Acanthus leaves

[Gargoyle]

I agree with Mike C's assesment..... too much like raw alcohol taste to me....

Grappa can do double duty- strip paint, prep steel for working, or drink it. But I have some good stuff...

Here's another Italian marble relief carving. Nice foliage, a lot of movement and life to it. I like the lions face, but the mane is rather weathered and worn down. The scoop of the wing also has a good shadow. The concave top to the shield gives the illusion of greater depth than there actually is; it's a rather shallow relief.

Odd thing is, this is the lion of St. Marks, the symbol of Venice, but I shot this photo in Florence.

 

[Sam]

Isn't Florence just the most incredible place? How about the relief on the Battistero doors!!!

 

[pilkguns]

As much as I love China and Germany, I think when I die I will have my ashes dumped off Ponte Vecchio into the Arno. Florence (Firenza) is just a feast for the eyes for the artist's soul, the Master Muse of Cities.

 

[Gargoyle]

Two more examples of Florentine marble relief carving. Very different styles, different approaches to filling the same space and solving the same design issues.

Also note the difference in the leaf and tongue borders.

 

[Tim Wells]

yet another acanthus example

Here's another leaf structure I forgot about. It is on a mahogany bookcase I made for my wife a couple years ago.

 

[Big-Un]

Sam, how about showing some of us amateurs how to draw and shade one of the acanthus leaves in post #1?

 

[JourneymanBuilder]

pilfering pics

Would it be a problem if I were to share these great pics with the gun building board that I frequent? I believe that they would be most helpful to those of us that are learning to carve 18th century gunstocks as well.

 

[Ken Hurst]

I signed in to the web site but can't seem to be able to bring up the plates OR anything else. Damned being so old and computer dumb ! I do appreciate seeing the plates you posted. Ken

 

[Sam]

Would it be a problem if I were to share these great pics with the gun building board that I frequent? I believe that they would be most helpful to those of us that are learning to carve 18th century gunstocks as well.

Since Walter posted these photos on a public forum, I would think it's ok. You could always contact him to be sure. His website is stonecarver.com

 

[Ray Cover]

Walter,

I just checked out your website. Impressive stuff. I really enjoyed it.

There is a great sense of humor that comes through in many of your pieces and I like that very much. Its always nice when artwork can bring a smile to your face during an age when so many artist are working to make you cry over their personal woes and causes.

Well done my freind.

Ray

 

[Gargoyle]

I signed in to the web site but can't seem to be able to bring up the plates OR anything else. Damned being so old and computer dumb ! I do appreciate seeing the plates you posted. Ken

I recall seeing a problem where installation of other graphic software took over default viewing of jpgs and stopped the web browser from displaying them, but that was many years ago. Still, it's likely a web browser problem of some sort. The big images should come up with you click the thumbnails. If you're using Internet Explorer, start by going to tools/internet options in the menu bar, then select "delete files" and "clear history". Shut Internet Explorer completely, then restart it, log in and try again. If that doesn't work, try rebooting the computer. If it still doesn't work, right click on the thumbnail (if you're using a PC), try "open link in new window" (which should open the picture) or "save target as" which gives you a way to save it to your computer.

Would it be a problem if I were to share these great pics with the gun building board that I frequent? I believe that they would be most helpful to those of us that are learning to carve 18th century gunstocks as well.

The book is from 1903, and doesn't carry a copyright, so that's fine. I hope you will give a link back to my site. Thanks,

 

[JourneymanBuilder]

Thanks again for the excellent resource.

 

[Gargoyle]

I've been sorting through old slides- I'm giving a lecture on stone carving at the Art Institute of Chicago on Tue. June 19, in the afternoon, if anyone is interested- and I found another photo of some very nice acanthus leaves. Note on these, some of the holes between the sections of the leaf are triangular, with the inner edge folding over, rather than the usual round shape. Also note the tooled background texture.

I also found another slide, very poor quality dark image, but the carving is nice. Simpler leaves, not acanthus, fluid scrollwork, very elegant.

So many things translate well between engraving and carving...

If you engrave anything based on photos I've posted here, please show us what you've done.

 

[mdengraver]

First of all I need a refresher on how to post new threads. I can't find the location to post on the site.
Two I would like to pass on several books I just purchased from Borders Book store that show great leave work and ornamentation. Here they are. They make great source books.

1. Gothic Ornament and Design by V. Statz and G. Ungewitter
2. Ornamental Borders and Scrolls and Cartouches in Historic Styles by Syracuse Ornamental Company with
over 1,950 Illustrations, Dover Publications, Inc. New York
3. 1500 Decorative Ornaments CD-ROM & Book 1, Dover Publications, Inc. New York
4. Baroque Ornament, CD-ROM & Book 1, Dover Publications, Inc. New York
5. Fantastic Ornament, 110 Designs and Motifs by Michel Lienard, Dover Publications, Inc. New York

 

[Gargoyle]

Here are a couple shots from a 17th c. Italian church cloister.

Hope one of you tries that dolphin head scroll on a knife...

 

[Sam]

Stunning examples of carving, Walter. Thanks much for going to the trouble of posting the photos for everyone!! I agree, it would make a great knife bolster subject. / ~Sam

 

[Tom Curran]

Gargoyle, I'm diggin the Rococo and the Baroque. This is a section of a rifle I'm working on, an eighteenth Cent. Jaeger, a German hunting rifle. Love the foliage you've posted. I've saved it for modeling my own carving.

 

[Gargoyle]

More Italian scrollwork

I just returned from another trip to Italy. We went to Staglieno Cemetery in Genoa and the Monumental Cemetery in Milan- both should be absolute places to visit on your trips; each is HUGE (Staglieno has internal bus service) and filled with incredible sculpture.

Here are two photos of scrollwork from Staglieno. I will write about these places for my next e-mail newsletter (http://stonecarver.com/newsletter.html) and post a lot of photos from both of them; hope to do that in the next week. BTW, we also climbed to the roof of the Duomo (cathedral) in Milan- 250 steps up, it was great. Extremely ornately carved gothic marble church. I shot some scollwork there too (along with all the gargoyles, finials, tracery, etc.; digital is great, I shot maybe 250 photos up there).

 

[ron p. nott]

I would have loved to be there and watch these arts carving there works .. ron p

 

[Tom Curran]

I can't imagine cutting STONE into such fine tracery.....I suppose you get used to it. I am just amazed by the beauty in those pics. Thanks, Gargoyle.
Tom