Spocane Tommy follows the tradition of all hobos as being a traveling man.  Hobos were originally  itinerant farm laborers who traveled the country side carrying their hoe and their goods wrapped up in a bindle bag.  These “hoe boys” became “hobos” who traveled to look for work wherever they could find a job.

Life was hard for them as was evident in their appearance of scruffy clothing often torn and patched but still functionable.It is the “clothes that make the man” so to speak and so it is in carving a caricature into a hobo.  Patches over tears and coming apart at the seams of wrinkled and well worn clothing and shoes mark the appearance of a hobo.

Four photographs of unpainted Spocane Tommy is offered for comparison with those of the painted photographs for a before and after effect.

Spocane Tommy is carved out of a two inch square by six inch tall block of basswood using only a knife to sculpt out a very relaxed and noble hobo.  Notice that there are no straight lines, only curving “S” shaped lines in this carving be it the pose, flow of clothing or the crooked walking stick.  One shoe has toes exposed while the other shoe is intact to offer a postive and negative visual effect or contrast in texture. Coloration is made with artist oil paint thinned with boiled linseed oil and then finished with Deft, a brushed on lacquer.