Chris Pye: Woodcarving
Recommended Books

Essential Woodcarving Techniques
By Dick Onians

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Dick Onians is a well-respected teacher of woodcarving, principally as the senior woodcarving tutor at the City & Guilds Art School where he himself was taught by the late William Wheeler (see Woodcarving: The Beginner's Guide - Hayward & Wheeler).

This book is based around the City & Guilds carving course that Onians teaches (and wrote); a course intended as a basic introduction to tools, skills and techniques in classical and traditional styles of woodcarving. As such the book ranges widely - covering, for example, mouldings, foliage, animals, the human figure, lettering, abstracts and stylized sculpture - (where the author's heart for his own work lies.

By its nature, Essential Woodcarving Techniques cannot cover subjects in great depth but this is a good, solid introduction to woodcarving. With photographs of finished work that repay close study and students' work for making points, Onians mixes a teacher's approach to learning essential skills with experienced advice. Given too the excellent thoughts on drawing, modelling and design this is a satisfying book for students to work with.

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