All Saints Christus Rex - Finishing

 

With all the carving done the Christus Rex needs to be finished. This process involves a lot of step which we will look at with the photos below. 

The carving is sealed with three coats of Enduro-Var. Enduro-Var is a water based finish that seals, strengthens and provide a slightly amber color to the basswood.

 After the coats of Enduro-Var, the hands are glued in, and the carving is ready to be painted. The color we see here will provide the base color for the face, hands, and feet.

Multiple coats of white acrylic are added for the alb and the whites of the eyes. The base brown color for the hair is then applied. Each color needs to dry before the next color goes on to avoid unnecessary blending.

 

 Multiple coats of blue and are used for the chasuble and stole. Gold then goes on for the crown, halo, chasuble, and stole. A very faint touch of red is added to the face to give it a more lifelike appearance and a slightly lighter brown is dry brushed on the hair to give it more depth.

 

 After the colors are painted, three coats of polycrylic are applied to protect the painted surface.

 In order to provide added definition and a traditional look to the carving, an antiquing finish is applied. This is done with a water based stain that is meticulously brushed and wiped till the desired effect is achieved.

 

 Finally, everything is ready to put together. The Christus Rex figure is attached to the cross and staff. Here the staff is wrapped in a soft cloth and held gently in the bench vise.

 Thank you for following along on the process of creating this art work. More posts regarding this carving can be found on this site with the "All Saints Christus Rex" label.