Carving a Fisherman

page 3 of 3

Part 3 - Accessories

The finishing touches for a caricature such as this are his surroundings. They set the scene. The accessories bring the concept together, and, like the title, help add to the overall enjoyment of the theme. They also add depth and detail to the composition, providing substance for those who wish to take a closer look.

The Wharf - or base:

I think it is important to develop a feel for dimensions, relating everything back to the figure. This way you could use this same figure (or a variation on it ) , in different settings of your own design. Use your judgement in sizing things and placing the figure. I chose a small base, since I want it to fit on a small shelf, if you want it over the fireplace a larger wharf would be more appropriate.

The same principals of design apply in setting up these scenes, regardless of size. When trying a new concept I like to make the accessories and try them in several different locations before gluing in place.

To begin, you will need some old wood that has been outside and has turned grey in the sun. Cut the wood into strips, about 3/4 inches wide. Next turn the strips on their side to saw again, making two thin strips of wood with one side aged by the sun.

A couple of these strips can be laid flat and sawn again to make narrow strips, which we will use for the ladder (optional) and the seagull's perch.

You can use a hand saw, or a scroll saw, to do this work. Be especially careful if using a table saw or band saw, employing push sticks.

Determine a good size for the base by laying sticks down and standing the figure on it. I used a small 3 by 4 inches frame, but I rarely measure this kind of base. It works better to size it to the figure.

Build a little height to the wharf by laying two cross pieces on each end, then adding two lengthwise pieces. I assemble this size wharf using a glue gun and transparent glue sticks.

You can add more height; simply repeat two more cross pieces and two more length wise. Adding more height will make it look like a wharf, but be careful not to make it too high for small shelves.

Make an upright post, from one of the narrow sticks. It will need to be long enough to go from the bottom of the wharf to about 1 1/2" above the figure's head.

Make a cross piece for a perch, establish the length by positioning the figure on the wharf and having the gull above his head. Glue a triangular support piece in place.

Attach this pole to the back, right corner of the wharf, using the glue gun.

Make a simple ladder with two uprights and two steps, and attach this to the left side of the wharf. Attach the figure to the wharf, slightly to the left of centre.

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Seagull

Since this is a caricature, the style of carving for the bird should be loose and not very detailed. The overall affect should draw a smile first, attention to detail second. This also helps make the fisherman the center of interest.

Use a scrap piece of wood roughly one inch long and 3/4 inch thick. Below is a side view for basic shaping.

Once the basic shape is finished a few details will complete the affect. The beak can be separated with 'V' cuts, and the eyes defined by making simple round bulges. Use pencil marks to help position the features.

Shape the wings with an undercut along their edge, starting at the top of the back and going toward the tail. Have one wing tip overlap the other and undercut the bottom wing tip to give the proper affect. A couple of straight cuts along wing length will be enough to indicate feathers.

Similar cuts on the top of the tail will add to the affect.
Gulls have a web foot, and in this case, the bottom of the feet must be cut to fit the perch. Separate the feet ( allowing them to be oversized will to add to the humour). If you have ever seen a common gull land in a tree top you will know just how well suited they are to this type of caricature.

Sand and prime the carved bird with white acrylic primer. Paint the beak and feet bright orange. The wing tops are grey with black wing tips, and the tail is white.

Glue the gull above the figure's head, in target position.

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Sou-Wester

The sou-wester is shaped to shed water from the head, well out onto the back, so the neck stays dry, ... most of the time.

I model my sou-westers after the kind I used to wear. They were black, and stiff, so they held their shape. Quite different from the modern plastic ones, that are usually yellow.

The wood for this should be about 1 1/2 inches by 1 inch by 3/4 inches thick, but I encourage you to simply hold a piece of scrap up to the figure and use judgement on size. You can rough cut this with a scroll saw or simply whittle it out.

Once you have the basic shape prime and paint the hat black, and glue to the figures hand.

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Rope

A buoy line has two parts. The length near the surface is designed to sink so as to avoid boat propellers, and the length near the bottom floats to keep it off the bottom at slack tide, thus avoiding entanglements. The sinking part is usually green in colour, while the floating line is usually orange or yellow. If you do not have access to these colours, use any two colours of string.

Cut about 12 inches of green and about 16 inches of orange. Tie the two together (you can use any knot - I have to be more careful, fishermen check my work and will give me a hard time if everything isn't correct). Make a coil from this string, tie it with a simple knot, and glue it to the wharf - er no, belay that. Wait until you have a few coils of rope and the buoy finished, position them for best affect, then glue in place.

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Buoy

(pronounced 'boo-ey' in the city and simply 'boy' in my neck of the woods)

It is about 3/4 inches thick and about 1 1/2 to 2 inches long. It is whittled round and the front end is pointed. At the tail end drill a small hole and insert a stick for a buoy handle(it is usually about half as long as the buoy.

The string or rope is attached to the front end through a hole. Be careful not to drill this too close to the end, as the wood may chip away.

Pass a string through this hole and bind it in place with small string or fishing line.

Paint the buoy in whatever combination of two or three colours you find pleasing. I sometimes use my father's mark of yellow with black stripes.

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The accessories affect eye travel, just like in a painting. The eye tends to enter this scene with the largest figure (the fisherman) and then should follow a circular course to seagull, down to wharf, etc.

Strive for a balance and the overall affect should not be too cluttered or too barren. If you make a larger wharf you may need to use more rope and buoys to give a pleasing affect.

Make a name tag from thin scrap, burn or paint the title, and glue it to the wharf. Brush or spray your favourite finish over everything, and set up for display. The weathered wood can be left unfinished.

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And now, me son, you are a carver of fishermen. :)

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I decided to redo this carving and turn the caricature into a cast, limited edition piece. It is still available as of this writing. Simply email me if you are interested in ordering one.

Why Fishermen Wear sou-Westers!

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Hope you enjoyed the exercise, and happy carving.

I am available for questions and comments. Send an email.

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