Sunday, January 31, 2010

Current Work in Progress - Kestrel - 3rd Posting

It has been a little time since I was able to post the progress of the Kestrel. I'm now back and we will continue showing progress steps for this bird.

Since the last progress posting I was able to refine both the head and body shape. No more square parts to the bird.

As for the head, the things that took place: Lock in the shape and form of the bill, establish the cheek patch, get the throat defined and basic rounding and shaping of the overall head.

As for the body, the cape, scapulars, wings, breast, belly, tail, and primaries were all sized and shaped.

Now what you see starting to take place is the initial layout of the major wing feather groups. Right now it looks like stair steps from one group to the next. All stepping down as you work from the front of the wing to the back of the wing (primaries).

New Release

After completing the Mallard Drake Club Head I decided to get this Canada Goose Club Head completed as well. This was the head given to me by a fellow carver who challenged me to do a club head. He wanted to see what I could do with it and finally here we are.
This head was a fun project since I was able to work on a goose in decoy style rather than a duck. Granted both ducks and geese are pretty similar in carving and painting techniques, there are however differences with the bills and added length to the neck.
To see more of this piece go to my website: http://www.simchuk.com/19601.html

New Release

After getting back from the Harlequin decoy class in Spokane I was pretty whipped out and wasn't quite ready to get back into the Kestrel project I have in the works. As a result, I decided to do this little guy to ease my way back into the larger Kestrel project.

This Mallard Drake Club Head is a fun project and I was able to stay in the decoy mode that I was in while working on the Harlequin Drake project.

To see more pictures of this little guy check out my website: http://www.simchuk.com/19601.html

New Release

In January I created this Harlequin Drake Decoy so there would be an example for my class in Spokane to see what they would create. This class would carve a functional Harlequin Drake working decoy.

The intent was to have a working decoy style which would be very basic and simple in both carving and painting.

As I proceeded through the carving I decided to provide more definition in the bill and wings which kicked it out of a typical working decoy classification. A traditional working decoy would have no bill detail and the primaries would not be a refined as I have them here.

Also, when I moved into the painting of this bird, I decided to try to give it more interest and pop. This was accomplished through more feathering and blending of colors than one would see on a traditional working decoy where the colors are blocked in.

As a result I have a very attractive looking decoy that I'm quite pleased with.

You can see more photos of this bird on my website: http://www.simchuk.com/19601.html

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Current Work In Progress - Kestrel - 2nd Posting

The initial day consists of truing up the cutout so it more closely aligns with the pattern. I will also begin shaping the birds body and head.

From this photo you can see I'm already starting to round the body (back and wings). Also at this point I have only removed some of the wood above the eyes on the head and identified the location of the cheek patch.

With this initial roughing work I will be able to see if the bird will turn out the way I want for the finished presentation. And, in this case he is coming together as I had envisioned.