Happy as a cock in the henhouse CARVING

I call this fella’, “Happy as a cock in the henhouse”. He’s got one of those grins- you know what kind I’m talking about. His smile is contagious and so is his attitude. He likes to talk a bit, even to those that don’t wish to listen. Some might even go as far as to call him a wee bit ornery. I’d have to say I agree.

Carved this fella’ in a Hemlock knot. Many of you know what knots are, but many folks don’t. For those of you that don’t know what a knot is……. Knots are formed where a branch of a tree meets the base of a tree. They are very dense and add extra strength to the branch. When the tree finally dies and falls to the ground, everything eventually rots away…. except for the knots- they will rot eventually if left to the bugs long enough, but they are much more resilient than the rest of the tree. These stabile, pitch-filled remains make for an excellent carving medium as each one is unique and full of character.

I like to try and leave the base color of my knots as natural as possible- I love the earthy vibe! For the deep crevices, shallow wrinkles and overall shading, I like to use a dark brown acrylic paint. I dilute the paint to different tones until I get the look I desire :)

this carving will be up for auction on Ebay beginning this evening at 9pm eastern time. Just search my name, ” Josh Carte” and you will find all of the carvings that I have up for auction at any given time. Be sure to favorite me as a seller, so you can see all of my new work. Also have lots of good stuff in my etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/JoshCarteArt. Hope your day is awesome!