Buffalo Soldier - Part 22, The Lookout

Well, here he is.  I decided not to do another video segment to finish up this series but to just post the photos which are in the Gallery.  I hope this is okay with everyone.

I think you'll agree that this turned out to be a pretty impressive piece,  at least I hope you do.  It sure has seemed a long and involved one with lots of hurdles to jump but I think we did okay.  There are a few things that could be improved on though.

1.  I had hoped to have a little more action in him than the final pose which seems to me to be a little static.  By that I mean he's just standing there.  I had originally thought of having the right leg elevated on top of a rock feature but in experimenting with a model just couldn't get it to work the way I wanted.  Will have to save that idea for another carving.

2.  The blue of the coat could have had more white in it along with a little darker blue.  When painting in washes it's hard to judge the final color until the varnish is applied.  I'm still contemplating whether to do a little dry brush to the entire figure to give it a more worn look but with all the time involved with this one I'm just too hesitant to alter anything at this point.

3.  The facial coloring was spot on but again, due to the wash technique, wood grain played just a little too much of a part in altering the colors.  I mentioned this in the painting videos about how I might have to go back and retouch certain spots once the varnish is dry.  But again, he's looking pretty good so I'll wait a bit on that one too.

All in all I think this one will draw lots of positive comments as it's a subject rarely done in caricature or woodcarving in general.  I think a lot of this has to do with carvers being just a little too concerned about being criticized about the subject of Blacks and political correct-nous.   However I think if you do it in a respectful mannerthat's something that we shouldn't worry about.

So, I hope you like the way he turned out and also we hope you were able to pick up a few new techniques that will help you along on your own path.   I'm not really sure what the next project will be as it will take place a little down the road as I have to finish up some other projects in the shop.  Whatever it is we'll try to keep it interesting.

Lots of photos in the Gallery and your comments are welcome and appreciated.

P.S.  Deb, I'll oil that chair before the next one!

Buffalo Soldier–Part 14

Had a little trouble uploading this one so it’s in two parts. 

Buffalo Soldier–Part 13

Buffalo Soldier–Part 12

Buffalo Soldier–Part 11

She’s back!  With Judy back behind the camera we’re in production again.  With this one we go over the details and as an added bonus we’ve included a new freezer delivery! 

Buffalo Soldier–Part 10

Well, best laid plans fail again.  I’m back to the old MP4 upload method at least for the moment.

Buffalo Soldier–Part 9

I had to break this one into 2 parts as it was pretty long.   Here’s Part A:

And here’s part B:

Buffalo Soldier–Part 8

This is a short one.

Buffalo Soldier–Part 7

It’s time to draw a pattern for the body and cut the blank out.  We’re trying to save some wood here so stick with me on this one.   I’ve put the two patterns into the associated album in the gallery.

Buffalo Soldier–Part 6

Cutting it just a little too thin! 

Buffalo Soldier–Part 5

Well, it’s hair and a hat trick for this segment. 

Buffalo Soldier–Part 4

Opps!   Only the last 6 minutes were originally posted!  Sorry!  Still trying to figure out all these new changes.   Here is the complete version.   Still a MPEG4.

This video segment was uploaded using MPEG4 vs. the AVI format I was using earlier.  For some reason the new computer dropped the DVIX compression option from my video program.  Anyway, I hope it works for you okay.  Although I hate to ask, let me know if there is any problem.

Buffalo Soldier - Bust or Full Figure?

I started this series with just a generic cowboy bust in mind but then switched over to a Buffalo Soldier.  Now, after seeing a really nice rendering of that subject I've been thinking of doing a complete figure with lots of details.   This morning, in checking the hit count on my blog, I noted a pretty big spike of individual hits.  To me that indicates there is a lot of interest in this video series but it doesn't tell me whether it's for the bust or the full figure.  So.....how about a little poll to see which is more popular?  If you want the bust I'll stick with that and put off the full figure till some time later.  Just let me know.

Buffalo Soldier Bust – Part 3

Still refining the head.  In this one we do the nose and the mouth.

