scrimshaw

[markpreston]

I had an opportunity to do a powderhorn I'd been wanting to do for a while. This is what I've got so far. I'll post more photos as the work is completed.

and a little closer view.

Questions, comments, suggestions and critiques always cheerfully entertained. You can see more of my work (and my progress as a scrimshander) at
www.shinintimespowderhorns.com.

Thanks for looking,

Mark

 

[john pilk]

really good looking work mark. , nice detail. i,m the guy who sold you the compressor. hope you,re using it and its working well for you. i may need some grips scrimed later on , will let you know. again fine job. keep up the good work . john pilk

 

[Cloudy]

Incredible detail- thanks for posting!

 

[Doc Mark]

Hey Mark, This is looking good! The scrim is clean and well designed. The only suggestion I would offer is to "ground" your subject. In other words, put some shadow below the figure and the rifle where it touches the ground. Give the feeling that the subject is standing on solid ground and it becomes more three dimensional and "real".

From one of the "Many Other Marks" on the Forum,

 

[Ron Jr.]

Can't wait to see it finished!

 

[markpreston]

Mark,

thanks for the suggestion. I did finally add some ground under his feet, and it looks much better.

Thanks again.

Mark

 

[markpreston]

finished

Here are a few photos from the powderhorn I was working on and have now finished. But first a little background:

This horn was originally going to be a French & Indian War style horn (as one, it would display certain distinguishing features.) The guy who ordered it wanted very little ornamentation and he wanted it to be dyed since he planned to carry it hunting and he did not want anything white visible while in the woods...didn't want to be mistaken for a whitetail deer...

The deal fell through so I decided to do some artwork on the horn which I'd been wanting to do for some time but didn't have time for. The image is of a man, a member of Rogers Rangers. Rogers Rangers were the original precursors to today's special forces e.g. green berets. I decided to commemorate a battle which was a disaster for Capt' Rogers. He returned with 55 men of his original force of 184 men. He nearly lost his life in the battle but escaped and made his way back to his base.

I put myself in the place of a cartographer sent to draw a map of the battle. Hence my use of topographic lines to describe the mountains where the battle took place.

Finally I dyed the horn (my first time doing that) and then had to re-ink some of the fine detail work because it faded in the hot dye bath.

Here is the finished product:

Any critiques, comments or suggestions are cheerfully entertained.

Regards,
Mark

www.shinintimespowderhorns.com

 

[KatherinePlumer]

That is really cool! Definitely something to be proud of!

-Katherine

 

[Arnaud Van Tilburgh]

Nice piece mark,

arnaud