Return to wood carving.

Now that school holidays are over I 've returned to wood carving and am on my second piece again in Leichardt. A soft yellow wood makes it easy for learners to carve and this time I'm not as ambitious as the first large project and one of the other ladies sketched a flower on an odd shaped leftover piece.
The intention was to be gentler with the timber and not leave gouge marks which are harder to sand off by hand later.

The odd shape and if you can see it there is a likeness to a human head as it was an off cut from a piece one of the other carvers who is carving a portrait.

Side view and it won't stand erect on it's own but that's okay as still a learning piece.

Notice the sun coming through under the branch and this is what I have learnt lately, how to reverse the tool to round off edges and smaller tools to "dig".

The depth cut away from the base.

Carving like any art related project takes love, care and time to produce a piece to be proud of.

I probably won't carve anymore away as don't want to break a petal even though it looks secure and strong it would only take the wrong pressure and a twist to the tool to create damage. Sanding will be a slow process and a coat of varnish this time to bring the colour out.

I went for an early morning walk in the Botanical Gardens and this is the Leichardt tree in it's natural state.