Today, I’m sharing the story behind the artwork in progress, Packhorse Rodeo, and a bit about my technique.
You may recall a summer ago that I was involved in helping pack four gentlemen into a remote wilderness camp. They were going to spend
the week fishing and they didn’t want to keep their horses at the camp during the week. Therefore, a wrangler from Ripple Creek Lodge and I spent the next four hours bringing the nine horses back to the ranch.
There was one packhorse that seemed intent on going to the left of a tree when all the other horses went to the right of a tree…which created quite a spectacle of rearing and kicking horses.
Although there were no pictures taken, I still have a good recall memory of the event and decided to create a bas-relief, mixed media artwork depicting the scene. This is currently a work in progress, but it kind of shows you how I create my work.
First, I create a drawing on paper, then I transfer the drawing to the wood. Then, I use my carving tools to start removing wood. Once I get the depths I want, I use a Dremel tool for the final detailing and sanding.
The photo above shows the carving nearing completion on the left side of the artwork and the pencil lines drawn on the right side of the artwork. There are still a lot of hours left to complete this piece.
To see my Packhorse Adventure Collection, click here.