Well, I started with a piece of lime wood, enough of the carving and a bit more to help hold it fast in the vice, and an idea. The piece of wood is about 28cm long.
The picture is from the web and I traced it onto the wood and started carving,
….. and carving so there is now space between trunk and arms and legs…..
…. and carving so the neck is free…..
… and yet more carving so the right arm is coming into shape…..
….. and now the right leg and foot….
and then stopped carving after about a week’s work.
Pleased with some of the outcome [overall shape, legs, feet, forearms and hands] but I am not planning to do anymore to it to “tidy it up”. There are too many errors which cannot be corrected. For example, I could say that the wide head was on purpose – signifying the weightiness of his thoughts – but I’d be lying. If I tried to make the head narrower, I could move the hands towards each other but I cannot follow them with the forearms as there is not enough wood. the thighs present similar problems as I’ve taken away too much wood in certain places. Next carving will be on a larger scale, say figure standing 40cm tall but I’ll have to sort out much more timber for half or full life-size.
Amazing! He looks wonderful and all that from “picture is from the web and I traced it onto the wood and started carving” !!!
Thank Jeremy, for your kind comments but I think it photographs better than it looks in real life. Moreover, there were a few more pictures [on a much smaller scale] from different angles: But the pose of the left foot was my decision.