Six-inch-tall cowpokes carved as the Bunk House Five were carved in August, 2024 and now have been carved as the three-inch-tall Half Pint versions.  Six-inch-tall figures are carved in the one-inch scale of an inch equals a foot.  Half Pint figures are carved in the half inch scale equals a foot making them half sized to six-inch figures. The other difference is the coloration finish of Half Pint in monochrome one color of Raw Sienna oil paint while the six-inch figures are polychrome of multi color of artist oil paint. The monochrome of one color amplifies the texture of the carved surface making “texture is color” effect.

Gallery of each individual Half Pint as a visual tour of the various poses.

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The final gallery is of the progressive stages of the carving of Half Pints. Each is carved out of a three inch by inch square block of basswood.

Notice the three red horizontal lines draw around all sides of the block that indicate the Shoulder line, Waist line and Mid Knee line.  The area above the Shoulder line is carved into a dowel shape in which the hat and head are carved to basic form. A center line is drawn across the top of the dowel to indicate the direction the hear/face will be turned.  The top of the hat brim and the crown are carved first to the basic shape and then the head is carved under the brim of the hat to the basic shape of the head going up into the hat. Carefully slice a stop cut around the bottom edge of the brim first and gently slice up to the stop cut so as not to slice away the brim. Narrow the sides of the head allowing for the flaring of ears. Notice the two photos below that compare the edge of the brim, with the first being flat edge and the second showing the flat edge has been trimmed into a “knife edge” appearance to make the brim look thinner that it really is with the purpose of keeping the cross-grained section of the brim as strong as possible. Super glue is applied to the hat brim to strengthen the cross-grained weakness.

Next notch an area at the bottom of the block on all four sides to establish the top of the base for the carving.  Using the red horizontal lines as a grid, draw in simple guideline for the body parts and outfit and clothing parts.  For example, using the shoulder line and waist line draw in the arms with the elbow position just above the waist line.  The pistol/holster are drawn right below the waist line; the bandana is drawn in the area just below the shoulder line and above the waist line on the front and the knot and tail of the bandana are drawn on the back. These guideline are used while shaping up the basic overall form of the figure as a guide coupled with the carver’s inner eye to carve and reshape the basic form to a refined level that looks natural. A study of the finished carvings in the gallery will also be a guide to follow while carving.

The final photo shows the knives used in the carving of the Half Pint cowpokes as they appear without the artist oil paint Raw Sienna thinned with boiled linseed oil and the final application of Deft lacquer.