Flounder's first carving / finished page 2

Well here it is. Not quite finished but I was excited to show it. I had a blast carving, and plan to do alot more.
This was carved out of oak and stands about two feet tall. This little sucker weighs 30lbs.

Let me know what ya'll think.

Mahalo
Original Art by Flounder

http://www.flounderart.com

[ Edited by: FLOUNDERart on 2004-04-23 10:12 ]

nice work, mang.
oak?!? isn't that really hard to carve? i like how the angle of the photos make it look like its about 12 ft tall.

Excellent work Flounder. This may be your first, but it sure doesn't show. Very clean.

Looks great! I can't believe that's a first attempt!
Now lets see some paintings from the carvers!
:wink:
Oak weighs a ton. My forging bench is a solid oak tree stump that is 22.5 inch high x 17 inch diameter and I can only roll it from area to area.
I have no idea how much it weighs.
When is the mug coming out?
:D

Thanks for the comps.
Rain, I'm not sure because I have nothing to compare it with.
Ses, there might just be one in the works.

On 2003-11-30 15:19, FLOUNDERart wrote:
Ses, there might just be one in the works.

Why does this not surprise me?
:)

looks kool as hell, really turnig out awesome, first karving or not. "tales from the Kreep" jaksin

Nice work, Flounder. Definitely looks better than my first. I smell major carver in no time at all....

Great work Flounder!

It looks alot like "Hang Tiki" that I got from Crazy Al!

Damn, zero to outstanding in one day! Looks like your going to be cranking out some great tikis. It'll be interesting to see how your artistic interpretations of tikiness will work into the carvings. Keep us posted. :D

Absolutely amazing!!!

Tg

Cherry work Flounder! Kicks the ass of my first... keep it up!

Thanks everyone.

Sugar, I have the same Crazy Al. I didn't want to get all artist until I found out if I could carve at all, so I used it as a model to a point. Maybe the next one will be all me.
I need to paint, but damn them chisels are a callin!

A natural!

sweeeeeet,
wen you got it, you got it! feels good huh!

Let me know what ya'll think.

---

Mahalo

Nice tiki, dude, but I didn't think they used the term "ya'll" in Ohio. You been hangin' with those Cocoa Beach rednecks again?

Nice tiki, dude, but I didn't think they used the term "ya'll" in Ohio. You been hangin' with those Cocoa Beach rednecks again?

Geoff, how dares ya talk abuot me kinfolk likes dat. my unc says hes goin run ya'll down wit hims 4by4.

Mahalo
Original Art by Flounder

http://www.flounderart.com

[ Edited by: FLOUNDERart on 2003-12-01 15:46 ]

FLOUNDERart wrote:
Sugar, I have the same Crazy Al. I didn't want to get all artist until I found out if I could carve at all, so I used it as a model to a point. Maybe the next one will be all me.

Oh yeah, it shows you can definitely do it! I'd love to see some of your paintings made into a wood carving. Keep us up to date!

Wow Flounder!

That's an awesome first carve! Carving is something I wanna try soon, but now I'm even more intimidated...You Bastard! :)

Really nice work!

-Slacks

Question, my carving has a lot of wood that is stringy like, and some places it just chunked out, is because the wood wasn't ready to be carved or am I doing something wrong? Also do you sand a tiki to finish it or is this a no no? Dremel?
Please don't yell at me for the dremel question, I'm thinking thats probably a carving sin! How do you know when wood is ready to become a tiki?

On 2003-12-02 10:04, FLOUNDERart wrote:
Question, my carving has a lot of wood that is stringy like, and some places it just chunked out, is because the wood wasn't ready to be carved or am I doing something wrong? Also do you sand a tiki to finish it or is this a no no? Dremel?
Please don't yell at me for the dremel question, I'm thinking thats probably a carving sin! How do you know when wood is ready to become a tiki?

I torch, sand, polyurethane (satin always, NEVER gloss; you want a warm glow, not a caramel apple), and then paint, very lightly (again always a flat spray paint) so it accents the tiki and doesn't cover it...sort of like airbrushing would do, darkening up relief, accenting eyes, etc. You want the woodgrain to show through..that's part of the charm of a tiki just like cracks. Dremels are a great way to quickly clean out those rough corners, and the little sanding wheels are super for sharpening up edges. There's one in my shop!

Another thing on the stringy wood issue is to stop your angle cut slightly above your guide cut (the "plunge" cut that leads you into a corner, if that makes sense, thataway you can chop it nice and clean and you won't be spending as much time sanding out edges.

Thanks basement. I just cleaned it up pretty good with sandpaper, but not to much as to take away from the carved look. I couldn't get the deep spots so I guess I'll use a dremel.
When do I know if a tiki is ready to varnish? Do I need to wait a certain time period?
Thanks again

If it's green wood or wood with some moisture still in it, lay the log down so that the front of the carving faces down. This will draw the moisture toward the carved side and make it crack less to the front and more toward the back. You'll have to give it a fews months to do whatt it's going to do with that method. Or (easier and generally foolproof) you can also do an old trick, which is to cut a deep, thin saw groove up the back of the tiki, which essentially is an artificial crack and reduces the "draw" stress on the log tremendously. Tikis generally rest up against a wall anyway. I've done this on three pieces with great results.

