Here are some close-up head portraits of the three birds. I love how the oil paint blends when it is wet.
Some decoys in oil paint
I've spent some time this summer practicing with oil paints. Here are a few I completed recently.
Mallard:
Barrow's Goldeneye
Wigeon
A couple more wigeon
Here are a couple more wigeon that I've been working on. I just finished them up last night. They are both the same low-head pattern that I've done a few of. One of them has simulated raised primary feathers. The other has a smooth back.
Here's the simulated raised primaries bird:
And here is the smooth-back gunner:
Finished wigeon pair
Here's that widgeon pair I was working on. All painted and keeled up.
My Wigeon Rig is Coming Along
Here's a rig of wigeon and a single pintail I've got in progress. These four (3 drakes and 1 hen) are all sealed up and ready to paint. I've also got another low head hen and high head drake wigeon in the works, but they aren't really worth taking a picture of right now. One of the drakes is carved from basswood that I've had for a while now. The others are white cedar I bought from Dwane Ong.
Here's a pintail I've been casually working on as well. I'm still putting the finishing touches on the carving. It's carved of white cedar but I've inlet a piece or hard maple for the tail.
I've also another hen and drake wigeon in the works, but they aren't really worth taking a picture of right now.
Wigeon drake almost done
I think I'm just about done with this wigeon. Just need to add a keel now.
Some in process stuff
We're packing up the house and I haven't had too much time to spend in the shop as of late. Here's some stuff I've got in process. I was especially curious to see how mobile posting works with my new squarespace app.
The wigeon is hollowed, weighted, and glued together. I sealed the insides with WEST epoxy. I also coated the primary feathers to add some toughness. It's just about ready to seal up and paint.
The gadwall body is pretty much carved, but the head isn't too much more than cut out.
The mallard is basecoated with a little bit of detailing added to a couple areas.