The Coal Miner - Part 32 - Let's Get Dirty

Part 32 - Let's Get Dirty from Out West Woodcarving Videos on Vimeo.

The Coal Miner - Part 31 - Painting The Pick & Shovel

The Coal Miner - Part 31 - Painting The Pick & Shovel from Out West Woodcarving Videos on Vimeo.

The Coal Miner - Part 30 - Painting the Overalls

The Coal Miner - Part 30 - Painting The Overalls from Out West Woodcarving Videos on Vimeo.

The Coal Miner - Part 29 - Painting The Shirt

Well, I had hoped to make use of a feature of the video processing program we've been using to speed up certain portions of videos by fast forwarding. Unfortunately, it didn't work so to continue to use the higher definition uploads we'll have to limit video lengths to 15 minutes or less. Anything more than that times out, probably from the limits of our DSL line. Anyway, this one covers painting the shirt.

Part 28 -Painting The Shirt from Out West Woodcarving Videos on Vimeo.

The Coal Miner - Part 28 - Painting The Lantern

The Coal Miner - Part 28 - Painting The Lantern from Out West Woodcarving Videos on Vimeo.

The Coal Miner - Part 27 - Painting The Head

Unfortunately, I had to upload this at a lower video quality setting than normal as they evidently were having a problem at the host site.  Also, I had to break it in the middle due to it's length.

The Coal Miner - Part 27 - Painting the Head from Out West Woodcarving Videos on Vimeo.

Fence Work

Here is one I've been working on for the past couple of months.  I had hoped to get it finished before the Dayton show but just didn't have the time.  It's a large one, standing about 18" with the base.  It depicts a wrangler taking a break from fixing some broken fence, something we're pretty familiar with around our place.  While we have the benefit of fence pliers, wire stretchers, splices and crimpers, this fella is stuck with a hammer, a can of staples and a pare of dykes......the wire kind not the other kind.  He'll be holding some new wire in the right hand while the old fence post will show it's past history of numerous wraps and repairs.  That post is from an ancient fence on the property which had fallen down years ago.  The tin can will be filled with wire staples and with a painted wrapper.

While I will continue to stick with the caricature genre you will probably notice that my pieces will take on a more realistic appearance as time goes on.  They will also continue to grow in size to what is considered normal for a wooden carved caricature.   The larger size allows an increased area for more detail while being much easier on my aging eyes.  It also separates my work from that of others which is something I'm always striving for.

There are a few more photos in the gallery and your comments are always appreciated.

The Coal Miner - Part 26 - Burning Some Detail

The Coal Miner - Part 26-Burning from Out West Woodcarving Videos on Vimeo.

Circuit Overload

Feels like I've done this figure a gazillion times but this one is at least a little different.......He's much taller at about 17" not including the umbrella.  One thing I do know though and that is that he won't be around the Gallery very long.  People really seem to like this figure.  The umbrella frame is made from copper wire, the burnt pieces of cloth from scraps of nylon, draped over the frame and then soaked in superglue.  If you try this technique (and PLEASE, don't copy my piece. This one's mine!) make sure you use nylon as cotton becomes brittle with the glue and will break easily. Nylon won't.

I varnished him about 10 times with gloss, water based Poly and then use Testors Dul-Coat to flatten the upper, burnt part.  The puddle he's standing in is just made from a piece of thin plywood and modeled with Bondo.  Once painted I mounted him in position, mixed up some clear epoxy resin and carefully filled up the depression, making sure to get the stuff in and around his boots.  Once everything was set I mixed up some clear 5 minute epoxy glue and applied it to the lariat to indicate dripping water.  Had to set there and constantly reply the drips until it finally set.  Really makes a nice effect.

Hope you like him and there are more photos in the gallery. Comments welcome as always.

The Unknown Cowboy

I did this head yesterday at our weekly carving group.  I'm not really sure what he'll end up being or doing, which explains the 'unknown' designation, but he's looking pretty good so far.  I used a photo in my files as a guide for the expression.  The head is a large one so the figure will also be larger than normal.  As I said in a past post, my eyes just aren't as focused as they used to be so the larger sizes make it a little easier when both carving and painting.  Also, they make a much more impressive carving.

Anyway, I hope you like him so far.  A couple more photos in the Gallery.

Oh.......Judy and I hope to crank up the video production department soon as I'd like to get that figure done before we take off to the Dayton show.