Puppy - 2001

I carved this cute little puppy for my daughter, after her persistent requests for me to carve something for her finally paid off.

The finish on this carving was another experiment for me.  All my previous carvings have either been a) not sanded at all, b) sanded completely smooth, or c) textured with a rotary tool.  For this carving, I tried a new approach (at least new for me), which was to sand a little, but still leave tool-marks.  I then painted it with an extremely thin wash of acrylic paint thinned with water.

I'm pleased with the result.  It definitely looks hand-carved and you can still see the wood grain through the paint, but it doesn't have that harsh angular look that comes from not sanding at all.

This carving won a First Place ribbon at the Intermediate level at the Great Salt Lake Woodcarvers' 2001  show.

Size:  4.25 inches high

Wood: basswood

Finish: acrylic sealer over acrylic paint