Brave Heart

Here's another one fresh off the paint table.  Wrapped in his painted robe with warpaint  on his face,  he's no doubt planning how to get his horses back from that bunch a couple mountains over.  

I never tire of Native Americans.  The opportunity to paint them is just too enjoyable.  

Winter's Warmth.....Finished!

I put the final touches on this piece this morning.  Quite satisfied with it even though it seemed to take forever to complete.  About the only thing I would change would be the base as I think the snow feature would have looked much better had I done it as previous snow scenes, i.e., elevate the snow above a dark, recessed piece of wood.  The blond basswood just doesn't give it the snap the other would have.

I really like the female figure and now that I'm over the hurdle of carving a decent female face I hope to do more of them in the future.

There are quite a few photos in the Gallery and I look forward to receiving your comments.

Black Elk - Winter Colors

I was originally going to just place this figure on a plain base but as I had just completed Charlie Red Horse and mounted him that way I thought I'd put this one in the snow.  I really like using snow as the starkness of the white really amplifies the colors of the figure. 
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The hardest part of this piece was coming up with the painted designs on the robe.  Not hard from the application but as I had just done a painted robe I wanted something unique for this one.  So Black Elk sat staring at me unpainted for several weeks until I came up with something.  Personally I think the wait was worth it as while he might look sad I'm sure he's real proud of his robe and the memories and warmth it provides.
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There are more photos in the Gallery and, as always, your comments are welcome.

Charlie Red Horse All Painted Up!

Finally got Charlie off the paint table and in front of the camera.  I think he turned out great.  Really like the robe designs.  They are a combination of several I found through research the web and in the books I have on hand.   He looks pretty regal to me.  Now all I have to do is to come up with a price for him.  This is a good example of where the applied finish almost takes over the carving part.
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Hope your like him and your comments are always appreciated.  Lots of photos in the Gallery.

Charlie Red Horse - The Carving Parts Finished

After taking yesterday off, I managed to finish carving Charlie.  He's got his pipe, some feathers, and some fancy burnt detail.  If you're wondering why the upper part of the robe is so dark it's because I burnt it with my butane torch to remove the fuzzy surface left from the stoning.  That's a neat technique I came up one day.  After it's burned you can just brush off any residue with a small brass brush.  The burnt color lends itself well to the dark brown to come later.
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The feathers are kind of oversized but I think that just adds to the figure.  He should really be flashy once painted,especially after I add the designs to the robe.
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I put a link to a really nice reference book for robe designs.  I'm always on the lookout for new material I can use to come up with ideas to paint.  This book is a good one.
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Anyway, hope you like him so far and your comments are welcome as always.

Charlie Red Horse

Sorry, no video for this one.  I've been experiencing a run on my carvings lately so I've got to shut down the video production studio for a while to try and get my Gallery restocked.  Also, the Dayton show is not that far off and I'd like to come up with some competition pieces.
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I've used this robed pose several times in the past and it has always proved very popular, no doubt because once painted it is quite striking.  This one is a little larger than the others, measuring about 17" tall.   The robe will be painted with designs and the upper part will be textured to simulate dark hair.  He will have a horn breast plate and hold a catinite tipped pipe.  I haven't decided on his hair decoration yet.
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As I type this the body is finished and will be textured today and hopefully he's get his braids.   As always, your comments are welcome and appreciated.  Oh...there are a couple more photos in the gallery.

The Winter Robe

Finally!!! I'll bet that although he might be standing out in the snow he's at least glad to get off my workbench! He has been hanging around down there for the past three months!

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The Chief is just another example of why I enjoy doing Native Americans. Such a large opportunity to do a little research and a lot of painting not to mention coming up with the various designs.

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This guy stands a little over 14" so he's pretty impressive. I did the snow as I have before, i.e., finish painting the figure completely, mask off the face, then use straight white and a toothbrush to splatter paint from above. I came back with a brush to dab on a little more white on the more exposed parts. I also dabbed on the white around the bottom of his moccasins so it looks like he has snow on his feet.

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There are a lot of photos in the Album and your comments are always welcome.

Chief Broken Hand

Ouch!!! I had this guy all done except for the hat and the texturing of the upper part of the robe....then I fell off the horse. He'd been setting down there on the workbench watching me each time I stuck my head in the door no doubt wondering when I was going to get up the courage to whittle out his Stovepipe. After some assurance from the surgeon and a couple of Percocet I managed to do it but believe me it was no fun. The phrase "No Pain, No Gain!" has taken on a literal meaning.

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I think this one will be a really nice piece once he's painted and mounted. He will be standing in the snow with a dusting of the white stuff on his hat and shoulders. As you probably know I've done this type of figure before. The robe designs along with all the other bright and crisp colors really make a stunning piece.

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Lots of photos in the Gallery and your comments are always welcome. Oh.....and I had no trouble coming up with the title of this piece!