[GaryMc]

Here is a Trapper/ Mt. man, I ended up putting a stocking hat on him because of a big split in the bark. Have to finish the hair, texture the cap and decide wether to carve the Pupils or paint and stain the piece. What do yall think??
Thanks for the comments and critques.
GaryMc

[Coffeeman]

Gary,

Really nice, I like the flow of his beard and mustach and your choice of clothing, round neckline is neat and different. Pertaining to your question on his eyes, my choice would be to put in the pupils with a gouge. Bill

[dmatias]

I'm with coffeeman. Carving in the pupils will really make him come to life. Great carving and very creative way to hide the defect in the wood. Hope to see more.

[Tom H]

Carve the pupils, would be my choice. But whatever you do, it's already a very fine carving....Don't forget to show us the finished piece.. Tom H

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

another choice is just paint the eyes, nothing else.....not a recommendation, just an idea!

[mark yundt]

Excellent carving,,you really captured something in this one. I have to jump on the bandwagon and suggest carving in the eyes ( iris and pupil) as well. It's just my opinion but till then they almost seem lifeless. Similar to when you do a duck ,,the eyes are missing and so is the life in them. Give them eyes and they take on a whole new character. If you have them staring at you they seem intense,,if they are looking away they seem thoughtful and thinking of somewhere off in the future.Eyes tell the whole story I believe. Though I would hesitate to paint them ( no disrespect Hi Ho) only because that might have a tendency to be a bit out of context if the rest isn't painted and might make them appear "pop eyed" .To see for yourself try coloring in pieces of paper the same size as the eyes,,tape them in place and see how it looks. Show a pic of that and I'm sure you might get a couple of opinions on it.
As it stands right now,,it has a wonderful character and I would hesitate to loose that,,,but the call naturally is yours.

[Joy]

You do such beautiful faces. Keep sharing with us....they are inspiring. I agree with Mark about the eyes. Carved eyes with no iris and pupils remind me of a cadaver's eyes.

[mark yundt]

Yeah,,we're so used to looking into and at someones eyes,,when they don't have them it's a bit unnerving in a way,we don't quite know where to focus. Even try penciling in a couple of pupils and see how he changes,,,just a thought.

[doris]

what a wonderful carving. so much character, so nice soft curves, and the nose is awesome...wonderful carving...yes, i vote for carveing eyes too, i know how intimidating this is, since the carving is almost finished, and eyes are so delicate to get them right. but, yes, i think too it would give him the final touch of life :-)

[tnartist05]

Gary,Buddy you are creating some really nice carvings! Like every thing I see in this mtn man,his shirt is neatly done also,love all the details in your work!

Great work .......... Tn~