Two Days Later

I was very excited to stop by Bart's house to see his progress on the Old Squaw Duck. With the initial dark paint coats on the articulated side feathers, the duck is beginning to have definition.

This represents two days work.

PROGRESS REPORT

OLD SQUAW DUCK aka LONG-TAILED DUCK

Carving Complete 

With Gesso coat, some white highlights, painted tail

WORK IN PROGRESS

My latest project is an OLDSQUAW DUCK also known as the Long-tailed Duck.
The male has a long pointed tail and a dark grey bill crossed by a reddish/pink band.
This is an earlier carving of that duck.

Old Squaw (Drake) ~ Winter Plumage

Unlike most ducks, which molt twice yearly, the Long-tailed Duck has three distinct plumages each year which overlap in partial molts. According to "allaboutbirds.org" the Long-tailed Duck is one of the deepest diving ducks, diving up to 200 feet to forage. It spends more time under water -- three to four times as much as it does on top of the water -- when searching for food.

This new carving will feature the duck in its breeding plumage.

DIVING DUCKS

RED BREASTED MERGANSER PAIR

The red breasted merganser is a diving duck, characterized by a spiky crest and long, thin, red bill with serrated edges. It is one of the fastest birds in level flight, reaching speeds of 80 mph.

Drake / Hen

Raptors

RED TAIL HAWK

Half size

AMERICAN KESTREL

Merganser Pair

HOODED MERGANSER ~ Drake

   MERGANSER ~ Hen





The Teal

The Teal duck is distinguished by its small size. The Common or Eurasian Teal is the smallest member of the "dabbling ducks" -- ducks which feed primarily on the surface, rather than by diving. 


The GREEN-WINGED TEAL is the North American counterpart of this duck.

The BLUE-WINGED TEAL is another small, dabbling duck common to North America that breeds in marshes and ponds in north and central regions of the country. This species can most often be found in the prairies of the Dakotas and prairie provinces of Canada.                                                          

Close, genetically, is the CINNAMON TEAL, a small reddish duck found in the marshes and ponds of western North and South America.

Ducks of Different Feathers

SHOVELER

COMMON GOLDEN EYE (Drake ~ Preening)

RED HEAD          

Two Very Different Owls

The Great Horned Owl ~ half scale

While I was working on this Great Horned Owl, my grandchildren each secretly thought I was creating this wood carving for them. Harry Potter was all the rage and owls were very much at the forefront of their minds. So, I decided to carve a smaller owl; in fact, two smaller owls -- one for each family. I naively thought that carving the feet right out of the original block of wood would "save me time." Boy was I wrong! Getting into the back of the block perch to carve the underside proved quite the feat! And, I might add, a smaller scale carving does not necessarily equate with reduced hours. The work was well worth it, though. To this day, they still love and appreciate the carvings. This is the owl before it was painted.

Screech Owl ~ Unpainted

A Very Dramatic Duck

Female & Male Wood Ducks

Wood Duck Pair

Pintail Ducks

A pair of Northern Pintail Ducks before painting

The finished piece

From Inception to Completion

Every project starts with a pattern and a solid block of wood. The block of wood shown above has already been honed into the relative shape of the bird. A caliper is used to measure the bird's dimensions as the shape is further and further refined. Once the final shape is achieved, the feathers have to be created. There are five steps in creating the feathers:
1) Designing / laying out the feather patterns
2) Creating the relief (i.e. the raised elements)
3) Refinement
4) Stoning (creating the individual feather lines)
5) Burning (a burning tool is used to further articulate the feathers)

This is what the feathering detail looks like after burning.

At this point the carving is complete. The next process -- an entire art form in itself  -- involves painting the bird. First, a sealer is applied to the carving. Then a primer coat called gesso is used. Gesso coats can also be applied in tints to serve as a foundation for some of the top coat colors. Painting is just as challenging as carving as there is never a true consensus on the color of a duck and because subtle shadings are so important in creating a final product that looks authentic.

Here is the final product some 200 hours later. A full scale Pileated Woodpecker.