This carving was inspired by the famous quote “Smile When You Say That” from the book by Owen Wister, “The Virginian”.I had a narrow piece of wood that I knew would work perfect for the carving. I figured if you were in a gun fight you would want to be as slight a target as possible. The steely eyed look came from a violent painting at the Denver Art Museum by N.C. Wyeth, “The Gunfight”.