[doris]

thank you everybody for nice words :-)

tony, yes i see your point about eyes looking blind ... i often like this style though, and in this case i wanted have it. however, despite i made exercise how to cut eye with pupil like michelangelos david has, and i can cut this now, but not in small size required, since i have only 2 small enough tools, but they have too wrong shape... i hope to buy me some more tools soon, though, and maybe then you will see other eyes on my carving as well, depending on my intention with the piece ...

christina ...

tom, glad you explained "yikes", would have not known...

mark, very nice to see you :-) ... and i am glad you see more than strength in this piece, showing me it reads well not only to me

patrick, i not understand "significant other", but yes, this is the portrait of the person who shared that happy day with me ... yes, feedback is difficult task if i not say what i dislike ... so, first i want say i am very happy with the feeling of the carving, i mean, to me it "says" what i want it say. from the technical point of view, yes there are several things i am not so very happy with. some need me learn better see, like for example i think the muscles around mouth, which form the smile are not really correct. but there are other, for example the eyebrows. i wanted carve very bushy soft eyebrows, without make it look odd, and my result is not convincing. other thing, i still not figured out satisfacting is how carve folds in skin. most prominent are those in the corners of eye, which come from laughing, i am not too pleased with my effort... so, yes suggestions, how i could work such on next piece is very welcome :-)

bob, yes oil and wax is nice too. my wood is very pale, so for this piece i wanted get a little more color ..