Had to post this work of art!!

[Zahid Naqvi]

Amazing, some people have so much talent, I am sure there was a lot of hardwork involved while he was training. But there is no dobt about his God given talent as well.
Interestingly I have noticed that most carvers, although adept at many facets of carving, usually focus on one specific type. For example Randall does a lot of "paper type" still lifes while Loris does a lot of "fabric type" still lifes. I guess they just fall in love with a certain object and can't get enough of it, or just develop so much skill at making a certain object that it requires less effort and allows them to indulge in more experimentation.

[randall rosenthal]

hey......thanks al for posting my work.....i'm new to the site and this is my first post. i really appreciate the positive feed back.

its interesting that looking at the sculptures in digital form is a lot like looking at them from a few feet away. heres the concept.......from a few feet away they look real. when you get right up to them however ,since there is no attempt to hide the the fact that they are wood, you have to un-accept the reality. one of my favorite overheard comments was "look how clever....the way he drew grain on the yellow pad to make it look like wood" i often leave exposed knots just to play with the viewer.

its not sugar pine but vermont white pine. a friend does wide plank flooring and buys it for me in 12-16/4's by 20 x 16 foot boards. gives me a lot of lattitude in piece selection.

glad to be here..........randall

[randall rosenthal]

Amazing, some people have so much talent, I am sure there is a lot of hardwork involved while he was training. But there is no dobt about his goid given talent as well.
Interestingly I have noticed that most carvers, although adept at many facets of carving, usually focus on one specific type. For example Randall does a lot of "paper type" still lifes while Loris does a lot of "fabric type" still lifes. I guess they just fall in love with a certain object and can't get enough of it, or just develop so much skill at making a certain object that it requires less effort and allows them to indulge in more experimentation.

zahid...thanks.....i had no training...if you look at the web site there's a 22 foot long wave in the architectural sculpture section......thats my very first attempt at sculpture. an architect friend got me the job and pushed me into it. i basicly wound up carving leaves (lots and lots of leaves) for 10 years till a carved book rest on a church lectern caused me to switch to carving paper objects.

[Phillip Bogle]

I now have proof that mom was wrong. Money does grow on trees . . .well sort of!

[Chiz Eisenhuth]

Randall, I'm thinking that you could literally 'break' a fifty- LOL! Very nice stuff. The wife and I took a basic wood carving course offered by the local club via adult evening classes at the Vo-Tech. It covered relief, feathers (burning and painting), characature and captured carving (think: ball in a box or connected links of a chain). We received one knife, a leather strop, aluminum oxide, all of the necessary basswood and a safety glove for $50, which I thought was a great deal. They also kicked in some copies of catalogs and magazines. The course was 8, once per week classes which were broken into the four subject groups with each having a teacher and one to two helpers. The teachers, et al, brought their own tools so that we could get the feel of gouges, etc. I would encourage anyone to take a class such as this for entertainment and self-satisfaction. Quite enjoyable - we had chips all over the kitchen between classes!!

[randall rosenthal]

chiz i think if you're having fun thats really all that counts. people find it a little hard to believe but i find a real connection between carving turns on a surfboard or a snowboard and carving wood. once you have the right "feel" and can stop thinking so much and just kinda zone out and go with it...its very similar. i think i really got into carving because i liked the way it felt.

[Clara Koss]

gosh that is really neat...wonder how long it took to carve and then paint... he must have a lot of patience....will look up his other work...thanks for showing it to us...

[Chiz Eisenhuth]

chiz i think if you're having fun thats really all that counts. people find it a little hard to believe but i find a real connection between carving turns on a surfboard or a snowboard and carving wood. once you have the right "feel" and can stop thinking so much and just kinda zone out and go with it...its very similar. i think i really got into carving because i liked the way it felt.

Well put, randall. Even a beginner can get into a zone when the knife is right, the grain cooperates and the picture in your head is coming out in the wood itself. Fun stuff!

[randall rosenthal]

heres a recently finished piece thats not on the web site. a little light hearted and far simpler than a box of money.

[Brett Baldwin]

Awesome stuff Randall. I could see a Yankee fan really enjoying that one.

[randall rosenthal]

this smaller box of money is almost finished (well the carving anyway) i liked how the light was hitting it on the work bench. about 10 in the morning is when i can see every little flaw.