Originally published in 2011.
Well, here he is. I think you’ll agree that this turned out to be a pretty impressive piece, at least I hope you do. It sure has seemed a long and involved one with lots of hurdles to jump but I think we did okay. There are a few things that could be improved on though.
1. I had hoped to have a little more action in him than the final pose which seems to me to be a little static. By that I mean he’s just standing there. I had originally thought of having the right leg elevated on top of a rock feature but in experimenting with a model just couldn’t get it to work the way I wanted. Will have to save that idea for another carving.
2. The blue of the coat could have had more white in it along with a little darker blue. When painting in washes it’s hard to judge the final color until the varnish is applied. I’m still contemplating whether to do a little dry brush to the entire figure to give it a more worn look but with all the time involved with this one I’m just too hesitant to alter anything at this point.
3. The facial coloring was spot on but again, due to the wash technique, wood grain played just a little too much of a part in altering the colors. I mentioned this in the painting videos about how I might have to go back and retouch certain spots once the varnish is dry. But again, he’s looking pretty good so I’ll wait a bit on that one too.
All in all I think this one will draw lots of positive comments as it’s a subject rarely done in caricature or woodcarving in general. I think a lot of this has to do with carvers being just a little too concerned about being criticized about the subject of Blacks and being political correct. However I think if you do it in a respectful manner that’s something that we shouldn’t worry about.
So, I hope you like the way he turned out and also we hope you were able to pick up a few new techniques that will help you along on your own path.
Comments welcome. I do look at all the comments and appreciate your views on them whether positive or negative. So, please drop a note or two.
