Rooster Finds A New Home

We handed over my carving of "Rooster" to the new John Wayne Museum this past Tuesday.  They were quite excited about receiving it and placed it in the "True Grit" display case right next to the eyepatch John Wayne wore when filming the movie.  Funny...when I mentioned that Judy and I had seen one at the Autry museum in California I was told that Wayne insisted on a new patch each day of filming.  Also in the case were the jacket he wore along with his pistol and a commemorative carbine.  Harry Jackson's bronze of Rooster was also setting close by. (Years ago Judy and I took a tour of Jackson's studio in Cody, Wyoming.) Our Rooster fit right in and the weathered colors I used really matched the overall look.  The Museum will be publishing a newsletter soon about the presentation and I will post it once received.

When I was honored a few years back to have some of my larger scenes included in the permanent collection of the Woolaroc Museum here in Oklahoma I thought that it was the crowning moment of my carving career.  While it certainly is a high mark I feel that this one measures right up there with it.  Seeing that little bust of mine in among the other memorabilia of that great star and American makes me feel quite humble and truely honored.  What a thrill.

I have posted some other photos of our trip to Winterset, Iowa in the Gallery should you like to see them.  As you can see by the photo of Brian Downes, the museum's Director, Judy and our cousin Carl Heinrich, standing in front of the house where Wayne was born,  it was a perfect day all round.

Rooster

I think I have a new submission for the John Wayne museum to consider.  While "The Searcher" was nice I think this one, once painted, will be the real standout.  There are several more photos in the Gallery and I can't wait to paint him.

Comments welcome as always.

The Searcher

Put the finishing touches to this one today and am pretty satisfied with it.  If things work out it will be destined for the new John Wayne Museum in Winterset, Iowa.  Seems the Director of the museum and the Wayne family saw a photo of the small bust I did earlier and asked if I could do another.  Their only requirement was that there was no cigarette in the piece.  No problem said I.  I gave a lot of thought to just how I would portray him, settling on either Rooster Cogburn or Ethan Edwards from the movie The Searchers.  As I have a Grandson named Ethan and as The Searchers is probably my favorite Wayne movie I put the coin back in my pocket.  I also wandered away from the caricature theme a bit and tried to be a little more realistic.  Hope it works.

This one is about 12" with the base and while it looks a little generic without any color I hoping that the application of paint will bring the figure to life.  If now I have Rooster Cogburn partially completed as a fall back.

Anyway, I hope you like him so far and will look forward to your comments.

John Wayne Gets Some Color

Finished this one up yesterday and it turned out really nice.  I forgot to measure it but it's around 10-12 inches tall with the base.  I was fortunate enough to sell it before it was even painted so I hope the collector likes the color version.  The Duke will take up residence soon in south Texas...a good place for him cause he'll be joining quite a group of old Out West friends.

There are several more photos in the Gallery and I apologize if it's hard to negotiate that site but Google just keeps changing things.  Hope you like him and I look forward to your comments.

John Wayne - Duke

I finished the carving yesterday and made the base this morning.  I think he turned out really nice and should make a nice addition to someone's collection.   I made the hat cord out of some twisted wire and then carved the knots at the end.  I made the badge out of a piece of hammered brass, silver-soldered to a post.  I'll letter "Duke" on it once it's painted.  The base is walnut.

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

The Duke

Well, it's been a while but I finally got back to doing something.  My Sister visited over the Memorial Day weekend and  on her way spent some time up in Winterset, Iowa attending the grand opening of the new John Wayne Museum (http://johnwaynebirthplace.museum/).  She brought along a bunch of brochures, etc., that she picked up there and that was enough to get me interested in trying to capture his likeness in wood.

Tuesday morning I spent some time on the net googling photos, drawings and other art work to come up with a working sketch to work from and then roughed out the head while at our local carving gathering.  This morning I finished the head, worked on the hat and pretty well finished up that part of the piece.  I think I will keep it a bust as even that will make a pretty large piece when done.  The head with the hat on measures right at 7".  The hardest part was getting the eyes right and I think once they are painted they should look pretty good.  At least I hope so.  I stuck a smoke in his mouth as he was a heavy smoker as were most cowpokes.  The hat really adds to the character.

There are a couple more photos in the Gallery and I look forward to your comments.