Achieving excellence in relief carving

[Irish]

A perfect example!

With most of my relief carving I drop all of the 'background' area so that the highest points of wood on the face of the board are carved elements. The barn actually is taller off the wood than the trees, then the unused sky area, and from any border area. Since there is no remaining wood at the original surface of the board the carving stands 'above' the carved background.

With sunken relief, because you still have wood at the original surface level you can see that the relief carving was worked by cutting into the wood to remove the excess. The 'feeling' of the carving process is strong with sunken carvings as you are showing your viewer where you started and how you got to where you ended up.

I used a v-gouge to separate my greenman from my un-worked background area where you used a round gouge, and obviously both of us cut into the wood to make the relief.

Susan

[pallin]

Re: Susan's description of "sunken relief" - I like to emphasize the depth by making the frame as part of the carving. The frame is often carved, but is at the original level of the wood. This also allows for having the scene overlap the frame, further accentuating the depth. (See "Kayakers in Maine" in my gallery)

[telecarver]

Here's an example of using stain to create depth in a carving. These are two photos of the same low relief carving before and after staining. I also used the stain to even out the wood tone between the different laminations.

[ironMan-Carve]

Ron,

The staining really brings out the drama in the scene. I love the natural wood color but I have to admit that the stain is very appropriate here.

How did you apply the stain? Is it even across the whole surface? I suspect that you apply it generally and then work on the highlighted areas, possibly with an airbrush.

Steve

[telecarver]

Originally Posted by ironMan-Carve

Ron,

The staining really brings out the drama in the scene. I love the natural wood color but I have to admit that the stain is very appropriate here.

How did you apply the stain? Is it even across the whole surface? I suspect that you apply it generally and then work on the highlighted areas, possibly with an airbrush.

Steve

Yes, I used an airbrush. I apply the stain to all of the low areas first and then wipe any overspray off of the high areas. I then shade where appropriate. Lastly I blend in the uneven tone. The highlights are the natural wood color.