Wrapped In Glory

Finished this fella a couple days ago but lost the front view photos.  Retook them this morning so here he is in all his proud glory.  He had sat on my workbench for a week staring at me while I couldn't figure out just what to do with the blanket.  There was so much area there that it had to have some kind of design to bust up all that surface.  Well, while flipping through my reference material I came across a photo of a painting by John Moyers which solved that problem.  Here's the link to that painting".  https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz6aOJ4WfAAPPqVyIDgl0uxFPT7WRssO9fnSLko49qB-O-MX4yb0mIJVi2O10oz-rNq5VMI0h0JctFLc6WZ08EuTE_MewPOTq1-j04b3Yqmn-A2GxsRLfh6Nj62mqCGxzKGAUnHQ/s400/Native+American.jpg   Some might call this copying.  I don't!  I consider it taking advantage of the information that is available.

I penciled on the lines for the design and then lightly burned the breaks.  I applied the paint pretty straight from the bottle on the wet surface to get the strongest color.  I think those strong colors really bring out the softness of his face.  Even the hat was painted straight but that too appears soft compared to the flag.  The gold choker also amplifies the richness of the whole piece.   Just my opinion.

I painted the hair a dark gray before dry brushing on the white.  Instead of using Moroccan Red on the braid wraps I used straight Red Iron Oxide as I wanted a clear definition between those two red colors.  The hat is  Midnight Blue, shaded with black.  I think the skin tones could be a little darker but overall everything seems to work so I'll leave it as it is.  As I mentioned earlier the earrings are pounded brass painted gold.

The piece stands just over 15" with the base so it will be pretty impressive setting on the display stand or the Judges table.  There are more photos in the Gallery and your comments are always welcome.

Johnny Reb - Part 3 - The Trumpet's Sounding!

What a guy!! He might be on the losing side but he's still a winner in my book! Standing at 23" including the base and flag, he's quite an impressive figure...certainly one to be noticed on the judging table. I can't wait to get the viewers reactions at the next show.
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As I mentioned in Part 2, the rifle is based on an 1863 British Enfield. The bayonet was made from metal and while I made it to be removed I decided to go ahead and install it permanently as the paint on the rifle barrel would be damaged over time. The firing mechanism was also made from metal as was the trigger guard and trigger. The strap is leather.
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The kit bag, canteen, cartridge & bullet cases were carved and attached and the tin cup made from tin. I like to make these cups from this material as it just looks terrific on the figure instead of the usual clunky piece of carved wood. Sure, some say this is cheating but as usual, I could care less! If you look close you'll note that his boot laces are actually laces! I made them from wire and inserted them into the boot.
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The flag was also made from tin. I took the square of metal to my anvil and gave it a good pounding on the surface with a ballpeen hammer hoping it would give it some nice texture. Unfortunately, it was all lost once it was painted but it still looks good. After a coat of acid-etching primer I sprayed it white. Using painters tape I masked off the white border areas and then sprayed the red. Once that was dry I went to WalMart and bought some little stick-on stars and stuck them to the white border area then masked everything except for the blue center stripes. Once that was dry I carefully pealled everything off and bingo....it worked!! The flag is held on the pole by some soldered metal strips and three little decorative nails. As a final touch I thought I would add some gold tassels made from twisted wire. To get the wavy look I put a piece of 1-1/2" PVC pipe into a sock and carefully use it to bend the flag.
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The figure, flag and rifle are all mounted to the base using 3/8" and 1/8" wooden dowels, inserted from the figure down through both wooden bases. The larger base is a nice piece of Cherry I've had laying around for the past 15 years for just such a figure.
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This has really been a fun project, exasperating at times but fun none-the-less. There are lots of photos in the Gallery and I look forward to your comments.

Johnny Reb-Part 2-Suited Up!

