The Chief's New Blanket - Painted

I'm thinking that that is one cozy piece of material! It may not be a Pendelton but it will do! The new WalMart over in Pine Ridge was having a pre-winter sale so the Chief made sure he was the first in line. That old thread-bare, flea bitten piece of quilt the boys from the BIA passed out last year was so drafty and full of holes he was worried he was going to be picked up for exposing himself!

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I don't know if you're familiar with Charles Russell's little modeled wax caricatures of Indians, some of which were later cast in bronze. If you're not you should look them up as they are terrific. This fella is modeled after them. I tried to locate a photo of some on the web but couldn't find any so I guess you'll just have to make the trip to the museum in Great Falls, Montana. You can also see a few at the National Cowboy Museum in OKC or the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth.
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This was a fun figure to put together and while the blanket might be a little plain from the front the design on the back makes up for that ... besides, I didn't want to distract the viewer from that smile! If you look close you can see that the Chief didn't even take off the price tag. Hey, mornings are cold up there along the Rosebud!

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I hope you like the Chief. There are lots of photos in the Gallery and your comments are welcome.

Bobby Deer-In-Water

This is Little Joe Beaver's best buddy on the Res. They meet each morning behind Bette's Kitchen Cafe on Black Elk Road in hopes of a handout before heading down to Pine Ridge to look for any available work. There's one more character in this group but he hasn't showed up yet....maybe next week. I sure hope he turns up as he will complete the scene that I have a vision of.

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I really like doing these little figures. Being as they are wrapped in a blanket most of the body detail is covered. This guy measures at 9" and I just whittled him freehand working from scraps I scrounged from my cutoff box. There are more photos in the Picasa Gallery along with those of Little Joe Beaver. Comments welcome.

Little Joe Beaver

Here is a little quickie I did yesterday while my son and I were trying ot figure out how to make a video to upload. We finally gave upon the video but the figure turned out pretty good. He stands just a little over 8" in his moccasins and I hope to do a couple of others to go along with him in some sort of scene.....maybe standing in the snow roasting a hot dog or something. There are more photos in the Gallery and I'll post some additional ones once he's painted up.
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As always, comments welcome.