Beans & Biscuits

Well, the biscuits look good, the beans tasty but the cook could use a little work!    Hope you like him. 

Beans & Biscuits

I finished this carving last week.  So the next step is determining just how to present it.   As I've done a number of Chuck Wagon Cooks in the past I want to make this one unique from those.  Now I could just mount him on a base by himself but by adding another detail apart from him it creates a more complete story.  The addition of a Dutch Oven which will eventually be filled with baked biscuits does the trick.

I don't know his name, but just looking at him I can tell he is one, crusty individual.  By the looks of that belly I can also tell he's a fan of his own cooking.  Also, by his holding a kerosene lantern it must be pretty early in the morning and while I'm sure the cowboys waking up will be hungry I seriously doubt if they'll appreciate having beans for breakfast.  The circular cutout, while still a little large, will make a nice platform for the scene.  I thought about adding a coffee pot but I think that would crowd the composition. 

So, the scene and the story is complete and the only thing left is the painting and putting everything together.   Hope you like him.   And comments welcome as always. 

The Big Project - Part 2

With the display stand finished we've moved on to the next part of this project......cleaning up and oiling a set of team harness.  There's Judy working on one.  The collars and hames have already been done.  Maybe some of you do but most have no idea just how heavy these sets are and how dirty they can get with use...not to mention how stinky!

I was going to kind of lead up to what the Big Project is but I guess it's time to let you know whats going on.

Years ago I did this Chuck Wagon scene based on our real Chuck Wagon.  That's me and my horse Biscuit munching a plate of beans and biscuits.  This scene was on display at the Woolaroc Museum (http://woolaroc.org/) a few years back when I was fortunate enough to have my work selected for a special showing.  At the time I mentioned to the Museum Director that wouldn't it be great if this little scene was setting in front of the Chuck Wagon on display in the museum.  I almost hit the floor when he said "Let's do it!"

So that's what's happening.  In mid-February Judy and I will load the wagon on a trailer and, along with the scene, truck it up to the Museum.  I was even invited to help set up the display.  The wagon and scene will join my other large scenes already on display in the Museum.

Needless to say, we're totally thrilled at the prospect that another of my pieces, in addition to our wagon, have found a new home and will be on permanent display in one of the top western museums in the US.

Buckaroo Breakfast

Now here is one I just might have posted before but as I'm sure the additional photos were lost in the Gallery switch I'll do it again just in case.
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This is a pretty involved scene as I wanted to get in as much of the actual detail of a Chuckwagon set up as possible. It took me about a year and a half to complete it. In the closeup photos in the Scanned Photo album you can see the details more clearly. The cowboy leaning against the front wagon wheel is me with my mouth full of beans & biscuits. And tied up next to me is my first horse Biscuit, like Boomer a true and trusted friend who left this world much too early. Biscuit hated mud puddles...he just would not cross them. I always prayed when we came upon one it was in the clear and not bordered by a bunch of poison ivy infested brush. Unfortunately it never seems to work out that way. He would cross a river ... no problem...but a mud puddle?....no way!!!
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The wagon is a copy of the one we own right down to the working breaks and chuck box. It was manufactured in Springfield, Missouri somewhere around 1900 and sold new at the C.L.Higgenbottom store in Seneca, Missouri. The reason I know this is because you can still make out the lettering on the sides. I have a photo of Seneca taken about that time and from the looks of it old C.L. owned just about the whole town as his name is on almost every building. Only one building in the photo still stands today and it houses an filthy auto repair garage. As for the wagon it's in great shape with everything being original except for the main connecting timber between the two axles. If you go to the Out West Gallery webpage you can see a photo of Judy and I cooking from the back of it. They say that cowboys had it rough but if the food they ate was anything like what we've rustled up over the fire or in a dutch oven the evening meal they had after hard day in the saddle was something to really look forward to. A plate of tasty beans, a cup of hot coffee and a warm biscuit is hard to beat.
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