I have one word for this guy so far...Wow! He really turned out nice. The attitude of the pose is just perfect, at least to me. I can just picture the Confederate Battle Flag flowing behind him. With the figure already standing 15" tall the addition of the flag will increase the size to over 22".
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I once mentioned to a fellow carver that while you can play loose when doing a caricature you should still portray the figure as accurately as possible, especially if it set in a specific setting. This is what I've tried to do here. I did quite a bit of research to make sure I equipped him with just what he would wear into battle right down to the tin cup which will be attached next to his canteen. His rifle is an 1863 British Enfield and while it's not an exact replica all the details are there to where it is recognizable for what it represents. The bayonet is made from metal and I made it so it can be removed. He still needs some bootlaces and I will add those once he's painted.
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The Battle Flag will be made from metal like I did for the Teddy Roosevelt figure. However this time I'm going to try to texture the metal so it doesn't look so smooth.
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As Johnny has just arrived at the front his uniform and equipment will be fresh from the Quartermaster store. It's going to be fun painting him.
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More photos in the Picasa gallery and after you select a particular photo you can enlarge it by clicking the icon upper right. As these photos are large by holding down the left mouse button and moving the cursor you can move around the picture.
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Comments welcome!

Johnny Reb

It's been a long time since I did a Civil War figure so I thought a Confederate Infantryman would be interesting especially with the challenge of making all that great equipment he'd be carrying. He'll be a fairly large figure, probabl in the 16-18" range depending on how he holds his rifle.
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The only thing different so far is the method of attaching the bill of his Kipi. I made it out of Tupelo as when wet you can literally tie that stuff in knots. I carved a deep groove just under the hat band and using a profile gauge I whittled the thin piece to where it fit snugly into place. I then used epoxy to anchor it and held it in place with toothpicks as you can see in the gallery photo. Once the glue sets up you can easily pull those out before it completely sets hard.
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Lastly, I burnt on some details and ran it through the flap-sander to soften the edges and clean up the carving. I used two decorative nails for the hatband studs.
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This should be a real impressive figure as I've been going through a lot of research material to make sure I get all the equipment he'd be fitted out with. I'm thinking a bedroll across his chest would be a really neat detail I haven't tried before.
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Hope you like him. Lots of photos and lots more to come. Comments welcome.

Stretching His Rope-Part 3

I was finally able to get back into the shop today so I finished the base and the main part of the figures body.
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Before mounting the body I suggest you do a little experiment in front of a mirror, standing in a similar manner as this figure. If you look closely you'll note that you lean in the direction of the supporting leg. If you try to straighten that leg up you'll lose your balance. Remember this little detail when you mount the figure. If you look at the photo you can see I placed him just a little off-center. Don't want him to fall off the bookshelf!
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In the photos I also suggest a good reference book: Cowboys & The Trappings Of The Old West. I use that book on a constant basis to find new ways to do things. Naturally, there are others out there but this is one of the best.
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In the next part we'll do the arms. Lots of photos in the Gallery.

Stretching His Rope-Part 2

To the left is the template I used to make the base for this project. I used a piece of 1" Oak for the larger base, a piece of 1/2" Basswood for the second level and finally a piece of 1/8" panel for the top. The wide area between the Oak and Basswood pieces is large enough for a nice routed edge incorporating an attached Brass nameplate. It's little details like these that make your carvings really look sharp. If you want to use a nameplate you can find one online at www.signsbygwynn.com. I used their A-30 size brass plate for this one. The title of the piece will be in Double-line Block and my name in Script. You can just fill out the order on line or give them a call. They'll get it to you cheaper and a lot quicker than you can get it locally. Tell them I sent you.
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The attached photos show the whole process of making the base and locking in the wheel. In the next part we'll start working on the figure.
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Good luck! Lots of photos in the Gallery.

Stretching His Rope

The wheel is finished so now we start the figure. The drawing to the left has all the pieces along with the measurement of the body which will give you the sizes of the other parts. As his arms will be stretched while to make his loop we'll attach them. But don't worry about that now we're only concentrating on the body blank.
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You'll note that the wheel he's leaning against is tilted back a bit. I did this to give a more pleasing appearance to the piece. Having it stand straight up would make the whole piece look stiff. Also, as how he comes into contact with the wheel is very important we will do the base before we actually carve the body. This might sound kind of odd but you'll see the logic as we move along.
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So, let's get started! Lots of photos in the Gallery.