AVO & PERDOMO READY FOR HANGING!Matt recently asked, and quite prudently I may add, how my two new carvings were coming along. As it turns out, I finished the mountings this past weekend and they are now ready for hanging.
The Avo came out nicely, though I have to admit I expected more from this carving. As it turns out, the label has very little depth in the center AVO design. It works on the label, but when I tried to paint the carving in the same manner, it just didn't seems right. I try not to stray too far from the original design, so I left it as it appears on the label.
Looking back, I probably should have chosen one of the AVO labels with a more colorful scheme on the center design so that more depth was given to the relief. All in all, I was happy with the finished product. I also used incuse carving for "Domaine AVO" where the subject is carved into the wood as opposed to the negative being carved away (relief). I first tried this on the scrollwork of the Camacho 10th anniversary label and then on the Montecristo label. Using this type of carving on two different pieces, I've seen the handiness in being able to plane a flat area and then coming back in later to carve out detail as opposed to painstakingly carving out the negative areas.
The Perdomo came out just as I had hoped. I knew that the wreath of tobacco leaves was going to be quite a project. And it was! It took quite a while to complete that portion of the carving, but it was well worth it. Perdomo really nailed their design when they put a wreath of gold tobacco leaves on their label. It is so eye catching, and I think the label carries the same quality. I am very happy with this carving, and have to say it is one of my best.
