Sorry Boys! It’s Beans Again!

Originally published in 2011

Whittled the shovel this morning to finish the major parts of this scene.  Still have to make some biscuits to go into the Dutch oven then it’s off to the paint table.  I gave him a water bucket to put something in that right hand.  He can use it to douse that new fella who always complains when there’s no meat involved.  It’s empty now but I’ll fill it with resin once the paint is dry.   It took me hours to balance that shovel so I could take the photo.  (Actually, I just put a drop of super glue on the base and a squirt of activator locked it in place.)  I’ll cut through the top two bases to make it look as though it was stuck into the dirt.  You always need a shovel around the cook fire to move the hot coals around for the ovens and occasionally bang a head or two when the clean-up crew balks at their assigned duties.

(Next Day)

At last!  I thought I would never get this fellas finished.  I think the problem was that it’s been so long since I did a cook scene I’d forgotten just how to do it.   Still, I think he turned out pretty good and I really like the title as you can almost see the wranglers in background with various sour looks on their faces.

I used ash right out of my shop stove to color the bottom of the oven and for the coals on the lid and underneath the dutch.  Also sprinkled a few around my logs in the fire.  For the logs I used twigs but blackened them with a torch.  Funny, when I torched them there was actually a little fire going on.  Looked really neat when I blew it out and the smoke curled up through the tripod.    The shovel sort of rounds out the scene as that area would be kind of empty otherwise.

So, I hope you like him as much as I do and I sure hope the ramrod lets them dispatch a steer soon so those boys don’t revolt and take it out on our little cook.

Comments welcome