American farmer update

So I have painted the chest portion of the carving, now he awaits a base and to have the sealant coat applied. I have experimented with this one in the way that I connect the head to the body. In the past I simply put the head in the body and let it to a certain extent position itself based on how the neck fit in the opening. The only thing here was I didn't always feel I could have the head leaning in the position I liked, seemed like the heads were always a bit stiff. Well to combat this I bought some copper wire from the hardware store, drilled a small hole in the neck and in the neck cavity and used a piece of the copper wire to not only firm up the head in the bust but it also allowed me to actually position the head more to my liking. In the future I will carve a longer neck. I will also have less taper in the neck area and then with the copper wire I will decide the best positioning for the head. I may need to modify the length of the neck to do so but it is always easier to take away than it is to add on.

In the painting process I wanted the shirt to look like it had some age but not necessarily worn out. I wanted to try and get a faded look so I mixed some red with a tannish brown and it gave me the look I wanted. I didn't use white because I wasn't going for pink but a red that had maybe lost some of it's color. Once I had painted the overalls I decided against the stripes, simply because I liked the color I painted and the way it looked overall on the carving. The only other thing painted was the hint of a white t-shirt under the reddish shirt and the buttons.

Next I will address the base I will put him on, I am leaning towards carving a bale or two of hay for him to sit on, I may even add a pitch fork or possibly a bit of fencing. I will do one section at a time and see how it looks before I add any new additions. I will use some butternut for the bales of hay so that I can utilize the grain for additional lines for the bales.

as always happy trails

and

Carpe diem 4 carving