4/9

When things go right they really go right... painted the sides today and only had to do it once..

Maybe painting all those feather is paying off...

Working with browns and blacks... and adding some splits and some dark mysterious color ..

Here is a photo of the drake and hen together ... now to put the push on to get these birds done...

4/7

Well another night of painting... After a phone conversation with my brother, he suggested that the hen needed something.. I worked on the back tonight... adding different values of brown and blacks...

Also painted the primaries... just the side and the head to go...

4/5

Here are some shots of the hen Scoter in process... just have to figure out if this is the way to go... does the hen need to be lighter or darker... I have to quit thinking what these birds are for and just paint what I see... the stigma of the World Carving Competition can be nerve racking at times... I bet other carver from around the country are in the same boat that I'm in... coming down to the wire are always second guessing ...There will come a time that I think that the hen looks good and just be done...

Also a photo of the finished Redhead hen from the class that I taught.. the Redhead hen is now stained and waxed...

4/1

Working on the hen Scoter for the rig... came up with a plan, now just have to follow thru...

The bird is brown.. the trick is making that brown bird interesting...

just like the Scoter drake being black and doing alot of black on black... now it is brown on brown..

will add some splits and some interior shading... every hen that I look at is different, just trying to hit a happy medium...

3/30

Working night shift this week... that means, painting every morning... with no interuptions..

The drake Scoter is complete... here are some shots of the finish bird...

Also a photo of the drake and the Razorbill together... 2/3rd of the rig done... now onto the hen.. that will take several day to complete, but there is light at the end of the tunnel...

I will have to set up the back drop and the tripod to take some better shots...

3/29

Well the weekend is over and I had 14 people make a Redhead hen...

Here are some shots... one of everyone working.. one of my great nephew holding the finished bird and one of the bird that I carved duing the class...

Fun project, well everyone left the building with a finished bird and a happy look on their face... and we got done early... that is a plus...

I'm glad that I have good students and just about all have carved with me before.. that way I don't have to retain them...

Now back to the rig...

3/24

Well another night of painting... no photos tonight, the Scoter drake just look like a black bird... will add photos after I get the body done...
I have a seminar this weekend.. we are carving a hen Redhead... 13 people signed up for this.. most have carved with me before... should be fun..