Female in Oak

[Irishman]

This three foot female relief carving is done in a very heavy, but beautiful, piece of oak. The idea came from a carving picture someone sent me on-line so please acknowledge the original carver if you recognize the carving....however, I'm not that good so the carving may not be recognizable.
Members comment on my carving's eyes often. Not sure if I captured the females features as well as I would like but I did get some of my friend's feedback on the eyes.
Patrick

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

I think the cheek bones need to be a little smaller, the mouth smaller and the chin narrower..imho Cowboy but you have done a great job on the carving.....look at magazines or some source of womens faces...you will be able to compare.

[Nancy-G]

Patrick -- very, very beautiful.
Sorry, I don't recognize what you're adking about but ~gee~ she is gorgeous. I can't imagine carving like that.

[Blake Lunsford]

Great job Patrick! Still waiting to see how you carve those eyes. Do you carve them the same way that Jeff Phares does his? Great carving! Maybe a tutorial on the eyes sometime????
BTW....do you use hand tools or mallet tools to carve your faces??

Blake

[Colin-Partridge]

Patrick that is a great job on the oak. I agree oak is a wonderful wood to carve. You have done a great job. Did you happen to see the female I just did in the willow. Not nearly as good as yours next time I will try take some tips from yours. Again my friend great job.
Colin

[Kenny_S]

Nice one Patrick.I like the grain showing.
Ya done great.

[Bartster]

patrick,

very nice piece i like the grain showing also.

bart

[wade clark]

Nicely done!

[Eleanor]

Hi there, very nicely made, enviable symmetry and it has a nice calm mood. I find female faces harder than male because the transitions between the features are softer, and the younger the person the harder that becomes. I love the way the hair wraps around -

[Irishman]

Thanks for the comments and praise everyone.
Hi Ho - Having seen the pics I posted, I could have done more shaving. I get to the point where I have to stop and say "the next time I will do this I'll change that...and so on." Thanks for your critique - I appreciate the feedback.
Blake - I did take some photos a while back how I was taught to do the eyes and they didn't turn out. I hope to borrow a better digital from someone to try again sometime. My way of doing the eyes is very different from Jeff Phares. Both get to a similar outcome but the stages are much different. You'll note that I burn my eyes rather than carve...feedback from family suggested I continue to use my burner.
Colin - I did see your female and I believe I posted a comment. You'll see that I have been adding quite a bit of detail to mine as I hope to eventually graduate to doing torsos.
Eleanor - I agree with females being more of a challenge. I am constantly shaving to try and soften the lines and bring out the female form, and I am still learning.

Patrick