Okay....I'll say it! WOW! I really like this piece. I had my doubts as I painted him but once I added the facial decoration it all seemed to come together. I really like the eyes as they just seem to say so much. Sort of "Look! I'm here and I'm not going anywhere!" As for the title if you've seen the movie "The Outlaw Joesy Wales" you will remember Chief Dan George saying those words..."Endeavor to Persevere!" I think that's a great statement and it applies to this piece.
There are more photos in the Gallery and I'll look forward to your comments.
I managed to get the braids completed and I also redid the butt end of the rifle as it was ok in length but not to scale in the butt area. Looks a lot better now. I added a neck scarf with a pendant so the piece is pretty well done except for the feathers which I hope to do tomorrow. Hope you like it so far.
I didn't get the braids done but I did manage to texture the robe, reduce the size of the nose and get the rifle case done. I decided to do the case as it will contrast well against the dark robe and also allow some beading. Also, I tried something new using some aluminum flashing to make tassels for the end of the case. Once they are painted I will bend them to add a little more motion. Might also add some kind of hanging detail on the butt end. To me the rifle looks small but a Yellow Boy carbine measured 40" in length so it's in scale with the figure....at least I think it is.
To make the texture on the robe I used my old method of stoning it with a dremel bit and then torching the rough surface with a butane torch to remove the fuze. Then a brushing with a small brass brush to finish up. This method is much quicker than burning the entire areas with a pen and it gives a pretty good effect.
So, maybe tomorrow I can get those braids on and then come up with some kind of detail for the chest.
