Hand carved cypress knee with Santa and tree

I have completed the second piece of cypress that I got from my mother.... A couple of posts ago I spoke about going to my father's shop with my mother. While there I came across two pieces of cypress. The first piece, featured here, was painted a flat brown, the second piece was painted a bright red.


Dad had painted this one red with the idea of painting a Santa face and Christmas tree on it. He never got around to finishing the piece.


The first step was to strip the paint from the piece, which proved to be a long process... The bark was still in place on this one, which added to the over all frustration of the beginning steps. Once the bark and paint had been removed I had to hand sand the entire knee, being as old as it is, there was no way I could use any sort of power sander. The wood was so dry that it would have been damaged beyond repair.

Once the piece was ready I carved the Santa, then the tree.... I carved the tree resting on top of a brick wall, why I did that I have no idea, it just seemed appropriate...


I hope that I have grasped something of the vision my father had for the cypress knee...

The cypress knee stands twenty one inches tall and features a single stain and is coated in varnish... I decided to stain it a solid color rather to paint it, again, it just seemed appropriate for some reason.

If you are interested in purchasing this piece, the price is $150 You can contact me at 678-423-6541 or email me at crickhollowcarving@gmail.com