New Relief Carving

[pallin]

Re: New Relief Carving

Thanks for the compliments. I'm very pleased with this carving. It also illustrates the limits of photos. Relief carving has a depth that is hard to capture in a photo. I tried to emphasize the depth during the carving phase with low angle sunlight, and highlighted the shadows with stain in the final version, but the actual carving has depth that you can see and feel.

[markken5889]

Re: New Relief Carving

Hi Phil,

Great job - this piece came out fantastic! Congratulations! The stain really seems to make it pop, too. Thanks for sharing your WIP's and taking the time to respond to comments & questions.

Mark

[cut up]

Re: New Relief Carving

Great carving Phil. The use of the stain for shadows really made a difference. I agree with Tommy about the close up pics.
Michael

[Tommy Taylor]

Re: New Relief Carving

Very enjoyable Phil and I know it would be even more so to see it up close. Look forward to your next one.

[Jbarr]

Re: New Relief Carving

Great job phil
James

[Sean R]

Re: New Relief Carving

Phil that is a sight to behold. Just a wonderful carving. Really enjoyed watching the steps of the progress through the post.

[pallin]

Re: New Relief Carving

Final report - I've finished the carving, and after much soul-searching, decided to stain some parts of the carving to emphasize the relief. Here is the result. That other photo is me, working with a small brush.
The original lithograph of this design was done by M.C. Escher in July 1947. It was slightly smaller than this carving (8-1/8" x 19-3/4"). An additional 400 copies were printed in 1948. There is only one of this carving.
Basswood - 10-1/2 inches x 26 inches - about 15 hours to complete.

[pallin]

Re: New Relief Carving

This project is reaching the stage of "tiny cuts" - little details that may not be obvious in the photos. So I'll try to move on the finishing this carving with few new posts about what I'm doing. In these photos I have started shaping the boy in the lower scene and the background buildings. Also cleaning up ragged edges as I go.

I'm also thinking about how to finish this piece. In the original, Escher had some interesting light and shadow running through the scenes. I have tried to emphasize the relief in the photos by using low angle sunlight. Perhaps the final placement of this wall decoration needs to be close to a window . .

[markken5889]

Re: New Relief Carving

nice work Phil. your correction turned out great! Looking really good so far.

Mark

[pallin]

Re: New Relief Carving

Here are a couple of up-to-date views of this project. I've roughed out the upper palm tree and shaped the wall behind the girl in the upper scene. As noted earlier, this design includes two similar scenes - one viewed from above, the other viewed from below. So in the middle you're looking at things that are both "up" and "down." One of these photos is the upper half, the other the lower.

[pallin]

Re: New Relief Carving

As I started carving the upper palm tree I realized that the background in that scene was not deep enough - the palm tree appears to be behind two arches. So I took about 1/4 inch more from the deepest part. This also required sloping off the side of the building, etc. More fun!

[pallin]

Re: New Relief Carving

Here is the remaining flight of the upper stairs. Note: the bannister of the far side will be incised into the background - likewise the balusters.
The other photos show the preliminary shaping of the lower palm tree. The remaining challenges are 1) the other palm tree, 2) buildings in the background, 3) windows & other building details ], and 4) the two boys and two girls.

[David Stanley]

Re: New Relief Carving

Great work so far on an ambitious project, it will be really something when finished.

[pallin]

Re: New Relief Carving

Here is a close-up of the upper left stairway. I still have the other flight to do, but you can get the idea of doing stairways in relief (and from weird viewing angles). That lump on the stairs will become the young man looking adoringly at his girlfriend in the window.
If I keep practicing stairs I may take Mark's suggestion and carve "Relativity" (shown below).

[Brian T]

Re: New Relief Carving

Talk about "popping out!"
My head got the relief backwards/inside-out with the optical illusion.
Had the deep relief sticking up like humps above the drawing.
BTW, I found a couple of old Escher wall calendars but for the time being, I'm content
to be an innocent bystander and watch the process. That's the help I need.