Charlie Yellowhorse

Not much new with this one other than in bringing this figure over to the shop to get his photo taken, I noted that the peace medal didn't show up very well so it looks like he will be making a small detour to the paint table to make make those details a bit more visible.  

Hope you like him.  Comments welcome as always.   

Carving a Native American Bust Video Series

It's been quite a while since I've made a Blog Post here let alone a video series so let's try and correct that.  I haven't decided on a name for this piece yet but there are 15 videos in the series on how I made it.  Here is the link to the first one which is on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZPleWcr7TM&t=10s


As an added note....as the Vimeo video hosting service seems to be losing access to a number of my older videos, I've decided to post any future videos directly to Youtube with the hope they'll remain there without any future problems.  

I hope you enjoy the new series and will look forward to any comments as I always do.  

Sweet Grass

Here's a new little lady, fresh off the workbench.  I think she turned out great.  She's 12.5 inches including the walnut base.  I goofed up and dented her nameplate so I'll have to order a new one.  I hope you like her and always look forward to your comments. 

Thundering Hooves

He's finally received his name.  After you've carved as many characters as I have over the years it's gets harder and harder to come up with a unique name...and to me names are really important as they carry the theme of the carving.  So, in this care, with the Indian chasing a Buffalo through an imaginary herd, "Thundering Hooves" was a perfect fit.

Almost immediately after posting the photo to the Out West Gallery website yesterday he was sold.  It's a good thing I received his nameplate just a few days before!  Anyway, he'll be off the reservation and pitching his Tipi at a new location within the next week.

Hope you like him and as always, your comments are welcome and appreciated.  

One more thing, future Blog postings will return to this site for the time being.  The new Out West Gallery site is great but it's taking me a while to figure out how to use it.  Seems the old grey cells work a little slowly with all this new stuff. 

Red Dirt Wrangler

If you've ever driven across Oklahoma you note that while going west and approaching the middle of the state the earth turns quite red.  Maybe that's why they send all the Indians here?  Anyway, I thought I'd combine the two into a character and created this Cowboy with braids.  No doubt there were quite a few of them out there pushing cattle and probably still are. 

Hope you like him.  

Running Horse

Another Indian bust with a shield.  You might think I would get tired of carving these but I don't.  I love to paint and come up with new ways to detail the figures.  This one was for a lady who liked Appolossas horses.   Once the figure was painted it looked kind of bland to me so I added some facial decoration and that did the trick.  There's a knife and beaded sheath partially hidden behind the shield.  A pretty little bust. 

The Trophy

Naming this one The Trophy and giving him a 7th Calvary hat pretty well should tell the story of just who this dangerous individual.   We went to the local cinema a while back to see the movie Hostiles starring Christian Bale and Wes Studi.  The facial paint wore by Buffalo Man, one of the vicious attacking Indians, was really striking so I thought I would try and reproduce it on this character.  I think it worked.  For the shield I used the design attributed to Crazy Horse.  This is one dark individual. 

Hope you like him.

Standing Buffalo

Well, it's been quite some time since I made a post here so I guess I'd better try and catch up.

The reason I've been absent, besides the spring and summer chores that seem to never end around here, is because Judy and I have been invited to show my carvings at the Cody Old West Show and Auction in Santa Fe on the 22 and 23rd of June.   It ought to really be an experience to see how my work fits into this show and whether we can pick up a few new collectors.  I'll let you know in a week or so just how things went.

Standing Buffalo is very similar to one I did earlier but, as I always try to make each carving I do unique, I changed some of the details.  This time I added a pipe bag to the piece and changed the design on the drum.  That drum is actually a real drum.  I made it using a ring of thin wood and then stretched a piece of chamois leather over the wooden frame while wet and then, once stretched tight, knotted it in back.  Placing it out in the sun to dry made the leather really tight against the frame.  I really enjoy doing this type of detail.

So, here's to a safe trip to Santa Fe.  

Long Robe - Native American Bust With Shield - Finished

Well, it took a while but he's finally finished.....Just in time for the Tulsa Woodcarving Show.   I'm quite pleased with the way he turned out and hope you are too.  That shield really sets him off and shows how much an extra detail can add to a piece. 

Comments welcome. 

Brave Heart

Here's another one fresh off the paint table.  Wrapped in his painted robe with warpaint  on his face,  he's no doubt planning how to get his horses back from that bunch a couple mountains over.  

I never tire of Native Americans.  The opportunity to paint them is just too enjoyable.  

Willy White Owl

Here's Willy, all painted up and ready to head down to the new Casino and try is luck.  Hope you like him.  

