The Plainsman

Having recently watched the movie "The Plainsman", starring Gary Cooper, I noted what a neat buckskin shirt he was wearing.  So, borrowing that detail I came up with this carving.  I think looking at it you can see that there are many miles on this traveler of the west and he has witnessed some pretty remarkable events during the time he spent there.  

I hope you like him and look forward to any comments you might have. 

Bitterroot Bill

Here's the first one of 2019.  Yep...another Mountain Man.  Along with Native Americans I just can't seem to get away from these guys.  No doubt because they can be so colorful and fun to paint.  Maybe fun isn't the right word.  How about challenging?  That knife sheaf took an entire day and a throbbing headache to complete.

As you've probably noticed, I've been pretty lax in posting over the past month or so.  I won't apologize as the cause is what we'll all face or have faced over time......Hitting the Wall!  Sometimes the desire to be creative  just seems to disappear.  It might last a couple days, weeks or a month or more.  I thought maybe our yearly trip out west to Jackson, WY in September, and a couple weeks of seeing whats going on in the Galleries and watching other artists at work in Quick Draw events in both Jackson and at the Buffalo Bill Museum would be the cure.  Nope!   Didn't work.  Fortunately, I think I'm finally coming out of the creative funk as the desire is starting to move back in.  At least I hope it does. 

So, as the New Year starts, let's hope we all are charged up to face it with new ideas and the will to get them done and off the workbench.  

All the best,  Lynn

Old Gabe - Painted

Added the hat feathers yesterday which completed this piece.  I had my worries about whether the solid color capote would work but I think it turned out pretty well.  Not every Mountain Man in the Rockies was fortunate enough to have a Hudsons Bay blanket and had to depend on just what was available.  

I spent some extra time letting the waist strap ends hang down over the base to tie the two areas together.  The two pieces were attached but reinforced by epoxy on the back side.  As long as they are not purposely fiddled with they should be fine.  

In sun, he turned out great...He might be an old codger but up there under that hat is a wealth of knowledge on how to live in the mountains and, most importantly, how to stay alive. 

I hope you like him and look forward to a your comments.  More photos in the photo gallery section. 

Old Gabe Gets a Body....At Least Half of One!

Today I worked on the lower half of Old Gabe.  He's wearing a blanket capote, loosely modeled after one we picked up at a Mountain Man Rendezvous last year at the Woolaroc Museum.  I ask Judy to come down and model it for me so I could actually see how it fit.  Photos are nice but an actual item and model can really make things a lot easy.   I hope to have the ends of the blanket strap hang loosely down from the piece but that's a hurdle I haven't solved yet.  

Hope you like him so far.  

Old Gabe

I'm still in the process of clearing heads off the workbench so with this one I thought it would be a reasonable representation of the Mountain Man Jim Bridger, or Old Gabe as he was known.   Naturally, a little artistic licence will be used to make the figure more interesting but that's okay, at least I think it is.  There's nothing wrong with making a fella better looking that he actually was. 

Several months ago I bought a Mountain Man's blanket capote and this will give me a chance to use it as a reference.  So, let's see if he turns out as nice as I think he will.

Comments welcome as always. 

Buckskin Billy - Painted

Yay!   Finally finished!  Boy....this painting is getting harder and harder.  The old eyes just aren't what they used to be.  He still turned out pretty nice and certainly a bright and colorful piece.  I hope that you also like how he turned out and will look forward to any comments.  Now, on to the next one once I figure out what that will be. 

Buckskin Billy

Just finished working on this one yesterday.  The carved feather was still wet with primer so I used a real one for the photo.  I tried something new this time by adding some beaded piping along the edge where the body of the shirt meets the fringe of the sleeve.  Should look pretty good when it's painted.  I also added a beaded trim around the top of the top hat to give it some extra sparkle once painted.  

