[FIFTH LESSON.]
CUTTING SIMPLE LEAVES—CARVING WITH THE LEFT HAND—MODELLING OR ROUNDING—SHADED PATTERNS AND MODELLING—PROGRESS TOWARDS RELIEF.
It will be very much to the advantage of the pupil, so soon as he can cut confidently and correctly with the gouge or chisel, to practise with the left hand as well as the right. The younger he is the easier will it be to form this habit. A carving tool is sharpened from both sides because the edge, so made, enables the artist to cut from many positions without turning the wood, and when he can use both hands he has the same advantage to a greater degree. Try, therefore, to acquire a perfect command of the tools, so as to cut with both hands, and in many directions and ways, the greatest care being always taken, however, that you do not turn the point towards yourself, lest an unwary slip should produce a wound. When you can cut with confidence, and do not rely under any circumstance on splitting, digging, prizing up, “wriggling,” or rocking with the gouge to remove wood, then you can tell beforehand what you are about to do. To attain this skill you must frequently practise cutting on waste wood, and not spend all your time on perfectly finished work.
Fig. 38.