ElVaqueroMuerto Report post Posted July 24, 2008 Greetings, everyone! I am El Vaquero Muerto. I am a leather artist, painter and illustrator. I would first like to thank Leatheroo for inviting me to join leatherworker.net. For a few years now I have been looking for a leather community to share with and learn from and I must say that this seems like the place! I found leather carving while I was taking fashion design classes in Arizona. I had gone to Tandy Leather Company because I wanted to make leather clothing and when I realized that you could carve things into leather, well - I was hooked. I bought some leather, some tools and a leather carving kit. I opened the instruction book, took a quick look, then closed it and never opened it again. I did not like the swivel knife so I used an exacto knife instead. Through trial and error (with a huge emphasis on error), I taught myself how to carve leather. I gravitated toward high-contrast, really graphic designs. I had a background in miniatures painting, so I viewed the dye and paint job as a slightly more flattened miniature, painting the edges of my cuts and adding distinct highlights and shadows. That was four years ago. These days I use an Al Stohlman blade set into a stationary handle. The tool I do 99.9% of my non-background carving with is Craftool F890, a figure carving tool that looks like half of a small circle. For color work I use a combinations of dyes, stains and acrylic paints. My influences stem from the deserts of Arizona where I grew up and the icons I associate with them. The lonely cowboy under the desert moon, whiskey in one hand and six shooter in the other. The tattooed rockabilly girl in her '47 Ford, switchblade on the seat next to her. The devil with his fixed gambles and stolen goods, appearing from the shadows behind a motel with a neon cactus sign. The medicine man or desert preacher and the mescaline path to the spirit world where scorpions feed on dreams and armadillos give warnings to lost souls. Mi abuela and her tortillas. This is the world I am exploring in my leather carvings. I have made many bracelets, a few purses, some leather-covered flasks, two guitar straps, a few belts, some bondage equipment, a leather "painting", a carrying case for two bottles of E&J brandy (don't ask, sometimes I really just need the money) and most recently a set of bracers for a fire dancer so that she would not burn her forearms when she dances. I really want to get into more complex construction techniques. I am also working on a promotional guitar strap for the band Tiger Army and some carved leather merchandise for the band The Dresden Dolls. I moved to Hollywood to chase my dream of doing artwork for a living and I hope that these projects will bring me that much closer to my goal. I would love to meet any other leather workers in the Los Angeles area, as well as any leather worker anywhere else. I want to learn from others and I would love to teach anything I know to anyone looking to do any work that I know how to do (that was rather longwinded). Speaking of, I am teaching a leather carving and coloring workshop August 15th and 16th for the Kentucky Museum of Arts and Crafts. If any other leather workers are in the area, I would love to meet you and maybe have a few drinks and exchange tips and stories and such. My contact info is listed below, please feel free to contact me for any reason, be it questions or comments or supportive criticism (I highly encourage this as I want to grow and become a better leather worker). I am also including some of the projects I have done. Hope you all enjoy! El Vaquero Muerto elvaqueromuerto@gmail.com Online Gallery El Vaquero Muerto Myspace The bracers I made for the fire dancer. My "Muertos" leather painting. My leather-covered flask. Bottom photo courtesy of Gabriel Sotomayor. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
leatheroo Report post Posted July 24, 2008 welcome, glad you found us, love your work caroline Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Schno Report post Posted July 24, 2008 Right on, very nice work! It's great to see different influences in this craft. You've definitely come to the right place to find a solid leather community. This board is a font of knowledge and wisdom gained from years of experience. I just started a few months ago, so I've been absorbing as much as I can from these guys. I'm not terribly far from you. I'm located in the Valley, and I'm always interested in meeting other leathersmiths. Besides that, I suspect that we might have some other common interests. Anyway, drop me a line if you're so inclined. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ClayB Report post Posted July 24, 2008 (edited) Hi and welcome to the forum. I am glad you found us (thanks Leatheroo!) From your intro, and from looking at some of your work, it looks like you will fit in here really well and be a nice addition to our forum. I really enjoy it when people do things differently. It gives us new ideas and helps us learn new things. You do some really nice stuff. We have a calendar here on the forum, and it would be great if you could add the class you are teaching to the list. If you need some help with that, let me or one of the moderators know. Clay Edited July 24, 2008 by ClayB Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
serena Report post Posted July 24, 2008 Welcome to the forums, nice work! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shirleyz Report post Posted July 24, 2008 Hi, Love the Day of the dead style! I think your coloring is dead on, no pun intended. ShirleyZ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomSwede Report post Posted July 24, 2008 Welcome to the board! That's some great looking stuff and those bracers have a really cool design. I look forward to see more! Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ElVaqueroMuerto Report post Posted July 25, 2008 Hi and welcome to the forum. I am glad you found us (thanks Leatheroo!) From your intro, and from looking at some of your work, it looks like you will fit in here really well and be a nice addition to our forum. I really enjoy it when people do things differently. It gives us new ideas and helps us learn new things. You do some really nice stuff.We have a calendar here on the forum, and it would be great if you could add the class you are teaching to the list. If you need some help with that, let me or one of the moderators know. Clay Thank you for the warm welcome Clay. I am so happy to be a part of this forum. I will try to find the calendar and post the class. I'll let you know if I need help finding it. I definitely look foreword to sharing more and seeing what everyone else is doing. It is very inspiring to see everyone's work. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillB Report post Posted July 27, 2008 El Vaquero Muerto, Welcome to the forum. Very impressive work. Very Technical. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kustom Report post Posted September 1, 2008 I love you stuff it's great. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LarryB Report post Posted September 1, 2008 Welcome to the group..... Great work, hope to see more. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
King's X Report post Posted September 1, 2008 EVM Greeting from an ELA transplant now in Austin, Tx. very nice work. Thanks for joining the forum. Firme stuff! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
urbanwrist Report post Posted September 4, 2008 Great stuff VM, Really like your style -J Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Don101 Report post Posted September 11, 2008 Hi welcome to the forum, Don Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Major Report post Posted September 11, 2008 Welcome aboard. Nice looking work. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Davy Report post Posted September 16, 2008 Greetings El Vaquero!!!! I only stumbled across this place a few days ago mself and I'm hooked . Your work is unreal bro , its distinctive & I can see the passion you must have for leatherwork reflected in the high quality of those pieces . I notice you want to learn more about construction methods . I learnt more about leathers and leather selection , design and patternmaking , preparation , construction methods , assembly , finishing etc , etc , etc in 2yrs at tech college doing a footwear trades course than I have in 35yrs as a leatherworker . So if you have any questions , feel free to ask ! Leatheroo is looking to get a conference going on skype if youre interested . Cheers , Dave . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trastu Report post Posted September 16, 2008 Nice looking work. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pip Report post Posted September 16, 2008 Nice looking work. That is mighty fine work! love your style! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
