A few more carved decoys

[LumberJ]

Took a break from the summer house projects to finish a couple of my birds for this season. All are cork bodies and basswood heads.

Here's the first hen mallard that I painted up:


And a couple of cans. The first I did as a gift for a buddy that let me hunt a large piece of property last winter. I actually gave this one to him a little while back and it proved to be well worth the trouble of making because he invited me back to turkey hunt and I bagged a really nice Tom


This second can is oversized



I have a couple of woodducks that are now ready for paint, and a few other birds as well. I'll be sure to post them up as they're completed.

Season is getting closer!

[Branta]

carvers and painters...... I bow to you all! I have neither the patience nor the talent to even look at a piece of wood as anything other than kindling!

Kudos to you!! You're getting really , really good!

there's an old member here that doesn't frequent the forum much anymore (if at all), but you should try an rub shoulders with him. look up: Decoysbyras and get an email addi from the member profile. He can probably give you a few (professional) pointers and he's probably 1/2hr or less from you.

if that doesn't work, send me a note and I'll see if I can get some contact info

again, fantastic job!

[EN1796]

Those are amazing! Where do you by a block of cork big enough to make one of those decoys? And how much time would you say it takes you from start to finish on one of those? I think craftsmanship like this is just spectacular!

[dpossum]

Very nice job on the decoys.

[Big Cans]

Nice.

I also noticed the beer bottle in the back...is that wrong??

Something I just couldn't get myself to do -- carve; paint......the drink beer thing, I can do....the other timely things...no thanks.

Those pics are sweet. You do a nice job.

Keep it up!!! It's almost season!!

[LumberJ]

Thanks for the compliments everyone!
I finished up my first Blue Bill last night, but I'll wait until I have a few more birds done so I can post them together

Originally Posted by Branta

carvers and painters...... I bow to you all! I have neither the patience nor the talent to even look at a piece of wood as anything other than kindling! ...

Well, I can tell you from first hand experience that you can get by without the talent part (as I don't really have much experience with anything artistic), but without the talent it definitely requires patience. I've got a ton of that so I can fudge it while I work on the talent part

Thanks for the reference, looks like that guy hasn't been active for a few years. I'll save his info though in case I have any questions.

Originally Posted by EN1796

Those are amazing! Where do you by a block of cork big enough to make one of those decoys? And how much time would you say it takes you from start to finish on one of those? I think craftsmanship like this is just spectacular!

Thanks! Carvers can buy sheets of the stuff. The main source is from a guy right here in Michigan: Willy at theduckblind.com
It really can vary on how long they take to carve/paint based on detail. I'm not that good yet so I really take my time, I probably spend a minimum of 3-4 hrs carving and just as much time painting each bird depending on the species. Realistically, these have way more detail than is needed for a true gunner bird, so if that's all I wanted to do, I could cut that time in half. But I figure that since I'm going through the trouble and I enjoy doing it, I might as well put some extra effort in an try to make them look a little nicer.

Originally Posted by Big Cans

I also noticed the beer bottle in the back...is that wrong??

Something I just couldn't get myself to do -- carve; paint......the drink beer thing, I can do....the other timely things...no thanks.
...

Good eye. Although I have to admit that that one's my brothers... I don't drink Sam Adams Light....ewww

Gimme a few Coors Banquet and I'm good to go

[BigR]

Very Impressive man! Some day I want to give it a shot with carving...someone taught me burlapping and I am yet to try that method even...Very nice work!

[Buddwiser]

Originally Posted by Branta

carvers and painters......

there's an old member here that doesn't frequent the forum much anymore (if at all), but you should try an rub shoulders with him. look up: Decoysbyras and get an email addi from the member profile. He can probably give you a few (professional) pointers and he's probably 1/2hr or less from you.

if that doesn't work, send me a note and I'll see if I can get some contact info

again, fantastic job!

Nice work......Try workingdecoys.net....duckboats.net (don't let the name fool you..some really talented people there).....more info at those two than you can shake a stick at.

[Kingcrapp]

nice thanks for the pics.

[DEDGOOSE]

The first can is real.. Good job