Tex

This is the project I'm taking along to the show in Dayton to hopefully complete but also to use in explaining the various techniques I used in making the videos should someone happen by ande ask a question. I haven't glued anything together yet so it can be taken apart to show how the brim of the hat, it's crown and the head all go together.
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Everything is packed up and ready for the trip east. Will be taking along a bunch of pieces that I exhibited last year as I haven't been able to carve that much this year. Still, I think I'll have a pretty good exhibt.
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Special note: I've added a new link on the right to the Vimeo video host site titled ...."Out West Videos". Clicking on this link will give you access to all the videos I've done without having to search through the Blog to find the various posts. A DVD of these videos is in the works but it may be a while before it's available so stay tuned.
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Anyway, I hope you can make it to the Dayton show cause I know it's going to be a good one. I also hope you like Tex......he's going to be a good one too.
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Comments always welcome and more photos in the Gallery.

Pride of the South!

Having just completed a Union trooper I thought it best that I also do a Confederate one so here is the result. I tried to find the most colorful uniform I could to give it lots of color and I also incorporated the Southern flag to try another trick I thought of.

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To make the flag and especially to get the folds to look natural I first Googled it, blew it up to a good size and then printed it out. After that I just folded it to what I thought looked best and then positioned it on my generic bust template to give me the shape to cut out. I think it worked out great as it certainly looks natural laying over his shoulder. There are a couple of photos of the flag pattern before and after I made the folds in the Gallery.

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This Reb will accompany us to Dayton and hopefully a Southern sympathizer with some ready cash will stop by the booth and make an offer!

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As always, your comments are welcome and appreciated.

Carving A Cowboy Bust – Part 11 – Wrapping Things Up

Hooray!  We’ve finally arrived at the last post and the last video.   To me it seems this project has lasted about a year…not that it took long to do the actual carving, painting and the filming but because it took so long to upload things to the web. 

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One thing I noted on this video is that I repeated part of the varnish section.  That’s okay as that step is one of the most important in getting a great finish on your carving.  Also, when I show how to make the eyes sparkle the video is kind of fuzzy as the camera couldn’t focus in close enough but I think it shows what I’m doing well enough for you to figure out the rest.  Hey……I’m just learning this video business!

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So, I think this first experiment on doing an instructional video turned out pretty well with only a few minor hiccups.    It’s been fun making them so I’m sure there will be some future attractions down the trail.  I certainly hope you’ve enjoyed following along and always look forward to your comments.   I’ve put some still photos of Shifty in the Gallery.  Until next time.

Carving A Cowboy Bust – Part 10 – Paint!

Yes, I’m actually going to paint something!  Unfortunately, it will just be the head as the video camera ran out of juice just as we were getting ready to paint the body.  Not to worry!  both the body and the hat are pretty cut and dry compared to the work on the head so I think you will get the general idea of how I get the results I do by watching the color being applied to his noggin.

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Carving A Cowboy Bust – Part 9-Burning & Paint

With the carving part of this project finished it’s time to prepare the bust  for the painting table.  To do this I’ll explain and show you how I burn in some detail lines to help with the painting and also make certain areas really stand out.   While I use a Burnmaster unit to do this I am in no way advocating this product.  Any pyrotechnic pen will do the same thing.    I also explain my painting setup and discuss the methods I use to get the results I’m after. 

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As always, your comments are appreciated.

The Horse Soldier - Finished

He dismounted long enough for me to take some more photos. Unfortunately, to get some light on his face I had to use more light than normal so his uniform appears much lighter than it actually is. The problem of the darker wood for the head actually worked out in a way that makes the carving look even better than it would have if the wood had been the same as the lower body. At least I think it does.

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I have also included a page out of one of my notebooks which I used as a reference for the uniform. I didn't mean for the carving to be my version of John Wayne but from the comments so far a lot of you think it is. Thats okay with me as I admire him a great deal and certainly consider such comparisons as a compliment.

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Anyway, I hope you like him. Like a lot of you I really like that hat and the gold braid really makes it "snap"! Lots of photos in the Gallery and your comments are always welcome.

The Horse Soldier

Still trying to flesh out my display at Dayton I was flipping through my reference notebooks and came across a couple photos of John Wayne in his uniform from the movie The Horse Soldiers. Wow! That would make a great carving, especially as a bust. So here it is prior to heading over to the paint table.

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It should be a pretty colorful carving with the dark blue shirt and hat, the yellow bandana and the gold shoulder insignia and braid on the hat. I made the braid out of twisted wire. In the photo it has been sprayed with primer.

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One thing you will note is the dark color of the wood used for the head. This head has been around for a couple years waiting for just the right figure to put it on. I think I carved it from a piece of basswood that didn't come from my Heineke source. I painted it this afternoon and it looks fine.

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Should have the finished article up tomorrow or the next day. As always your comments are welcome and appreciated. More photos in the gallery.

Carving A Cowboy Bust – Part 8 – The Hat Continued

Carving A Cowboy Bust – Part 7 – The Hat Continued

We’re back with the hat brim.

Black Hawk

This is basically a copy of my carving "George Whitefeather" which I did back in 2006. As George is part of my Gallery collection I thought I'd do another similar so some collection can own one of his cousins.

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With this one I'm going to give him a scarlett coat vs. a blue one being as Black Hawk fought on the side of the British during the battle of 1812. However, I am also going to give him a Jefferson Peace Medal to indicate that he realized the error of his ways and made friends with the winning side. With the gold epaulettes and the colors of the hairpipe chest protector it should be quite colorful.

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I should have him completed in a couple days so he'll accompany me to the Dayton show. As always your comments are appreciated and there are more photos in the Gallery.