Realistic Squirrel Ornament

Juxtaposition of realistic and whimsical elements make this an interesting ornament.

Whimsical pose of natural looking squirrel makes a great holiday ornament

Given the right circumstances, realistic wildlife carvings make great holiday ornaments. I created this squirrel holding a candy cane to combine my interest in realistic wildlife with whimsical situations.

I carve this piece out of a solid block of wood, using a variety of power and hand tools. After shaping the carving, add texture with power-carving bits and a woodburner.

After you finish adding texture with the woodburner, mix a bit of water with burnt sienna acrylic paint and apply it to the squirrel with a round brush. Use the photo of the ornament as a reference. Allow the paint to dry. Dip a stiff-bristle brush in white acrylic paint and scrub it on a paper bag to remove most of the paint and evenly distribute the remaining paint through the brush. Stroke the brush across the fur texture to apply a bit of white paint to just the high parts of the fur.

Use a detail brush to paint the eyes black, the teeth and white stripe on the candy cane white, and the red stripes on the candy cane red. Add a few dots of black around the mouth to simulate whiskers.