Cottonwood Bark Owl Carving

I finished this carving! This hunk of bark sat on my bench for a few months before I ever touched it with a carving knife. I kept waiting for it to speak to me but apparently this piece was mute. I thought it looked like some kind of bird but I was hesitant to start. Eventually, I decided to carve an owl. I was happy with the results but then I was afraid to paint it for fear I would ruin my carving so it sat for several more months. With Christmas looming I decided I had to finish this piece so I could put it in my Etsy shop.

Since great-horned owls have a lot of brown on them I thought leaving most of the owl unpainted would be a good idea but I still needed to accent the feathers or the carving would look pretty blah. Enter the wood burner. I bought this a year ago as a birthday gift to my spouse but I think I've used it more than she has. It made the owl pop without mucking it up with paint.

For more details check it out in my Etsy shop at:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/256363278/hand-carved-owl-folk-art-cottonwood-bark

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