moving right along...

[randall rosenthal]

ready to coat with a layer of UV protection matte poly and define individual cards....poly has to go on first or the lines disappear.

[Kevin Adams]

That's incredible, Randall. The rubberbands look so real and maybe one day you can tell us how you do the edge of the box (the corrugation)--the level of detailing is just amazing. Thanks for sharing and please keep the photos coming.

Kevin

[Howie French]

Wow !!!!!!!

[randall rosenthal]

kevin....how about this?

[John Schreiber]

Totally amazing work. It is only possible with both of your gifts as a carver and an illustrator.

My favorites are the ones which show the wood grain, like the one on your web page with a day planner (BKaddressw). Without some evidence that I am looking at carved wood, my eye is totally fooled and it's not as magical for me.

On pieces where I can see the wood grain, is that natural wood or is a grain painted on?

[randall rosenthal]

john..thanks......in real life you can see the wood grain somewhere on every piece and often there is bare wood or knots showing. one time at a show i heard a woman say to a friend "look how clever ....the artist painted this yellow pad to look like its made out of wood". i never have to paint the grain on....its already there.

[Joel Ficke]

Randall as has been said before, thanks for posting. It's really cool watching this come together!

[Kevin Adams]

Say hey! Looks fantastic, Randall...can't wait to see who else shows up. This could be better than "Field of Dreams."

You have a tremendous talent. Just curious (if you have time), what made you decide to work in this form? Did you start as an artist/illustrator or the other way around? I know there are others out there who carve "still life" type pieces, but is there anyone else who does what you do? Thanks again.

Take care,
Kevin

[randall rosenthal]

kevin.....i started painting when i was 5. my dad got me a great hook and ladder toy fire truck.....so i turned the refrigerator into a burning skyscraper with crayons.......my mom went out and got canvas and paint. i majored in painting in college and had some successful gallery shows. in my early 40s i started working with a well known architect, norman jaffe, as a designer. HE got me a commission doing a large architectural sculpture (the wave on the web site). that was my first sculpture. for ten years after that i did large architectural installation sculptures until..........i did a lectern for a church in seattle with a carved bookrest. then i started carving books and other paper objects. a friend of mine, saul steinberg ,(new yorker cover) once told me "figure out what you do best and do that.....every thing else is banging your head against the wall"

there is really nothing easier than getting an artist to talk about himself

[randall rosenthal]

check out this guy

http://www.public.asu.edu/~eckert33/default0.htm

[randall rosenthal]

moving right along

[randall rosenthal]

[Thomas Bank]

Simply amazing! If I only saw the last picture, I'd be impressed only by the subject matter of the cards themselves!

[Kevin Adams]

Randall--

It looks great! I just called my wife to the computer, showed her the completed photo and asked "what's that?" She looked for a moment and said "a box full of baseball cards, so what?" I then scrolled up and showed her the first photo and she said "oh my, that guy's crazy!" (She meant it as a compliment btw.)

Your work is amazing, both the carving and painting. What kind of paints do you use? Did you have actual cards to go by or just your imagination? How in the world do you do the edges of the box to make it look like it's corrugated.

Thanks so much for sharing. What's next?

Take care,
Kevin

[randall rosenthal]

kevin..the picture is a little deceiving...not quite done yet. i spent all yesterday afternoon carving behind the rubber bands on the sides of the packs. plus there is a bit of edge work to do. you dont really catch all the screw ups till you paint a bit. the box has to be finished in the right color also. this is a major challenge...so far i have failed to really get it right to my satisfaction on previous pieces. the corrugated is pretty easy. first i draw an S line down the edge . then i drill holed and using a tapered diamond bit i sand out to the line. then i use a very small jewelers bit to cut the line free from the edges.

most of the lower cards are made up but a few of the full cards are real . i get the images using one of my most important tools.....the computer. i take artistic license however and change colors and borders to suit.

i use acrylics and archival ink pens. learned the hard way that sharpies fade away in a few years.


when it is done ill take some low angle shots . in the overhead you cant really see the depth and hidden places.....thanks for your interest