[doris]

hi slather, thanks ! yes, i hope beard will look natural when finished :-)

hi fred, yes another portrait...time for me to branch out for sure, to not get lopsided... i startetd something completely different, but i think i will show that only when i have feeling i can bring it safely home, so to say...thanks for encouraging words

mark !! yippiee ! that sounds great. if you come to paris, we will meet ! i can come to paris too, in case you cannot arrange to come to germany... churches, wine, espresso, yes all my taste..ah, and croissants too, in paris they are great ! st germain , i was there, more than 20 years ago, and then never again in paris. either way, willl be great, looking forward very much :-)

[RussL.]

Wow.
What a beautiful piece.

RussL.

[doris]

hi russl :-)

time for an update, i think ... have cut him a little smoother/cleaner and defined the formes more firmly, roughed in the eyes and mouth, and did some first definitions of the secondary shapes on the beard . i try to keep all areas in about same stage of carving ...

he is out of balance a little. was a fault i did right in the beginning, namely i did start cut in the nose (i use the nose for relate everything else to), just the triangular wedge, but despite i first drew where it should be, i carved it a little too far left on the block ( once i have read you should never admit a mistake, so i am breaking this rule here ... lol)... when i noticed finally that mistake, i had pushed down the wood besides the nose too far already to be able to shift the nose a little more right .... soo, now his left side has fuller hair. i think to get the balance again i want have i need to cut away both big curles, on right and left side. now, i was looking so much forward carving these, i hate to do that... any suggestions how i can possible otherwise find back the balance ?

[Joy]

Doris, he is looking beautiful. I like that he has a top lip...so many just have a mustache.

I don't think I would take out the big curls, but you could push them in some by thinning them and the adjacent beard just a bit. But hey, let the experts advise you.....I'm just a novice.

[doris]

oh joy, yes i see !! just not whole curle, but a little shifting...lol, emotional blinders on my side...thanks so much :-)

[tnartist05]

I agree with Joy but too he looked ok to me,no one would have known any mistakes least you pointed it out! Theres alot of time still left where ceratin cuts wouldnt even be known cause of the other neater cuts would have over powered a little mistake but too,I know you and it has to be prefect,which in the end all of your works are one of a kind and carry the distinctive characteristics that all of your carving have Doris which are works of art.

Forrest

[Joy]

I know all about those "emotional blinders" When you are so "into" a piece sometimes you just can't "see" it. That's usually when I get out my mirrow and look at the piece reflected in the mirrow. carving!

[Thor]

I am seeing another strong brow area along with very good eyes. I think these are ringing out your your best areas for the past few sculptures.
I feel sure the hair will be amazing when you are through with it as well.
My nose is off center too. I wouldn't worry so much about symetry. Faces just are not symetrical in real life.
Great job.
Looking forward to watching more.
Thor

[doris]

ah...no... the nose is fine centered in face, thats all right, i only was worried that when i did cut the nose, i did not place it centered on block. which resulted in that the whole face is shifted to the left on block. the face itself is nicely symmetrical , since i measure all against the nose and not the block sides (i checked just this minute again, since i got fright ... lol...) ...thanks to joy, i know now how to make the ballance i want, as she suggested only needs shifting the curles a bit...
yes thor, eyes are windows to soul, so i take extra effort to get them just the way i think they should be. forrest , thank you :-)

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

It doesn't feel out of balance to me....feels like it has a bit of action for some reason, I wouldn't change anything....let us see it finished!