"Blue"

I got a Tom Wolfe book on carving dogs, last Christmas, and I'm finally getting around to trying one. I like the base on this one...just a piece salvaged from the side of the road. Thanks for looking!

"Tassle Santa"

I carved this from a Michele Stetson roughout. Dave Stetson taught a class earlier this year at our club and I fell in love with his wife Michele's Santas. I had never seen one shaped quite like this and her painting was amazing! This carving is 11 inches tall and 7 inches wide, but is only about 3 inches thick (possibly to fit better on a shelf?). The width certainly gives plenty of room for a lot of painting details. When I carve roughouts, I always reach a certain point where I stop looking at the "go-by" and start carving and painting what I think looks best, or what I'm actually capable of carving/painting, rather than trying to duplicate someone e

lse's work. Michele's Santas have a certain look to the face that mine don't and I painted mine slightly different also. I really like how it turned out; it seems to have an old world, maybe a Russian influence. And the gold seems to add a richness also. Michele's health doesn't allow her to carve any more, but her artistry still continues to teach and inspire! Thanks for looking!

Liberty

This is from a Mark Akers' roughout that I worked on my first day at the Renegade back in March. Mark really set the bar for the other instructors that followed over the next few days. He is a very good instructor and offered lots of tips for carving and painting. I picked this guy because he was different from what I usually carved and I admired the beard and the way Mark painted his plaid shirt. Mark said it was easy, but I believe I have probably spent more time on the painting than I did in carving! I did a lot of research and practice before painting the flannel shirt on this guy. And I searched a while for a suitable design on his cap..I wanted something that seemed to go well with his flannel shirt.




I've exchanged a few emails over the past month with an old Navy buddy, Phiil Marshall, and it got me to thinking about my military service. Or maybe it's just the approach of the July 4th holiday. "Liberty" was a Navy term for being able to leave the ship and go where you pleased. After being on a ship for several weeks, you really wanted some liberty. It's also what we were defending, what we fought for. "Liberty and justice for all". I hope that everyone, no matter where you live, can celebrate those things. Thanks for looking!

The Tennesee Stud

"The Tennesee stud was long and lean,


the color of the sun, and his eyes were green.

He had the nerve, and he had the blood...

there never was a horse like the Tennesee stud!"



This old hoss is feeling pretty stud-ly, with his stripe-dy pants and rodeo buckle! He is ready to chase a few fillies, and even has a stick to beat them off, should he prove to be tooo irisistable down at the county fairgrounds.



This is another completed project from the Renegade Roundup, a Gary Falin roughout called "Muffin". Gary suggested that I change his design up a bit, by adding the mustache, and it kinda grew into this fellow. I liked the pants and the way he was posed, but it was hard to pick from all the roughouts that Gary had available. Great guy, great carver, and great instructor!



If you get a chance, google Tennesee Stud and listen to the song....the versions by Doc Watson or Johnny Cash on YouTube are both good! Thanks for looking!

"Some days, you're the hydrant....some days, you're the dog."

Here's another of Chris Hammack's bar buddies roughouts. I started this and got it pretty much finished on my day with Chris at the last Renegade Roundup. These fellows are pretty challenging with all the details that he puts in them. I'm finally getting caught up enough to paint the ones I worked on while there.....but haven't even started carving on all the extras I bought! Really enjoyed myself and learned a lot! This old fella resembles a guy I used to know..you can almost read his mind when you look at him. Thanks for looking!