[Irish]

Peter! Just have fun ... that often is the bet way to create a great carving ... Grin!!!

Susan

[arapsang]

A lot deeper into the wood now and I feel a character beginning to emerge. Whether it is close enough to the original is another matter. I'm still concerned about the eyes and mouth. One false move can create an imbecilic look. Time to pause and reflect again.

Peter Connor

[doris]

yes, peter, you are doing very well ! that is a great improvement, the skullstructure now became aparant, the greater depth in carving makes it better readible too... dont be afraid, i never expereinced that one cut can destroy a carving....yes, we tend to think so, me too, but you can always recarve an area when it turned out wrong. i often do that...
the eyes look pretty good to me, the mouth might need that you push the lower lip more backwards. in particular near the corners of the mouth. look in mirror, and use your hands to feel that area on your mouth, you will understand what i mean... you are doing great, it is really a pleasure to watch ! thanks !

[arapsang]

Back to SJF after a boatload of little carving jobs that all had to be done asap! The inscription is now carved and the portrait all but finished. I have still to decide what to do about the eyes. At the moment the outline of the iris has been cut in with a small gouge, but what to do about the pupil? My inclination is to drill a couple of small holes. As usual I hesitate. You can cut wood off, but you can't cut it on. I gave it a coat of danish oil before carving the inscription and this held the rather splintery surface together. As a result later cuts appear very pale on the surface, I imagine these patches will even out when I coat it again.

Peter connor

[doris]

hi peter, you were very busy... glad to see the relief project progress :-) ... i think, i would not do more to the eyes, since with all the inscription below, i would feel it strange (might be wrong english word?) to see eyes looking actually to something...so, in this case, my personal choice would be, leave it, like old masters often did, with eyes not showing, or only a little...
really nice how it has developped, i enjoy looking at it :-)

[hruukki]

Looks really good! To me, it would look finished almost the way it is now - it's monumental. If you want to go on from here, you'd need to decide whether to keep it monumental or go for a more portrait looking thing. I like it any which way.

By the way - is the text a sticker shablon for cutting or is it paint? I use sticker shablons - lucky me, I work as a decorator so I have a plotter.

[Ashbys]

If you have the Iris in the carving , you have established a look direction. If this direction is to be highlighted , the puplis can be added to add highlights. If you do not want the eyes directed , leave them out.

A drill will work , so will a small gouge, hold it up on edge and rotate it. It will follow it's own track and give you a perfect circle with a bit of practice.

Doris is quite correct, but an eye center with the iris on a carving like this can cause the eyes to follow you and give a great effect.

Nice job so far .

Ash

[arapsang]

Thanks Doris and Ash for the comments and advice. I might stick a couple of black discs on to the eyes to see what a difference pupils might make. Thanks also to hruukki. Unfortunately I don't know what a sticker shablon is. Some kind of transfer? My system for cutting letters is to draw them out on paper, stick the paper on to the workpiece then carve through the paper. One major drawback is that you can't see the grain but with lettering this is not always a problem. A benefit is that it makes the letters and any alterations you might make easy to see. This is particularly important if you are carving a bench in a wooded area at the back end of November.

All the best

Peter

[doris]

looks really nice with that finish :-) ...yes, good idea with the black disks...i had anotherone, namely take foto into a grafics program, like photoshop, add a new layer, and draw pupils on there. then by shifting the layer you can see the effect different placements give...i have done it here http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/forum/f61/greenwoman-wip-13272/index3.html#post116978
so you can see what i mean. it helped me a lot in my decision

[hruukki]

Arapsang - I use for shablons lettering made of sticker - the sort that's used on shop windows, cars, etc. I stick it on the wood and trace the outlines, remove the sticker, and carve.