered hanging a net with cork floats there and a life ring, maybe a few barrels, perhaps a bird (pelican, gull, buzzard?) Also, I considered a boat either beside the dock or on the dock as first prize. With the boat having two options, I decided to try it first.

The more I look at it though the more intrusive the boat is to my eye. So . . . to boat or not to boat, this is my question. Should I use the boat in the piece or camouflage it and have it relegated to tub duty transporting army men to a beachhead?

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gene messer · #2 07-28-2007, 06:22 AM

Joe ... Great job ... your scene is really a eyecatcher ... Your sailor is a good carving and you did a good job on the painting ... You did a great job on the dock ..

As far as the boat .. the way you have it in the third picture makes it look like it's in the water at the dock .. I like that the best ..

As far as the right side .. net's ,corks and a seagull would make it more interesting .. perhaps a string of fish ... ( just my opinion)

No matter what .. you did a great job on the entire scene and I bet your boy's are proud of their dad's piece ...

Thanks for sharing

Gene

Doug Ridley · #3 07-28-2007, 06:59 AM

I agree with Gene. I like the boat in the water.
A really nice job though no matter where you put it.
Doug

Tom H · #4 07-28-2007, 07:24 AM

Joe, A super job on the both the carving and the painting. And I agree, the dock needs something more. At first look I thought the carving was just sitting on a table. Great job! Thanks for sharing. Tom H

wood-whittler · #5 07-28-2007, 09:36 AM

joe,

great job on the scene, good carving and painting.

bart

TIGER7 · #6 07-28-2007, 12:12 PM

the boat looks good in the water. glad you didn't leave it red.lol. yeah it needs a little something more. but not so much that it over powers ol ahab, or makes it look cluttered. the over all work is great.

Blake Lunsford · #7 07-28-2007, 02:03 PM

Great Scene Joe! Very nice work! I'm up here in East Tennessee too. Glad to see someone else local on the board. Where are you from?

Great work! Look forward to seeing more!
Blake

GeorgiaCarver · #8 07-28-2007, 02:50 PM

Consider a dock post with a rope around it with a pelican on top.... Do a google search on images "pelican post" or look at this link about 1/2 way down on this persons web page. I am not suggesting you copy this persons painting but just giving you an idea of what I am talking about....

http://www.terrylefler.com/FineArt.htm

Great job on the carving by the way. Very creative and a great job painting.

Greg

snickerbocker · #9 07-28-2007, 03:11 PM

I agree with Gene, great job.

whittlingjoe · #10 07-28-2007, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vacaricature carver

Great Scene Joe! Very nice work! I'm up here in East Tennessee too. Glad to see someone else local on the board. Where are you from?

Great work! Look forward to seeing more!
Blake

I am in Maryville . . . just south of Knoxville. I passed through your area on my way up to Gettysburg, PA for a reenactment a couple weeks back.

Joe