Cowboy bust is finished

[Wolf Kiessling]

The unfinished cowboy bust I posted the other day, trying to get some feedback on the facial expression, is now finished. It is the last in a series where I was practicing some new techniques. This one is unique, for me, in several respects: usually I make my busts glass smooth (people have asked me if they are stone, ivory or plastic) whereas this one only has a smooth face while I left the tool marks on the remainded (actually, I inadvertently left some tool marks on the right cheek which is not noticeable except I saw it in these pics where it caught a shadow); I usually carve the irises and pupils or leave them uncarved for that "blind" look whereas here I painted the eyes; normally my busts are monochromatic (stained or just clear finished) whereas here I burned the hat brim and bolo (except for the turquoise color wash in the center). You will also notice the color on the hat and bandanna, this is because I stained it them with a waterborne English Oak stain. This procedure actually saved the bust, it almost hit the firewood pile several times. I had made a serious error when carving the hat and had to do a bunch of patching on it. This resulted in glue lines I could not hide. I wasn't sure whether the stain would eliminate the problem but it did. I almost went so far as to cut off the entire top of his head and replace the whole thing but the patchwork took care of the problem. Normally, glue lines always show up on a bust because rarely can you get a single piece of wood to do the sculpture and people expect to see them. In this case, however, there were three lines on the hat which looked odd and out of place.

If you want to criticize the work, feel free. It is, however, too late to do anything about it. A little later I will post pics of the series of busts (there are four) and you might see what I consider an interesting progression.

[Michael Ballent]

Wow!!! The bust looks GREAT!!! Your work is incredible and gives us all something to strive for!!! Thanks for sharing your gifts.

-Michael

[Ed Falis]

Wolf,

You really caught a wonderful expression in that bust. It's a heartwarming kind of piece.

Thanks for sharing.

- Ed

[Tyler Howell]

Ya Wolf! That's the guy!
Met him in a bar on the SW side of OKC down by th stock yards. Man of a few words. Said it all with his eyes and smile.
Too nice.:)

[Pete Lamberty]

Great Job Wolf! I can't wait to see the others. How big is this bust?

[Ken Garlock]

Well, here we go again, the SMC thaumaturge strikes again. ;)

Beautiful work, Wolf. The expression is captivating.

[Chris Padilla]

Thumbs up! It appears you took some of our advice! :)

[Greg Heppeard]

OK where'd ya get the pic of me in my younger years???? Awsome job!!

[Wolf Kiessling]

Ya Wolf! That's the guy!
Met him in a bar on the SW side of OKC down by th stock yards. Man of a few words. Said it all with his eyes and smile.
Too nice.:)

I wasn't gonna ask, Tyler, but doggone it, I gotta. You keep mentioning all these trips you take to OK. Are you from here? What does a Lake kind of guy do here?
:confused:

[Wolf Kiessling]

Great Job Wolf! I can't wait to see the others. How big is this bust?

Pete, it's 16" x 6" x 6"

[Wolf Kiessling]

Thumbs up! It appears you took some of our advice! :)

You betcha, Chris. That's why sometimes, when I have a problem with something or am not sure about my direction, I submit an unfinished product for comments. However, also remember the cleanup and final detail work hadn't started when I posted it last time.

[Bobby Hatfield]

Ya Wolf! That's the guy!
Met him in a bar on the SW side of OKC down by th stock yards. Man of a few words. Said it all with his eyes and smile.
Too nice.:)

Hey Tyler, what year was that ? I'm sure he was in Clovis in 1958, down around the railroad and stockyards, walking uptown toward the Copper Penny.

[Tyler Howell]

[QUOTE=Wolf Kiessling]I wasn't gonna ask, Tyler, but doggone it, I gotta. You keep mentioning all these trips you take to OK. Are you from here? What does a Lake kind of guy do here?
:confused:

Wolf ,
Born and raised in Minnesota but for a while OKC was my second home.
I came down to be a better man, doing a lot of training down at Mike Maroney (SP) Aeronautical Center.

Before you shift to all the bad stuff you’ve heard about us. I’ve visited your churches and parks, Introduced roller blades to a bunch of Okies, and did some work with the Red Cross youth when I was there. Leaned to Windsurf on Lake Hefner, took Karate and Guitar lessons in my spare time:cool: .
I also came down to help with the Mura building clean-up.:(:(:confused:
I love Tenkiller (sp) and Shawnee. All tallied I have about six years in OKC spread out over 30 years.

Bob,
I think it was the Red Dog Saloon or the Hogs Breath in 1977.:o:eek::o

[Wolf Kiessling]

[QUOTE=Wolf Kiessling]I wasn't gonna ask, Tyler, but doggone it, I gotta. You keep mentioning all these trips you take to OK. Are you from here? What does a Lake kind of guy do here?
:confused:

Wolf ,
Born and raised in Minnesota but for a while OKC was my second home.
I came down to be a better man, doing a lot of training down at Mike Maroney (SP) Aeronautical Center.

Before you shift to all the bad stuff you’ve heard about us. I’ve visited your churches and parks, Introduced roller blades to a bunch of Okies, and did some work with the Red Cross youth when I was there. Leaned to Windsurf on Lake Hefner, took Karate and Guitar lessons in my spare time:cool: .
I also came down to help with the Mura building clean-up.:(:(:confused:
I love Tenkiller (sp) and Shawnee. All tallied I have about six years in OKC spread out over 30 years.

Bob,
I think it was the Red Dog Saloon or the Hogs Breath in 1977.:o:eek::o

Sheesh, Tyler, you're a man of many talents. Also, you have more time in Oklahoma than I have, we've only been here for five years.

Where's this Hog's Breath? The only one I know about is in Key West.

[Tyler Howell]

Sheesh, Tyler, you're a man of many talents. Also, you have more time in Oklahoma than I have, we've only been here for five years.

Where's this Hog's Breath? The only one I know about is in Key West.Hogs Breath was on McArthur and NW 10th. They were ahead of their time in checking people for weapons at the door.......If you didn't have one, they would give you one.:D

[Philip Duffy]

The unfinished cowboy bust I posted the other day, trying to get some feedback on the facial expression, is now finished. It is the last in a series where I was practicing some new techniques. This one is unique, for me, in several respects: usually I make my busts glass smooth (people have asked me if they are stone, ivory or plastic) whereas this one only has a smooth face while I left the tool marks on the remainded (actually, I inadvertently left some tool marks on the right cheek which is not noticeable except I saw it in these pics where it caught a shadow); I usually carve the irises and pupils or leave them uncarved for that "blind" look whereas here I painted the eyes; normally my busts are monochromatic (stained or just clear finished) whereas here I burned the hat brim and bolo (except for the turquoise color wash in the center). You will also notice the color on the hat and bandanna, this is because I stained it them with a waterborne English Oak stain. This procedure actually saved the bust, it almost hit the firewood pile several times. I had made a serious error when carving the hat and had to do a bunch of patching on it. This resulted in glue lines I could not hide. I wasn't sure whether the stain would eliminate the problem but it did. I almost went so far as to cut off the entire top of his head and replace the whole thing but the patchwork took care of the problem. Normally, glue lines always show up on a bust because rarely can you get a single piece of wood to do the sculpture and people expect to see them. In this case, however, there were three lines on the hat which looked odd and out of place.

If you want to criticize the work, feel free. It is, however, too late to do anything about it. A little later I will post pics of the series of busts (there are four) and you might see what I consider an interesting progression.
Fantastic expression and detail, Wolf. BZ Philip

[Wolf Kiessling]

Thanks to all of you who took the time to look at and comment on the bust.....