A Bolt From The Blue

I'll probably get a negative comment  about this one being as I've been spending too much time with the Grandkids again instead of finishing Gabby Hayes.  But the kids have no real idea just who Gabby is but they can certainly relate to this fella's bad luck and they enjoyed watching it all come together.  We have one more week with them so as soon as they walk up the ramp and head off into the rising sun Judy and I will once again open up the video production studio.

This makes about the 4th or 5th time I've done one of these characters and they always seem to be the first to leave the ranch.  This time I fired up the propane torch, told the Grandkids to stand back, and proceeded to burn up his hat to the point that the entire crown went up in smoke.  Had to cut an opening for his right ear the a few drops of epoxy held everything in place.  I use some of the left over epoxy to give him several blisters on the top of his head.

Anyway, hope you like him and I'll look forward to your comments.  More photos in the Gallery album.

Crusty

With the addition of the cigarette makins' tag hanging from his waistcoat pocket, I finally finished this piece.    In painting him I tried to keep the colors a little dark and brooding to carry the theme of a bloke who's a little pissed at the world around him.   I think I managed that.
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If you can remember back a while, I did his head in a WCI forum post about "How Long Did This Take" thread where someone carved the head of a devilish figure.  To turn it into Crusty I just whittled off the points of the ears and there he was.
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I know a lot of you are waiting for the next Gabby video.  It will be a while yet as the Grandkids will be here till the first week of September.  Anyway, hope you like this krusty fella and your comments are welcome as always.

Gabby Hayes - Some Reference Photos

I had a request to post some photos of the piece as it's done so far so here he is.  There are a few more in the gallery.  It's always nice to have as much info and reference material as possible so I hope these will help.
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It might be a while before we're able to add another segment in the video series as our Granddaughters are arriving from Bahrain tomorrow and they've gone a whole year without any serious teasing so I have some catching up to do.  Also, my Mom will be celebrating her 95th Birthday in a couple weeks and with the associated reunion relatives will be coming out of the woodwork. Hopefully that won't include my Basswood supply, it's already low.
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As always, we appreciate your continued interest in the Blog and always look forward to your comments and questions.

Gabby Hayes Bust – Part 5 – Finishing Up The Head & Laying Out The Torso

With this segment we wrap up the head and decide on the type of torso we want.   I’ve placed the drawing for the body I carved in the Gallery Album but there’s certainly no reason you couldn’t develop or design your own.   In the video I give several examples of what is possible.

I’ve decided not to show a video of the actual carving process of the torso as I think it’s easy enough that if you’ve carved the head you can certainly carve the body. 
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Up next will be the hat which should be fun as I think the hat will make the carving truly the character we’re trying to capture.  As always, comments are welcome and if you have a question just drop me a comment.

Gabby Hayes Bust – Part 4 – The Eyes & Facial Hair

 

We’re back from Minnesota and ready to pick up where we left off.  With this segment we finish the eyes, whittle a little on the ears and then move to the mustache and beard.  We’ll wrap up the head in the next post and then move on to the body of the bust saving the hat till the last.  If you have any questions just drop a comment and I’ll try to answer them.