There’s a line somewhere about how “artwork is never finished, just abandoned…”

I think I’ve reached it.

The challenge at this point, is how to finish it. Up until now, all my instruments have gotten a variation of a shellac finish. A “Quebecois Polish” if you will… That may be appropriate here to some degree as a colored shellac will go a long ways to highlight the carving as the darker shellac collects in the various nooks etc.

The problem is that the wood itself is not a particularly attractive wood (IMO) in this case. My current thinking is to give the thing a white spray-on finish to give an even ground and also seal the surface to prevent the shellac endlessly absorbing into the wood.

The other question is going to be the color scheme. I’ve been vacillating between a monochrome blue that would have the depth of color moderated by the depth of the carvings. The alternative is to pick out some of the different features with colors.

Decisions, decisions…