Where's Waldo And Waldette?

We're still here.  But that photo over there on the left will give you just one of the many reasons we haven't posted for a while.  With spring weather finally here we have a ton of projects around our place to work on as we're sure most of you do too.  With close to 60 acres to take care of it's a struggle to keep up with fixing fence, cleaning up the fallen brush not to mention the mowing.  Then there's dodging the tornadoes and severe weather fronts that roll through Oklahoma from April till June.  Just over the past week we lost two large trees to the winds which need to be cut up, brush burned, and wood hauled off to be split.  That's what we did today.

Anyway, one of these days we'll be back in the shop cranking out the videos...at least we hope so.

Jack Palance - Shane - Part 10

Jack Palance - Shane -Part 10 from Out West Woodcarving Videos on Vimeo.

Jack Palance - Shane - Part 9

Jack Palance - Shane - Part 9 from Out West Woodcarving Videos on Vimeo.

"You Don't Know Jack!"

Actually, you probably do after all the posts lately about him.  Here is the other, larger head of Mr. Palance mounted as a bust.  I changed the color of his neckerchief a bit by adding some iridescent light green to the black.  I also painted the back of his vest with iridescent burnt orange to give the figure a bit more color.  I think the colors balance out really well.  With a little bit of dry brushing with a light tan color to highlight the wrinkles and folds of the vest the figure makes a pretty good representation of the dasterdly Mr. Wilson from Cheyenne who will soon meet with a well deserved end.

To gain a little more information about the figures in this story I bought the book "Shane" by Jack Schaefer.  I was surprised at just how close the movie follows the story.  Hardly any liberties were taken and all the events portrayed in the movie were straight out of the book.  One thing that was different was that Shane showed up dressed in black not buckskins.  A good, quick read even if you know how the tale will end.  Another great source for the movie can be found on Wikipedia which has some really interesting facts about the stars.  I knew Alan Ladd was short but didn't know he was afraid of guns!  Funny for a guy who appeared in so many movies featuring weapons.  And the bit about Jack Palance and horses is just too funny!  Here's the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_(film)#Cast

A few more photos in the Gallery and comments always welcome and appreciated.

Jack Palance - Shane - Part 8

Jack Palance, Shane Part 8 from Out West Woodcarving Videos on Vimeo.

Let's Have An Auction!!!

It's been a while since we did this so here goes another one.  As most of you know from following the Jack Palance series of videos, this was a quick study I did to try come up with the best way to complete the larger version.  I've since turned it into a bottle stopper and thought it would make a neat little item to put up for auction.  So......Starting with the posting of this entry let's let the bidding run till 12 noon  CST on April 9th..that's this Wednesday.  There is no reserve and shipping will be included.    Bids should be submitted in the Comment section below.   Naturally, the base is also included with the carving.  There are more photo of the piece in the Gallery.

Good Luck!!

Iron Shirt - Finished

Here he is....all painted up and ready to make his debut!  I had my doubts for a while as to whether he would turn out as nice as I originally planned but glad to say he made the grade.  The colors really set him off and the feathers and the knife seem to balance the entire figure.  It would have been nice to feature the iron breast plate more but it's there and that's what counts.  He stands about 13" with the base I think.  There are a lot more photos in the Gallery and I look forward to your comments.

Jack Palance - Shane - Part 7

Is it the toothy smile or the cigarette?   How about both?

Jack Palance, Shane Part 7 from Out West Woodcarving Videos on Vimeo.

Jack Palace - Shane - Part 6

Okay.....once more with the ears.

Jack Palance, Shane Video-Part 6 from Out West Woodcarving Videos on Vimeo.

Jack Palance - Shane - Part 5

OOPS! Don't know what happened but we lost almost all of this video!  Oh well, I think the last few minutes will show what we were doing and I'll make a point of going over it again in the next one. Anyway, here is the closing segment on carving the ears.

Jack Palance, Shane Part 5 from Out West Woodcarving Videos on Vimeo.