Pride of the South!

Having just completed a Union trooper I thought it best that I also do a Confederate one so here is the result. I tried to find the most colorful uniform I could to give it lots of color and I also incorporated the Southern flag to try another trick I thought of.

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To make the flag and especially to get the folds to look natural I first Googled it, blew it up to a good size and then printed it out. After that I just folded it to what I thought looked best and then positioned it on my generic bust template to give me the shape to cut out. I think it worked out great as it certainly looks natural laying over his shoulder. There are a couple of photos of the flag pattern before and after I made the folds in the Gallery.

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This Reb will accompany us to Dayton and hopefully a Southern sympathizer with some ready cash will stop by the booth and make an offer!

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As always, your comments are welcome and appreciated.

The Horse Soldier - Finished

He dismounted long enough for me to take some more photos. Unfortunately, to get some light on his face I had to use more light than normal so his uniform appears much lighter than it actually is. The problem of the darker wood for the head actually worked out in a way that makes the carving look even better than it would have if the wood had been the same as the lower body. At least I think it does.

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I have also included a page out of one of my notebooks which I used as a reference for the uniform. I didn't mean for the carving to be my version of John Wayne but from the comments so far a lot of you think it is. Thats okay with me as I admire him a great deal and certainly consider such comparisons as a compliment.

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Anyway, I hope you like him. Like a lot of you I really like that hat and the gold braid really makes it "snap"! Lots of photos in the Gallery and your comments are always welcome.

The Horse Soldier

Still trying to flesh out my display at Dayton I was flipping through my reference notebooks and came across a couple photos of John Wayne in his uniform from the movie The Horse Soldiers. Wow! That would make a great carving, especially as a bust. So here it is prior to heading over to the paint table.

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It should be a pretty colorful carving with the dark blue shirt and hat, the yellow bandana and the gold shoulder insignia and braid on the hat. I made the braid out of twisted wire. In the photo it has been sprayed with primer.

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One thing you will note is the dark color of the wood used for the head. This head has been around for a couple years waiting for just the right figure to put it on. I think I carved it from a piece of basswood that didn't come from my Heineke source. I painted it this afternoon and it looks fine.

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Should have the finished article up tomorrow or the next day. As always your comments are welcome and appreciated. More photos in the gallery.