"Tassle Santa"

I carved this from a Michele Stetson roughout. Dave Stetson taught a class earlier this year at our club and I fell in love with his wife Michele's Santas. I had never seen one shaped quite like this and her painting was amazing! This carving is 11 inches tall and 7 inches wide, but is only about 3 inches thick (possibly to fit better on a shelf?). The width certainly gives plenty of room for a lot of painting details. When I carve roughouts, I always reach a certain point where I stop looking at the "go-by" and start carving and painting what I think looks best, or what I'm actually capable of carving/painting, rather than trying to duplicate someone e

lse's work. Michele's Santas have a certain look to the face that mine don't and I painted mine slightly different also. I really like how it turned out; it seems to have an old world, maybe a Russian influence. And the gold seems to add a richness also. Michele's health doesn't allow her to carve any more, but her artistry still continues to teach and inspire! Thanks for looking!