Custer

I've done this one in smaller versions in the past so thought I would try a larger one.  Also, it gave me a change to add a couple extra details, one that I wasn't aware of.

When doing some research for this one I noted that in some photos of him there appeared to be a badge of some kind pinned to his neck scarf.  I had thought maybe it was his Medal of Honor but when checking the medal issued at that time it was clear it wasn't that.  I sent a note to my good friend and sculptor David Lemon and he informed me of something that I didn't know.  Custer had his own medal!  I won't go into just what that is but here's a very interesting link about it:

 http://www.lacwrt.org/docs/The%20Custer%20Badge.pdf

Due to the size of the piece and my feeble eyesight, I wasn't able to add the smallest details to the medal but I think there's enough to indicate just what it is and you have to admit it really adds a neat tough to the piece.

I also took the liberty of adding the leather strap across the chest just to break up the large expanse of yellow/tan leather.  It also creates just one more details to add interest to the piece.  While a lot of the painting of him show him wearing a light tan hat in looking at the photos it looks much darker than that so I colored it a dark blue with a gray piping edge and hat band which would more closely match the issued uniforms they were issued.  Granted, he pretty much wore what he wanted and even designed his own but that blue hat again makes it that much more interesting.  This bust stands a little under 12" with the walnut base,  a nice size that will easily stand out from the rest.

There are more photos in the Gallery along with a couple of unpainted ones showing his ears which I re-carved to more closely follow the photos.   I hope you like this one as I certainly do and I look forward to your comments as I always do.