Flounder,
Nice carving, man. Now your forearms are going to get so big you won't be able to hold your sissy little brushes anymore. BK was dead on with the methodology. I sometimes use a dremel to clean up hairy cuts, but I really prefer torching. Ahh, the smell of burning wood....

yup, torch the heck out of it, then sand it down with a soft-sponge-sanding block (any hardware store should have em) Its like a sponge, but rough. I clean up with an angle grinder too, but I use a worn down wheel, so that it burnishes and sands the wood simultaniously. Another "airbrush technique" I use when I don't want to get out my compressor, I use a small spray bottle with some dark colored stain, or watered down acrylic paint. I use the dremmel too, for carving the small detail, but not cleanup. and a lifelike carving of Crazy Al too!

Al is not that ugly! Was Al crazy before he was C'Al? All I know is he is the master. Eh Chony?

Thanks for all the help.
Tiki Mon, you better watch your back at the Hawaiian Inn, you might just get a sissy paintbrush skive to the back!

Tikitony, nice tiki brah I like the weathered look you get but it's much to pretty to be Crazy Al.

I'll post the tiki again once it's finished.

I need to paint but the chisles keep a callin.

Mahalo
Original Art by Flounder

http://www.flounderart.com

[ Edited by: FLOUNDERart on 2003-12-03 12:24 ]

Well I finally decided to finish the tiki. I gave it an aged down look, tried making it as old looking as possible. Hope you like.

schweeeeeeet. the aging really makes an already great piece 10x better.

I'd say you've got a vocation there, son!

Very cool, man.
Thanks for giving it to me.
I really - really appreciate it.

I owe you a sixer of Ole Mil' buddy.

For the first one,,,wow!You're an Artist already and this is just a different medium.Once you have done a few, you will see more detail coming out. That Oak log is not the best for carving, it's really hard unless very fresh. You know its "A Tiki" and "done" when you don't see anything else to take off the log. As far as using Power tools: Anything you can use to bring out the Tiki should be acceptable, otherwise some traits might be left in the log. You just don't want to use your chisels After any sanding because sanding imbeds silica into the wood which Dulls and nicks the chisel edge.
Really well done.
Very well done

Thanks a bunch everyone. It's real nice to hear it coming from master carvers like BK and Benzart too.

Pablus, it's in the mail.

I'm not a Master, but thanks anyway. There was a man who brought himself into my early carving life because he saw something that he could help me with. He did teach me a LOT, but Here he was this super grand master who has not carved for years and is still not carving. When I had to sell my Tools, they went to a young gung-ho artist and My mentor was miffed. He asked why I did not sell my tools to him and I haad to say "even though I may not be carving any more, I wanted My tools top keep on chippin and since he wouldn't carve, they went to next in need.Even though Billy (my mentor)was a Master in the greatest sense, he Refused to carve and was not a master in my eyes.
Benzart.
You guys Are working Mastersand you deserve the titles.

Very nice Flounder....I like it.

Me? Master carver? Ha! Master eater and drinker, yes. Master carver, no....but thanks for the kind words, Flounder.. :)

WOW!! Outstanding, could not tell it was your first.

Great work Flounder!!! and looks like you did a good job drying it... unlike some of my most recent... :(

On 2003-12-01 20:04, Slacks Ferret wrote:
Wow Flounder!

That's an awesome first carve! Carving is something I wanna try soon, but now I'm even more intimidated...You Bastard! :)

Really nice work!

-Slacks

I'm gettin' in line behind Slacks.....I was thinking the same thing!

Flounder,

Are you sure you're from Florida? That tiki looks nothing like Jimmy Carter!

Awesome job! I'm still waiting to have Totem and Mr. hangdown framed.

Kanaka

Kanaka,

It's comments like this that make people disrespect you......Hope you were just trying to be ridiculously funny.

T.F.

Thanks everyone.

Benzart and BK, you a master in my mind and many others on TC. Don't be shy just go with it.

Lake Surfer, I think I just got lucky with the cracking. I did take BK's advice and lay it face down, but all the craking was still in the front. One of the cracks you cant really see is in between the teeth, you can see it coming of the lip in the profile pic (it's deep). I do like the cracks however, they give it an aged look which I like.

TikiBud and Slacks, don't give up before you even start.

tikifreak, ? Kanaka was refering to an earlier post about Florida carvers. He didn't mean no disrespect

Onemof the reasons your tiki did not crack much is the wood. Oak is very hard, Close grained and takes awhile to cure. It will crack, but not like pine or Eucalyptus.

It came out great Flounder!

Tiki Freak,

[tikifreak, ? Kanaka was refering to an earlier post about Florida carvers. He didn't mean no disrespect

Flounder is correct. I was jokingly referring to an earlier post about Florida carvers. Use the search function if you are interested. I don't believe that I have ever disrespected a TC member and if you read my post you would have realized that I complimented the carving and that I had purchased two pieces of art from Flounder.

Kanaka

Great first time carvin Flounder. You got yourself a fine set of skills. Always looking forward to seeing more of your projects.
Chongolio