Lilacs #3

"Lilacs #3"

14" x 12"

Oil on board
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A Path Thru Birches

"A Path Thru Birches"

7"x5"

Oil on canvas board
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Handcrafted Leather Leashes

I was asked by the owner of a Made in U.S.A. only, organic dog food shop to make some leashes and collars, etc.and this is what I came up with so far. Made with American vegetable tanned leather, the bottom braid is what they call a blood knot but the tricky part was the handle because to make the braid 2 pieces are pulled thru each other and it took me a bit to figure that out. I added copper rivets which may be overkill but I wanted no chance of it coming apart. My buddy suggested I condition them with beef fat to make them more dog friendly but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead they're treated with Lexol conditioner followed by Neatsfoot Oil and finally with a bees wax paste. They come with a Lifetime Guarantee if the dog doesn't eat it or it's used to tow your car, left in a puddle for a month or something abusive like that. I cut them from sides of leather myself so lengths available will vary depending on how far down the skin I am. These are around 5' but I'll set aside some longer ones with the next side I buy. If you'd like one they're $25 plus $5.00 shipping. Just specify black or brown and if you need a specific length. I hope to have hardware in antique brass soon as well. An interesting note about the black is that dyeing is notorious for rubbing off so I use an old saddle makers concoction called vinegroon made from mixing vinegar and rusty iron. After sitting a couple of weeks the piece is dipped in it and the tannins react to create this nice jet black. Pretty cool eh? Pretty long post too...oh well. If you'd like to see some of the other things I've done in leather click here.

Thanks for looking.

Colors

Brown Black

Morning Spruce

"Morning Spruce"

8"x6"

Oil on board
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Chianti and Glass

"Chianti and Glass"

8"x6"

Oil on linen board
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Lilacs #2

"Lilacs #2"

14"x 11 1/2"

Oil on board
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Lemon and Crab Branch

"Lemon and Crab Branch"

8"x6"

Oil on linen board
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Lilacs #1

"Lilacs #1"

11"x11 1/2"

Oil on canvas board
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Fresh Tracks

"Fresh Tracks"

8"x6"

Oil on canvas board
SOLD

Chianti

"Chianti"

8"x6"

Oil on linen board
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Evening Spruce

"Evening Spruce"

Oil on board

8"x6"
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Mellon and Plum

"Mellon and Plum"

8"x6"

Oil on canvas board
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Kaylee

This is a charcoal portrait of my nieces' daughter Kaylee that I did for their wedding to go along with the sheath. I hadn't done one in awhile and I really enjoyed it as a break from painting. It's done on 18"x24" Strathmore charcoal paper. I think I'll be doing more in the future.
NFS

Frank's Sheath

Here's a rawhide sheath I recently made for my nieces' husband Frank. It's made from deer rawhide, cowhide, buffalo, pig and kangaroo with bone and antler beads and button. The cone danglers are horse hair. I read somewhere that the Native Americans believed they would inherit the spirit and traits of the animals they carried. I figured he might need all the help he can get.

Wow, I didn't think it was this long since I had last posted. I've been busy enjoying the weather, getting healthy, planting the garden, doing leather work and painting...and keeping my fluids up. Still have the crappy camera problem but I'll have to live with it for now. I'm going to try to post a little more often now that I have more time.