[Blinky Bill]

G'day All,
was given some nice straight sticks some time back, my supplier told me they were "Silver Oak" well, I can't find any tree by that name but they are quite hard and although the wood is white, the grain does look like Oak to me. Ah well, will just have to track down my supplier and get more detail. Anyway, carved this wizard on the top of one 5' stick and will carve a few "protective" symbols further down along the shaft. For now the wizard is painted with acrylic washes to show the grain and antiqued with BLO.
I used this method as I wanted the carving to blend rather than stand out, I think it worked ok. Thanks for looking.
John Down under

[Ron T]

Hi John,

You did a very nice job on that wizard. I couldn't open the attachments (trouble w/ my server) but they look nicely painted too. What did you use for the face?

[Blinky Bill]

G'day Ron,
and thanks for your interest. I mixed flesh clour using Susan Irish' recipe of titanium white, yellow ochre, and burnt sienna, then applied it as a very weak wash. Most of the carving was done with a knife and 2mm vee tool. extra lines on the face and the "witchy" wart on his nose were caused by the natural grain in the wood.
John

[Merle Rice]

Hi John, Nice Stick,Great Colors, Good job. Merle

[Ron T]

Hi John,

Thanks for the "Susan Irish" paint formula. I'm starting to think about painting my sticks. I already do some but the paint makes them come alive.

[Sharon of the Dell]

Howdy John, nice stick! Hey, do you ever carve eucalyptus? It's all over the place here. We use it for fire wood and the limbs get thrown on the burn pile. I know its almost impossible to split with a mall when it's dry. I've been thinking about saving a limb to carve a stick out of......sharon

[Ron T]

Hi Sharon,

I tried to dry some but they always seemed to split really badly. Let me know if you are able to dry any w/o splitting or maybe you already have some dried.

I've carved Melaleuca, which is in the Eucalyptus family, very hard and a little brittle.

[Sharon of the Dell]

Originally Posted by Ron T

Hi Sharon,

I tried to dry some but they always seemed to split really badly. Let me know if you are able to dry any w/o splitting or maybe you already have some dried.

I've carved Melaleuca, which is in the Eucalyptus family, very hard and a little brittle.

Thanks Ron I will let you know. It might take me awhile, I have lots of s, but not enough time. My son cut some yesterday, so I guess I should rescue some limbs and seal the ends to see how bad it checks.Hopefully will be dry enough by next summer ...sharon

[Blinky Bill]

Thanks Ron, Merle, and Sharon, for your kind interest,
I have used Eucalypt for sticks but nice straight ones are few and far between. The wood is very hard but I don't have much trouble drying them, I always try to cut them a foot or so longer than needed and leave the bark on. That way, any splitting or cracking is only at the ends and can be cut off. Below are snaps of a fun cane I made a friend from a Eucy stick that he carried to fend of unwelcome dogs while walking his own pooch, hence the name "Leighton's Woofy Whacker" <grin>
John

[Grimnir]

That looks great I hope mine turn out that good