More artistic exercises

Steep learning curve but we are doing better.

One of the things we struggle with is whether or not to color things and what color.

**The loon scene came out great with a tinge of dark green on the figures.
**We tried a similar technique with the lake fishing scene and are not sure how much we like it.
**Picture of the red romantic couple looks blotchy but it is just the picture. Next one of those I will do with an oval or some frame around it.
**The cowboy on the horse in white was perhaps not the best color to use. Some people rave about it but others do not care for it...perhaps because it would not look good on a light colored wall.

Some opinions are that they are silhouettes and should all be black.

What do you think? Let us know...we need the input at this point in time.

A posed picture?

Something in this picture tells you that he posed for it...actually there are more than one thing.

It is kind of like "can you tell what is wrong with this picture?"

Your response of course will depend on how well you know Gary.

More metal art to share

With each piece we are learning something new, but totally enjoying this new hobby of sorts. Here are some more items to share.

New Creative Endeavors

Once the work shop was complete Gary started in on many of the projects that have been held at bay waiting to be enjoyed. He has always enjoyed welding but wanted to get into plasma cutting. Also our good friend Mike Peabody got us enthused with powder coating.

It has all come together now with the purchase of a used CNC plasma cam table http://www.plasmacam.com/ . We had been looking and dreaming of owning one but could not afford a new one. Located one on the internet in Santa Clara California and drove down to get it...crazy trip but it was well worth it.

The learning curve has been a steep one. Son-in-law Mike set up a computer for us dedicated to operation of the plasma cam and we have been working our way through it. Gary has done an excellent job of getting a good handle on the computer part which has been good mental exercise for him.

Finally it all came together a little over a week ago and we started cutting for real. Items that we not just "accidental cuts" in expensive metal.

I finally realized today that Gary has got me hooked. Spent better part of the morning designing a loon within a circle and was so proud when it was all cut out. Raced over to show the neighbor who has been cheering us on...and he was not at home...bummer!

Well I will share them here so you can see how far we have come from the first few cuts (cowboy campfire and bucking horse to our latest...the loon in circle and Stocker name sign with deer).

John Deere gets a new shed

Lame Duck Construction had soooo very much fun building the new larger shed for John Deere...just hope he really enjoys it for many years to come...here are some pictures to share of that long work party that took many more hours, days and weeks than we had imagined (20 year old minds in 70 year old bodies!)

Changing Sheds

Well once Gary got his big working shop done he realized there was not room for both him and John Deere in there. We had a separate yard shed but it was not big enough for John Deere so it had to come down. We are into recycling of sorts so we had a friend who adopted it and they all worked together to take it down...here are a few fun photos of the old "shed" coming down (literally). We nick named Gary and his crew of local volunteers "Lame Duck Construction Company"!

Did the Elk ever arrive?

I can see from my last post way back in January that I was hinting at the expected arrival of our local herds of elk and deer. Yes, they did arrive and I will share a few pictures here before I go on to share more recent events.

I purposely left the window grids in the picture so you would realize how close these massive animals were to the house...and they were here day after day for quite some time. They got so hungry this past winter that one night while we were dining in Cougar (at one of two restaurants) they were literally wandering up and down the road out front looking for vegetation to chew on.