Deconstructing Andy Anderson

[Gary M. Peiffer]

Here are a pair of hound dogs from Andy Anderson's book. Done in basswood and will eventually be painted in light stains of oil paint. Approximatley Height = 4.5 " (11.7 cm), Width = 3" (7.8cm), and Length = 5.5" (14.6 cm) including tails.

I had a really interest in learning about Andy Anderson, so many of today's top caricature carvers cite his book as being an influence on their work. Even though he had "rock star" status as a whittler, I get the impression he was a humble man who cared deeply about his carving and teaching others the craft.

I chose to carve the hound dog from his book because I thought Anderson only did cowfolk and horses and I wanted to try something I had not seen before. From reading his book, and studying the available pictures of his work, I felt like I got a better understanding of his approach and techniques. I was surprised to find out that he used leather for the tails of his hounds, although I chose to carve mine.

Thanks to all who supported my efforts to learn more about this tremendous carver from the past!

[Iowa Carver]

Is this from the book that Rick Ferry has at Little Shavers about his work or from his classic instructional book. Neat hound dogs!

Corey

[gene-messer]

Gary .. I love that hound dog .. he's in Andys original book and he is neat to carve ..

He definately one of the greatest caricature carvers that ever lived .. he influenced such great carvers as Harold Enlow and others .. I even think he probably had something to do with Lynns carvings .. since he has mentioned Andy anderson as a hero of his ..

Iam lucky enough to live just 16 miles from the Stark Museum In Orange Texas where Mr Stark has a entire collection of Andy Anderson carvings ..

it is amazing to see his work in person ..

Keep it up .. you did great Gary

Gene

[tucker1931]

Gary, ya done good. I have a real soft spot for hounds and you did a fine job, they always have such a sad look to them and you sure captured that look.
Cliff

[Lynn O. Doughty]

Yep! Andy Anderson is my hero! I can remember seeing his book in my Dad's workshop long before I ever heard the words "caricature carving". The reason I think his is the best example of what a caricature carving should be is because I seriously doubt if anything was an influence on him. People say his carvings are flat-plane but I'll bet anything he had no idea of just what constitutes that kind of carving nor had he probably even heard of any other flat-plane or caricature carvers. He just sat down with a piece of wood and turned it into a neat figure with no preconceived notions as to whether he should do it a certain way or not. Andy took a piece of wood and turned it into a piece of Andy Anderson. He also wasn't afraid of trying different things to make his carvings more interesting. If incorporating different materials into a piece made it better he did that. If attaching something here or there fleshed out an idea he was after he did that too. When I look at just about any caricature carvers work from Enlow's on down I see Andy Anderson as he blazed the trail for the rest of us.

[Gary M. Peiffer]

Originally Posted by Iowa Carver

Is this from the book that Rick Ferry has at Little Shavers about his work or from his classic instructional book. Neat hound dogs!

Corey

Corey,

This was inspired from the source, that being the original instuctional book!

[Eddy-Smiles]

Nice job! I love how you got the tails so skinny without breaking them off!

[bayou red bug]

cory....what's the name of the book about andy anderson that rick ferry has at little shavers?

[Don Z]

Howdy bayou red bug,

I'm new here, saw this thread on Andy Anderson, thought I'd share the name of that book with 'ya. It is called "The World of Andy Anderson" by High Noon Western Americana. I purchased one last year and really enjoy it, lots of pictures of his carvings.

If anyone out there watches the "Andy Griffith Show," watch for an episode called "Cousin Virgil." Barney's cousin Virgil comes to visit and is all thumbs, real nervous fellow, can't seem to do anything without makin' a mess. Well, when he is by himself, and not bein' eyed, he's relaxed and carves Opie a cowboy and a dog, guess what ... The carvings they show in the episode have to be Andy Anderson carvings. Pretty neat, has anyone else out there seen this episode?

[Bartster]

don,


i have seen and have said for along time the carvings had to be andy's he was around when that show was on.


bart


andy griffith is one of my favorites, i watch them all the time.