I had done the head as a video project back in July of last year.  If you want to see how it was carved just look for "Carving a Caricature Head" here on the Blog or at the Vimeo video link.  I carve a lot of heads with no real end view in sight as to what they will become.  It's sort of like a painter making sketches.  It not only give you great practice that improves your abilities but it also gives you references to use when contemplating a future project.   With this one I wondered whether a Mountain Man would be smoking a cigar....whether that would actually have taken place.  Doing a little research showed that they were popular so I'm sure they made an appearance in the Rockies, no doubt available at the yearly Rendezvous.  

Whatever, I hope you like him and will look forward to any comments. 

Old Griz

Here's one that's been on my workbench for about a year.  Still have to add the Bear claws and a couple feathers for his hat.  He should be a colorful one.  Stands about 12" with the walnut base. 

Big Horn Bill - Finished

I think I'm going to need an eye exam after this one.  Boy!  Small details and old eyes make painting a difficult job! In the end though he turned out pretty good.  The colors are bright and balanced and everything seems to work.  

So, now it's off to the next project while we still wait for the high speed installation.  They say patience is a virtue but I'm beginning to wonder.

More photos in the Gallery. 

Big Horn Bill - Now For The Fun Part!

With the easy part of the painting applied and the shirts, hat and knife sheaf beading areas primed, it's time to start doing some research on the type of beaded patterns to use.  The areas might appear a little stark in the photo but the end result will be balanced by choosing colors that will compliment both the figure and the three beaded areas.

Judy and I are just back from our annual trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and while there were lucky enough to attend the Elk Fest in the town of Jackson. (https://www.elkfest.org/)  Could be old Bill could have got the handle of his knife in that area.  There certainly are plenty of Elk there. Matter of fact....that could be old Bill, or a friend of his, in this photo, taken at a Mountain Man event recently.  We love the Jackson Hole area as you just can't beat the beauty of the place.  The Tetons were magnificent this trip and we extended our stay to spend a few days at the Triangle X Ranch  in the Teton park.   That's the Dude and the Dudette on their horses riding on the bank of the Snake River with the Tetons in the background.  Unfortunately for Judy....her horse spooked when we came across a large herd of Elk and she had to walk a mile back to the ranch with one of the Wranglers.

The town of Jackson is also one of the main locations for the top Galleries that specialize in western art.   It's a real treat to see the latest paintings and sculpture and to check out what's happening in the current western art scene.

It's good to be back home and back at the workbench.   We're still waiting for that high speed hook-up but things are looking up.  At least that's what they're telling us.

So, until next time.....I'll talk to you later.

Jeremiah

Slump!  Hitting the wall!  Artistic Block!  Whatever you might call it, that's what I've been going through for the past  months.  I'm sure most of you have experienced the same thing.  Hopefully, with this piece and a few upcoming ones I am finally over it.  

Jeremiah has been setting, gathering dust,  on the workbench since last year.  I finally finished him yesterday.  He's not an example of my best work but at least he's done and won't haunt me everytime I walk into the shop.   There are more photos in the photo Gallery but good luck looking for them.  Google really did a number when they dropped Picasa.    

Rendezvous Bound 2

Finally!   I thought I would never finish painting this guy but in the end it was worth the effort.  Really like all the bright colors and especially the feathers.  The only problem I can see is that there is so much color it's hard to focus on one area without being drawn to another!

This is a pretty large one, standing at just under 15" with the walnut base.  I originally had his eyes focused straight ahead but changed them to where he's looking slightly off center.  Doing such small changes can really end up having a large affect, just like tilting or turning the head or having a figure stand off to one side.  If you haven't tried these things you should as I think you will be surprised how much better it can make your carvings look.  There are way too many pieces out there where the carvings seem to be standing at attention.  Boring!

More photos in the gallery and I look forward to your comments.

Rendezvous Bound - Part 2

Spent yesterday afternoon painting the hat.  Instead of a single feather thought a group of them would look better and add a little pzazz to the piece.  The Turkey feather turned out so nice I'm thinking of changing the name of the piece.

The Blue feather is from a Blue Jay and the Red one from a Red Bird.  I highlighted the hard edges of the top hat to indicate a little wear.