Buffalo Soldier Bust – Part 2

I’ve decided to carve a bust of a  Buffalo Soldier for this series.  As figures of Blacks are few and far between it should be a good challenge.  In this part we change our generic cowboy head into the shape we can use for our soldier.   Hopefully, my comments about the various features of Blacks and their difference from other races will not result in Al Sharpton nor Jesse Jackson showing up at my shop door complaining about my being racist.   Just in case I’d better hide those white sheets I keep around to cover works in process!

Buffalo Soldier - Part 1

Now, I’m not ruling out not actually doing that kind someday but right now I thought I’d show you how I go about laying out a simple Old West style bust, transferring it to a piece of wood and then cutting it out the easy way.   All the patterns are in the Gallery album so let’s get started!

Sgt. Buffalo

Here's the latest one.  Turned out great.  Really like the color and believe it or not there are about 6 different colors on that face!  I tried something new on this one.  Instead of trying to carve the characteristics of a Black's hair I used some model railroad ballast glued on with acrylic medium and then painted with a light wash of black.  Perfect!  I didn't apply it to his eyebrows though.  I added the glasses as a Sgt. in the army at that time would have been along in years and those little extras really bring a figure to life.
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Lots of photos in the Gallery and your comments are always welcome.

Smoke Break

I've always been fasinated by the Buffalo Soldiers, probably because they were headquarted just up the road from us in Fort Scott, Kansas. They patrolled the military highway between there, Fort Gibson, Ok, and Fort Smith, Arkansas. Just maybe they rode right by the Out West Gallery. Whatever, I carved this First Sergeant back in 2002, no doubt after I saw some movie on the Western Channel. I tried to put as much authentic detail on him as I could: his Springfield Trapdoor Carbine, sidearm, canteen & cup, and correct uniform. These are the things that really make carving enjoyable to me. I've also attached a reference photo I used to create this guy. Here is a terrific link for research material: The U.S. Springfield Trapdoor Rifle Information Center.

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In the associated photo album in the Gallery I've included a reference photo that I used when creating this guy. While its of a Spanish American War soldier he's carrying a Springfield Carbine. My Grandfather fought in that war and is buried in the Fort Scott National Cemetary.

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Here's a challenge for you.....For your next figure why not pick a historical character and do the research to fit him/her out with the correct gear, uniform, etc. I'll bet anything that you will find out pretty quick just how much more enjoyable this extra effort will make your carving adventure.

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Anyway, I hope you like this character and will look forward to any comments you might have.

Buffalo Soldier

This is the first Buffalo Soldier I carved. I did him back in 1999 after seeing the movie "Sergeant Rutledge" which starred Woody Strode as 1st Sgt. Braxton Rutledge. Along with some other photos of this piece in the Scanned Photos album is a German movie poster I used as a guide. I managed to get all the details in except for one rather obvious mistake. Can you find it?

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The Buffalo Soldier really makes a nice character to carve as they are so unique to our western expansion. With units of them stationed north of where we live in Fort Scott, Kansas and south at Fort Gibson, Oklahoma I wouldn't be surprised if at one time or other they rode right by our house.

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Since doing this piece I've completed a few others and they have always seemed highly collectable as they don't stick around for long.

The Buffalo Soldier

Having finally gotten the recent problems with this Blog straightened out with the valued assistance of my Brother, I thought I'd better post something quick before you lose interest.

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I did this piece a couple years ago. I've always had a fasination with the Buffalo Soldiers. You probably already know that they acquired that name from the Native Americans who associated their dark skin and woolly topknots to the animals that roamed the plains. Here are a couple of great sites where you can learn just about everything you might want to know about them plus find some great reference material:

- http://www.buffalosoldier.net/index.htm

- http://www.9thcavalry.com/frampage.htm

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The title of this carving is "Smoke Break". While we don't know this fella's name we can see he's the First Sergeant of his Cavalry Troop by his arm and Kipi insignia. He's carrying a Sharps Carbine and looking forward to a cool drink out of that regulation canteen. If you look close on his right side you will note the rifle clip next to his sidearm which hooks to the sliding ring on the side of the rifle.

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There are a few other photos in the Gallery. As always, your comments and opinions are welcome.