One of a Kind Wood Carvings: "The Cheshire Cat"

"The Cheshire Cat" was a fun carving! Given his rounded body with few details he worked up quickly. Hid head and face took most of the time. This carving is another learning/turning point in my carving. I've been sealing my carvings with a Michael's brand water based wood sealer. Recently, I began carving Tupelo wood, and I've notice much more grain swelling using this wood sealer. I've read many suggestions on the Woodcarving Illustrated Forum about sealing wood prior to adding the finish to a piece but just continued dealing with more texture in my finished carvings.... until "The Cheshire Cat!" (I'm also getting fussier about the final appearance of my carvings.) I spent a good deal of time smoothing this carving only to notice much more roughness than I'd like in the finished piece. "The Cheshire Cat" made me rethink how I prepare my carvings for finishing. From now on its MinWax Polycrylic as a sealer!

The finish coat on "The Cheshire Cat" is Poly and that helped "hide" some of the unintended texture.
I hope you like "The Cheshire Cat."

"The Cheshire Cat" is another surprise gift to a friend and as always I start out with a photo (or two), a Tupelo wood blank, some pencil scratching and a brief stint on the band saw.