 Here's another photo of the hat on the head, and no, he's not blind just not completely painted.  But it's looking good so far.  The colors of the face and beard are pretty flat and washed out due to their not being varnished.  They'll deepen once that final step is completed.

Hope you like it so far.  No more photos yet.

Rendezvous Bound

I think we're having a Rendezvous down at the shop.  Mountain Men all over the place.   Here's the latest.  This one is pretty large compared to what I normally do....14" with the walnut base.  Still have to add the feathers to his top hat and then it's off to the paint table.  Should be a nice one when done.  This is the only photo.

Next up?  A Native American girl with a Elks tooth dress.  At least I hope thats what next.  Have the head done and have been doing a bunch of research to come up with a dress design.

Lots going on around here this summer so the Blog posts have been few and far between it seems.  Once I get that girl started I'll try to take you along for the ride.  Till then stay cool.

The Booshway

Here's one that's been on the workbench and paint table for quite a while.  With springtime chores and a planned trip to Jackson, WY, Yellowstone, the Tetons and the Little Big Horn battlefield taking precedence, finding time to do some whittling has been difficult.    We had time to take in the Mountain Man museum in Pinedale, WY which is highly recommended if you're in the area.  Also, Jackson, WY, and the fantastic galleries there is worth a couple days to soak up the current western art scene.  Jackson is such a great little town.  Besides the galleries the history of the place, the restaurants, bars, the city square are just great.  And this trip was really special as Judy gave me a fantastic pre-birthday present of a Dave McGary bronze.    It's titled "Wyoming" and is made up of a buffalo skull, warbonnet, moccasins, pipe bag, a pair of beaded gloves, asix gun and holster, and spurs.  About the only thing missing is the Tetons and Old Faithful.  Beautiful.

Well Google has gone and deep-sixed Picasa so the additional photos of the carving are not on Google +.  And don't ask me how that works as I haven't figured it out yet.  The title of the piece "The Booshway" is a corruption of the word "Bourgeois" which was the word used to signify the company men who were generally in charge of the free-trappers.  This fella looks like he's been around a while.

Anyway, hope you like him and your comments are always appreciated.

Jedediah

And here's another work table escapee!  The head for this one was recarved twice before I was satisfied with the result.  What was once a piece that I just didn't like became one I sorta liked and finally into one I really like and should be a real winner once painted.  Should be lots of color on this one.  The glasses and large corncob pipe give him the appearance of an old sage of the mountains.

Just a couple more photos in the Gallery.  Hope you like this one too.  Now I've got one more to clear the table that still needs a hat so it's off to the workshop!

The Old Timer - Finished

This one was finished a couple weeks ago. He stands about 12" tall with the base and is a little more realistic than normal.  Looking at the photo I think a little less white on the beading patterns would have make him look more pleasing but he still looks pretty good.  Considering the more realistic appearance I could have also broadened his shoulders a bit which would have made the knife sheaf a little less prominent.

More photos in the Gallery.  They keep changing things in there for some reason.  Seems to get more difficult to load and view photos in there so I hope you can find them.  Comments welcome as always.

The Old Timer

After our trip up to Woolaroc Museum to see the new placements of my scenes I got my usual recharge after viewing all the fantastic western collections of sculpture, paintings and artifacts.  It was time to hone up Old Reliable and get to work on something.

I decided on another Mountain Man and here's the progress so far.  The body and base are finished and I started working on the head this morning.  That's a corncob pipe in his mouth and he will be wearing a hat....yet to be determined what kind.  Hopefully, I can get him done in the next few days as I'd like to finish one more in addition to him before striking out for the Dayton show.  I really like the way this is headed  but most importantly I like being able to get back to carving.

Yellowstone Charlie - Finished

Painted this Mountain Man over the weekend and must say that he really turned out nice.  I thought he looked a little plain just by himself so added the knife and sheath and that really turned him into something else.

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

Yellowstone Charlie

Here's the latest.  Really like the hat. The knife sheath.Will be beaded.  Hope you like him. Only the one photo this time.