Abdul The Terrorist

Put the final touches to this reprobate yesterday.  Took a few liberties by adding some real hair (horse hair actually!) which really brings him to life.  I also repainted his upraised arm and sword to make the piece a little more acceptable if that's possible.  I left a little on his outer tunic to show just how bad he really is.  The AK47 turned out real nice and I added a leather strap otherwise it would look strange as nothing would be holding it to his body.   The list of things he doesn't approve of is made from aluminum flashing.  I burnished the surface, sprayed it with acid etching primer and then white before fan-folding it prior to lettering on the words.  I nailed it down under his foot and epoxied it to his hand after a bit of antiquing.

In adding the hair I had carved the hat indentation deeper than normal so it would bend down the hair when pressed in place.  That worked out pretty good.  For the mustache I cut a  length of hair and glued it in place by forcing it up into a hole I drilled directly under his nose.  This also bent the hair down on each side which looks nice.  I really like the idea of mixing materials as you can only achieve so much with wood.  It also just adds that extra something that brings him to life.

This was a fun piece to do and am sure it will be a hit when displayed.  Hopefully it will show others that it's good to push the envelope to try new techniques and maybe be a little controversial occasionally even if it might cause offence to some.  Life on this planet consists of many things both good and bad and there is no reason we shouldn't confront them in any way we can.

So, I hope you like him as much as I do and I'll look forward to your comments.

Oh.....almost forgot!  Once I receive the photos of the others who took up the challenge I'll post them here.

Pepe Gets Some Color

Painted this one yesterday.  Not that much to say about him other than I spent a little extra time on his hat.  I like the colors and hope you do too.  

Abdul The Terrorist

This carving is my contribution to a challenge I issued over on the Out West Possee Face Book page.  With only a week to go I still have a few things that need to be done to wrap things up but he's well on his way to the finish line.

I carved the AK47 that will be attached to his back yesterday at our little carving group and today will make a new base and the sign he'll be holding.  The base he's on right now is just a spare I had on hand.  Someone mentioned that he looked pretty fragile...believe me he's not.  The upraised arm is attached with the shaft of a 4p galvinized nail. Also each leg has a metal rod iserted through up into the body.

Hope you like him so far and your comments are always welcome.

Here's A New Challenge!

Okay..... I'll probably be sued for copyright infringement but what the hell!  I saw this cartoon over the weekend and thought "Wow!  That would make a great carving!"  So I thought again ( I do think sometimes, but not as much as I used to!) why not make it a Blog challenge and invite others to join in?

So here it is.....You can interpret this cartoon in any way you want, i.e., change the pose, do a bottle stopper, a bust, or full figure.  The size is up to you. No problem with adding or removing items as long as the central part of the figure, head and body, remain the same.  While this cartoon is tied to the recent horrible events in Paris, France you can relate it to any other statement you'd prefer but you must tie it to something and also come up with a humorous title. Also, it has to be a figure in the round, not a raised panel carving.

Let's set a time limit of 2 weeks to complete your piece.  So next Monday send me your photo(s) and I'll post them and we'll all vote for the one we think best.  For myself I will not participate in the challenge but will carve my own figure.  The winner will be awarded a Hearty Handshake, Pat on the Back, enduring Fame and a seat next to me should I get dragged into court.

So, what do you think?  Are you up for it?

Beans for Breakfast

Finally wrapped this one up this morning so now he can chow down on those beans!.  I really like the way the jacket painting turned out.  To me it looks exactly like a worn denim jacket.  I originally had planned on having just the figure with his plate of blasters, biscuits and coffee but, although I had the base all made, painted and ready to mount it just didn't look right.  So......with a bow to the David Lemon bronze "Morning Joe" that we own I added the details directly behind the figure.  This creates a nice composition and also adds to the figures story.

The coffee pot is wood with a metal handle.  The skillet is also wood, filled with peppercorns embeded in epoxy and painted. The can is made from tin roof flashing with a soldered wire rim and lid made to look like it was cut open with a knife.  The label is just painted paper.  I left a few beans and sauce inside the can to run out and over the base.  I think doing this adds a little more life and humor to the piece.

With the base, the piece stands about 20" tall so it makes a nice presentation  There are more photos in the Gallery and your comments are always welcomed.