One Completed Hen

Here is one of the completed hens. I ended up repainting the head and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I've really enjoyed painting these hens lately. Each one gets a little bit better, and I have a little more fun painting.

The feathers on this bird were done utilizing a scrubbing or drybrushing technique that I was inspired by Tom Christie to try. Tom Christie has a reputation for making spectacular hens. I had the honor of spending some time talking to Tom at the 2009 Westlake show in Ohio. I had to update the technique a bit to better suit my style, but his method was a primary influence for me, is the basis of all my hens.

This one is a fancy gunner. I've added some touches such as raised primary feathers, but they are fully supported and not undercut. This give it a bit more of a gunner feel, but adds a nice flourish that I often like to be part of my decoys. This bird definetly has more paint on it than I would put on a rig of six that end up getting tossed into a boat. I spent a fait bit of time on the head playing around with a ticking pattern that I liked. I'm happy with the results, but time really got away from me. I may end up trying a spatter method on the next head for a different look.