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We started bosting in the face. It needs 'room to breathe' - so we'll continue out to the leaves.
You've seen me discussing various anatomical features of the Green Man - and I'll keep doing so. It's very important that the shape of the head/face is revealed or suggested: the eyeballs, cheek bones and lips for example, and that everything 'reads' correctly and believably to the viewer. Do look further into the anatomy of the face on your own: understand how the face with its underlying bones 'works' and you'll see how the leaves naturally arise.
| 12 January 2016 09:23
Chris, I'm curious about the frequency of sharpening your gouges with this project. Given that the oak looks fairly hard, and you are using a mallet, do you ever need to go back to coarse or medium stones? I am a beginner and am used to working smaller relief projects in basswood, so I rarely need to go to anything but very fine stones occasionally, with frequent stropping. What should one expect with this project?
| 12 January 2016 09:22
William - Yes, it was pretty hard! When you are using a mallet and removing waste vigorously like this, the cutting edges can get a little damaged - in the sense of 'snail tracks' rather than dull. It's not at all the finished surface and you can carry on. However, when you get to a surface that is finished - off the chisel - you must have the edges immaculate. So I just carry on carving then touch the tools - usually the fine stone is enough - up for the final surface and maintain by stropping. I think the most important thing to say is that you need a 'feel' for the tools, like a violinist feels for the tuning of their instrument: you'll KNOW when your gouges need a stone and when they need only a strop.
| 23 May 2015 10:34
Wow, Chris, I'm really enjoying working with these lessons! You and Carrie have really progressed with the presentations so I'm using this Solar Green Man to do another Green Man (not solar) on a good old piece of butternut. Thanks!
