When
Isaac sets out to make a carving, he starts with a rectangular
piece of wood and draws the front view on one side, and
possibly partial drawings for the side view depending on
what the carving is. While carving, Isaac claims to have
a dialogue with the wood as he uncovers the figure beneath
the fibers of the wood. Most of the wood is removed using
a hammer and various chisels and gouges before the fine
detailing that is accomplished using much smaller hand gouges
and knives. The figure begins to emerge. Very fine details
are incorporated using a wood burner, while some of the
roughness is smoothed over with the help of filler and sealer.
After the final sanding, the paint is applied. Unlike most
other talladors, Isaac has very few, if any solid color
on his pieces, he prefers to mix the colors as he goes.
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on each image for larger view.