Saint Nicholas Butternut Carving - Mark Klein

Beautiful hand-carved butternut Saint Nicholas by Mark Klein. Butternut is a type of walnut tree native to north America. It is a favorable wood for both its carvability as well as beautiful wood grain. With amazing texturing and detail from the face and beard, miter hat, artful flow of his clothing to the historic etched symbols this carving was a true labor of love, taking the better part of a year to complete. The anchor for example is a symbol of St. Nicholas, patron saint of sailors, ships and merchants of the sea, as well as a visual expression of being rooted in faith. There are over 40 hours of 'finishing' alone, alternating coats of oil between sanding, gradually working up to 4000 grit sand paper. The result is a silky smooth finish to complement the carving detail. Completely designed, hand carved and finished by Mark Klein - signed on the bottom.

• Material: Butternut wood
• Dimensions: 6H x 5W x 4D inches
• Artist: Mark Klein