 Comments always welcome. 

Clearing the Deck

I'm still working to clear off the partially finished carvings setting on my work table.  One of the best way to do it is to add a bust body to one of the many heads I've done.  I think I've mentioned before that on our Tuesday carvers gathering at the Senior Center in town I can usually manage to pretty well rough out a new head in the two hours we're there.  So, these things build up after a while.  

While Bottle Stoppers are a good way to mount them I think this works out much better by making a something fairly simple turn out to be a really nice presentation.  The base is walnut and it, with the figure, stands at 12".  

Now to paint it!   Comments welcome as always. 

Billy Black Elk

Here's a new one.  With the walnut base he stands about 12" tall to the tip of the feathers.  I was a little worried about the colors as they were a little dark compared to other pieces but it turned out pretty nice.   A lot of people ask me why I never do a smiling Indian....well, back in the period I try to represent, they didn't really have that much to smile about.  Anyway, this piece should silence those comments...at least for a little while.  The gold tooth makes his smile just a little brighter!

I added a beaded ring around the top of the hat to add a little interest and also used some texture material to soften the braid wraps.  I left the fan feathers a single color so it wouldn't detract from the overall figure.

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

Standing Buffalo

This piece measures just at 18" with the walnut base.  I originally painted him without any facial decoration but was completely unsatisfied with the result.  So after a little more research and a trip back to the paint table he became a completely new character.  Frankly, with those piercing eyes it's hard to look away without being drawn back.   So, while I had my doubts about this one he turned out better than I had hoped. 

As always, your comments are welcome and appreciated.  

The Generals Coat

Here's one I finishe a couple of weeks ago.  Lots of color!  He stands about 12" tall with the walnut base.  Hope you like him.

Little Crow

I tried something a little different with this one by setting it off center so he would be looking over his shoulder. His smug look really adds a lot of interest by making you wonder just what he's so self-righteous about.  With the colors of the shield, shirt, and knife it's really a bright piece and will make a nice addition to someone's collection.  At least I hope so. 

I also hope you approve and look forward to your comments. 

Old Man of the Sage

Old Man of the Sage
-----------------------------

Here's a new one.  Seems I'm getting more realistic with each new one I complete.  Not to worry though....the next one will be back in the caricature mode.

The Hudson Bay blanket really sets this one off.  I left the main color of the cloth natural with only some light shading for some shadow effects.  Again, the ear rings are made from some aluminum ducting, pounded out with a ball peen hammer.   I also added some small feathers as part of his neck piece.  With the base the piece is about 14" tall.  

Hope you like him.   Comments welcome. 

White Antelope II

First, I've changed his name.  I was originally planning to add a dusting of snow to the figure but it looked so good once painted I decided to leave it snow-free.  I hope you approve of my decision.  Comments always welcome.  

White Antelope

Yes...I know!  You're wondering where all the new video projects are.  Well, I've been busy trying to increase my inventory to where I'll have enough to show this week at the North West Arkansas show and next months Dayton exhibit.  Hopefully, once that's behind we can crank things up again.

Here's my latest, just off the table this morning.  To reflect the title he will have just a light dusting of snow.  I copied the base idea off of some bronze busts done by Dave McGary.  As the anchor for the carving is off center this type of base does it in a real clever way that only adds to the interest of the piece.  To get the curve of the hat brim I carved it as thin as I could get it without worrying if it would snap once I steamed it and bent it around a large coffee can.  A couple of strips

of rubber held it in place while it sat in the sun to dry for a couple of days.  Turned out really nice.  While this is a fairly simple piece detail wise it's really attractive and will be more so once it's painted and complete.

I hope you like it and your comments are welcome.

Spirit Bear

More catching up!  I thought I'd better give this piece a name and make him official. 

I did this one quite a few posts back demonstrating how I made a Bear Claw Necklace.   If you want to check out those videos just scroll down through the "Labels" over in the right column to "Bear Claw Necklace" and it will take you to posts of that subject.  Maybe I should have done that before putting the claws to Old Griz?

I really like this piece.  The character really looks especially strong and proud.  I guess dispatching a Grizzly of that size would pretty well prove that.   I've read several books about just how many of those rascals were out in the old west and just how mean and dangerous they were.  Taking one on with a bow and arrow or spear and living through it would certainly prove that this is one fella' that you shouldn't get on the wrong side of.  I like him so much that I haven't decided yet whether I'll let him go.  

Again, I really look forward to your comments as they make doing this Blog worth it.  Thanks.