Vineland Vagrant is a cousin of Hillsboro Hobo and Ft. Worth Hobo (earlier hobo carvings) being the third version of hobos with almost identical features and design.  These hobos begin as a two inch square by six inch tall block of basswood. Bud Murray Knives were used exclusively to carve each hobo.  To find out more about these knives visit the Cool Links listing and click on “Bud Murray Knives.” Read the rest of this entry »

Cowboys have always been heroes in the romantic nostalgia of Western lore. In the classic ballad, “The Streets of Laredo,” is the line that says, “I see by your outfit that you are a cowboy.”   It is the outfit that a cowboy wore that made him a “dude” or a “gun fighter” or a “saddle tramp” or a “buckaroo” or a “cowpoke” or quite simply a “cowboy. Read the rest of this entry »

The Farmer was carved using a six inch tall by an inch and half square block of basswood in the Whittle-Carving Style of carving only with a knife.  Carving from a block of wood is much different than carving from a rough out or a sawed out blank.  The biggest difference is that it sets free the creative spirit to develop the overall design while shaping the block of wood into the basic form of the subject being carved. Read the rest of this entry »

Here are some of the painted figures who were subjects in previous posting on the Study of Go By’s.  A splash of color gives an added dimension to a carving.  The colors invite a further investigation of each carving to discover the subtle details that add a sense of movement, a telltale detail of added interest as well as character in facial features.  Allow each photograph to be a lesson in observation to study the ebb and flow of the story being told by each carving.  (Click on each photo to enlarge and then use the back arrow to return to main page) Read the rest of this entry »

Here are some of the painted figures who were subjects in previous posting on the Study of Go By’s.  A splash of color gives an added dimension to a carving.  The colors invite a further investigation of each carving to discover the subtle details that add a sense of movement, a telltale detail of added interest as well as character in facial features.  Allow each photograph to be a lesson in observation to study the ebb and flow of the story being told by each carving.  (Click on each photo to enlarge and then use the back arrow to return to main page) Read the rest of this entry »

A friend had an antique folk art Fraternal Order of Eagles wall plaque that was missing an eagle that had broken off.  The friend wanted an eagle carved to replace the broken one so this became a project of carving a “folk eagle” using traditional carving tools.  The WOOD BEE CARVER is primarily a knife carver but will on occasion use the “real” carving tools in addition with a knife. Read the rest of this entry »

The WOOD BEE CARVER  carves a variation on the “garden variety” of Gnomes associated with the Scandinavian origin of these delightful characters. Being mythical characters hidden from the naked eye only to be seen in one’s imagination, Gnomes can be any interpretation of the artist’s imagination.  Thus the style of gnome carved by this author is of the Southwest Ohio variety of gnomes who favor a floppy style hat rather than the traditional “dunce” pointed hat.  Clothing style is a little different as well but then all such variations from the original image are in the artist’s own imagination.

Gnomettes are a recent innovation that came about by request from a ninety six year old collector of a Wood Bee Carver gnome who she said her gnome was lonely and needed a companion. Read the rest of this entry »