My carving friend Don Mertz

Hillsboro Hobo

    The above carving entitled "Hillsboro Hobo" was a commissioned carving done for me for my birthday back in March. The carver is Don Mertz, a man that I not only have the honor and privilege to call my friend, but my teacher in carving as well.
 Our friendship came to be about a year and a half ago when I had stumbled onto some information about a master carver who happened to live very close me. I was reading a blog called Wood bee carver.     http://woodbeecarver.com/  When in the "about me" section I saw that he lived near me and that I could contact him about carving. So I did just that. After a wonderful chat on the phone with Mr Mertz. He offered to have me come over and show me a thing or two about carving. Well from there on out it has been a wonderful journey through the carving experience with a wonderful friend.

 Don's approach to carving is like no other I have run across. And while I may view videos and write ups of other carvers. It is Don who I always come back to.

A little about the man. Don Started actively carving in 1975, when he joined the National Wood Carvers Association. Which also prints the Chip Chats magazine. Don's "whittle" style carving involves using a carving knife instead of gouges and other carving related tools. However he does confess to using these tools from time to time.
 Don has seen his works printed in Chip chats, Wood Carving Magazine and Wood Carving Illustrated. And to see his collection of Carvings in his Carving room at his house is an amazing sight to see. Every time I go over it is hard not to just set and stare at them all! On September 26, 2009. Don was elected into the Caricature Carvers of American, An honor in it's own right. And has been a member and the elected Secretary position.
 If you ever get the chance to sign up for one of his classes, I would highly recommend you do so. As you will not regret a single minute of time spent with a man who in my eyes has given so much to this wonderful hobby. Not to mention the knowledge you will walk away with :)
 So to a wonderful I say thank you for all you have taught me so far :) And for the friendship that has come from it. Without this knowledge I would not be as far as I am today.

Hi Folks,
Here is my latest carving. He is about 6 1/2 inches tall and around 3 inches wide.
I love this old world style of carving Santa. He is painted in acrylic,then dipped in Watco danish oil.
Followed by a coat of Deft satin gloss and finally finished with Howard feed N wax. Please feel free to send me any comments or questions through my email. Would love to hear from ya!
Sean Reynolds

Painting tips

While I may be a newer carver there is one frustration to me  I think I am getting a grasp on now. Painting. There seems to be an abundance of paint mixing tips from just about every woodcarver out there, each finding their own tones and washes they like for their carvings. Being someone who wanted my carvings to look look like they were painted by a pro, I did a lot of research into the matter.
I like to use acrylic paints. Although oils sure do look nice, all of the extra cleaning and disposal steps you have to go through could outweigh me wanting to use them.
 So what have I learned in my trial and errors of painting?

1- Paint wet. What I mean by this is make sure your carving is wet before you paint it. Be it from water or boiled linseed oil, Watco finishes etc. you will find this helps the paint stay on top and not do as much bleeding or absorb into the carving which results in you having to add a lot more paint to get the desired outcome.

2- Try to use washes. Washes are where you add water or a flow medium to your paints. What this does is make the paint much lighter which allows the wood grain to show through. If you use washes always try to paint the area a layer at a time. Which means paint the area, then use a hair dryer to dry it which will allow you to see if it has achieved the desired color or brightness you wanted. Adding too much of a wash at once can over do it. So try to go with the less is more feel until you get the desired effect you are after.

3- Highlights! Adding highlights to a piece can really make a specific area stand out. For example,  when I carve a hat, I now try to add folds or a flow to the hat. So when I paint it, in the areas I want to look like a fold, I just add a little darker bit of paint. You can do this by just building  up the washes as you go in that certain area, or just add a little more paint to the water to achieve a darker hue. It will really make the areas pop if you do this. Experiment to find what works best for you.

These are just a few little tips I have come to do in my painting. I am by no means an expert, nor do I think my way is the only way out there. What I have come to believe is we all have our own ways of doing things. But we all can learn from each other. So experiment and see what works for you.

Whew! Just added a few pictures of my latest carvings. So check out the Gallery and Carvings for sale tabs on the right side of the blog.
Thanks.
Sean

Hi folks,
My name is Sean. I have been carving for about a year and a half now and have just fallen in love with the hobby. I was lucky to find a Master carver who lived near to me named Don Mertz. He has been a wonderful friend and teacher, and without him there is no doubt I would not have progressed as far as I have.

 My passion seems to be carving Caricature and wood spirits. While this blog will be my place to showcase my work and maybe even sell a piece or two. It will also be for detailing my learning experience and mistakes along the way. So i hope you follow along and enjoy yourself while you are here.

God bless
Sean R.