Here's another that's been setting on the bench for quite a while. Except for the completion of the lance and the addition of some feathers he's complete. Unfortunately, him and Quint seem to have developed an attachment and just can't bring themselves to migrate over to the paint area.
This one also stands around 12" tall with the walnut base and as most of my Indians should be pretty colorful once painted. I really like doing these busts, especially with the addition of the shields and other attachments. The sky is the limit with how they can be painted and the result is always striking.
Again, I look forward to your comments.
I might have posted a photo of this piece on Face Book but, as he's still setting on the work bench in his raw state maybe posting it here will get me out of my rut and get him painted.
He measures around 10-12 inches with the base and once painted should really be a nice one. I did a little extra detail on his watch chain by adding a fob at the button-hole connection.
As you've probably noticed, my posts have been kind of rare lately. Hopefully, once the year turns the urge to produce and publish will return. In the meantime, I hope you like this cowpoke and I'll look forward to your comments as I always do.
Here's Pistol Pete, the Oklahoma State University Cowboys mascot! While he doesn't look much like the actual historical figure he does instill a small amount of fear in the opposing team. Go Pokes!
Well, we had some doubt about the show considering it's move to Wilmington, OH and the change in dates, however, for us at least, things worked out better than expected. I managed to Ace the competition events I entered and our sales were better than any previous show. Granted, attendance was down a bit and there were a number of carvers who failed to show up. But, considering it was the
Labor Day weekend that's understandable. For us? We ain't complaining and will be back next year. Rumor has it that the dates will be moved back to November while the show will still be held in Wilmington.
The convention site was great ...BIG! And the lighting was really good compared to the old place. We had brought along some lights to brighten up our display but really didn't need them. With the hotel and a good
restaurant in the same complex you really can't beat the convenience. And....after routing ourselves through Louisville and Cincinnati we found a better way to get home which was much easier on our frayed nerves from the drive up. We left the hotel at 5am and pulled into our driveway at 4pm.
As for competition, we only competed in two categories: Single figures over 15 inches and the Bust category. The "Buffalo Girl" took 1st and won the overall Caricature Category ribbon...The "Montana Buckaroo" took 2nd. "Touch the Stars" took first in Busts followed up by "Friend and Foe" for 2nd. "The Breed" pulled in a large amount for the Clubs charity. To top it off all those figures left the reservation to new homes.
So in sum, we had a great trip, hooked up with a lot of old friends, and managed to come back home with only half of what we left with.
This will be my "Silent Auction" piece for the Dayton Woodcarving Show coming up this weekend. With the walnut base it's about 11" tall. He's off the reservation and cooling his moccasins somewhere on the beach from the reflection on his glasses. I've always wanted to do a good pair of mirrored sunglasses and I think I finally found the secret. As it would be hard to describe without writing a big chapter I'll save it and do it in a video.
I hope you like him and if you're in Ohio for the show he'll be setting on the table for a closer look. You might even want to make a bid. It goes to a good cause.
Here's the last one I'll be able to finish before the trip to Ohio for the Dayton Ohio Artistry in Wood show.
Big Bear stands at just under 18" with the oak base so he's a pretty impressive Drummer heading off to the big Pow Wow. I did a lot of paint mixing to achieve the colors of the blanket and shirt. Some Red in with the Midnight Blue for the blanket and a little Midnight Blue with Green for the shirt. This is fun to do but make sure you remember the color ratios in case your need some later for a touch-up. I explained the drum construction in the earlier post so won't repeat it here. His earrings are made from aluminum wire left natural for a silver look.
I really like this piece as the character has a relaxed regal look about him. Clearly, he must be the head Drummer and possibly even the lead singer. I guess we'll just have to use our imagination to figure out which.
Again, as Google has did a number on my photo posting this is the only photo of the piece. As always, I will look forward to your comments.
Here's a new one I just finished carving Friday. Hopefully, I can get him finished up before the show in Ohio next month.
With the base he stands approximately 18" and is quite an impressive piece, especially once he's got some color to him. I'm sure the main feature on him will be the drum. I made it just like a real one with a piece of leather stretched over a wooden frame and tied in the back. I did this by drawing out the leathers shape on a chammy, allowing lots of length to the
tie strips, soaking it and having Judy hold the wooden frame in place while I pulled, stretched, and tied the matching leather strip on the other side. Believe me...it takes two people to do this.
Once dry the leather is nice and tight and presents a nice surface to paint on. I outlined the design with a gel pen then painted in the colors. Lastly I use some white on a dry brush to indicate wear in the middle of the drum head where the drum sticks would hit.
As Google has did a number and discontinued the Picasa site where I had all my albums I've decided to only post photos on the actual Blog post vs. in a Gallery album. Hopefully they will eventually fix the problems and I can resume posting more photos. As the videos are hosted on Vimeo they are not affected in any way.
So, I hope you like this fella and will look forward to your comments as I always do.
All done and she turned out great. I was kind of bleary eyed painting all the beading but it really sets off the piece as does the Buffalo skull. I decided not to paint the upper part of the dress the darker color as it would have detracted from the overall piece. I was a little worried about mounting the skull to the figure but putting dowel from the back of it into the body locked it in place securely. There are lots of photos in the Gallery and I will look forward to your comments as I always do.
Note: As I mentioned earlier, Google is no longer supporting Picasa but now is using Google Plus as the host for photos. Picasa will remain it's just that it will no longer be updated. All my photos are already on Google Plus so for ease of operations I'm going to just let things stay the same for the time being.
Spent the morning painting the Buffalo Skull for my new piece. Looks pretty good although the photo really doesn't show all the colors used. Before starting I checked the skull hanging in the Gallery to make sure I indicated all the major skull details, i.e., plates, nerve holes, etc. As that skull was bleached I did a little research to capture the true colors of a naturally sun bleached product.
I started out by removing the horn caps and then painting the entire skull a light gray (mudstone) followed by yellow ocher highlights, followed by brown (asphaltum) and ending with white on the parts that would be mostly exposed to the sun. I then used straight black for the eye sockets with a little white on the outer edges. For the horn caps I used black and then dry-brushed on some white highlights which really set off the horns texture. Once everything has a chance to dry I'll paint on the ceremonial decoration but not too much as I don't want to overdo it.
So far so good!!
