"Magnetic Flat Birds"

1.) Wednesday, August 1, 2018 Sixty-four 1/4"-thick birds have been cut out and sanded, and are now ready for the next step.

2.) The distinctive body pattern of each of the birds now needs to be drawn on the 64 cutouts.

3.) Thursday, August 2, 2018 After drawing on each cutout, I used the wood-burner to outline the pencil sketching.

4.) A closer look at the four species, after they've been "burned".

5.) For no special reason, I started, today, by painting the 16 White-breasted Nuthatches. I finished them shortly after lunch.

6.) Then I painted the 16 Song Sparrows, and finished them just as my studio wall-clock struck 5:00. I find this type of painting to be quite pleasurable.

7.) Saturday, August 4, 2018 It took me quite a lot longer than I expected to paint the Tufted Titmice, but I was able to finish them by 2:00.

8.) A closer look at the Tufted Titmice.

9.) I was hoping to be able to completely paint the Winter Wrens by 5:00, and I almost made it. I was done by 5:10. The final steps will be to spray the birds with a sealer, sand the back sides, sign them and date them, and put a magnetic strip on each of them.

10.) A closer look at the Winter Wrens.

A sleepy Screech Owl showed up in the studio, recently.

1.) Tuesday, July 17, 2018 Screech Owls like to sleep hidden, during the day -- often in a tree hollow. I'm going to do a powertool relief carving of one doing so. After making a rough sketch, I drew the basic outline on a block of Basswood.

2.) The 1" Typhoon burr really throws the sawdust, as I begin the carving.

3.) Switching to a smaller karbide bit, I continue to shape the owl and the surrounding bark.

4.) It really didn't take too long to begin to "see" the owl sitting in his tree hole.

5.) Wednesday, July 18, 2018 I was eager to get out to the studio this morning to continue working on the little Screech Owl. Using a variety of bits and burrs, along with the wood-burner, I made good progress.

6.) The late afternoon sun is casting dark shadows on the owl's first coat of paint.

7.) Thursday, July 19, 2018 Except for adding the finish and glossing the beak and talons, this fun carving is completed.

Yellow-shafted Flickers   

One of the most beautiful birds in the northeast.

1.) Monday, July 2, 2018, 94 degrees inside the studio! Here is the initial pattern and cutout.

2.) I spent the afternoon -- very warm! -- roughing out this prototype. I will use it to improve my pattern for two more cutouts.

3.) Tuesday, July 3, 2018 I changed the pattern slightly and made two more cutouts.

4.) There was a lot of wood to remove, but by day's end the two new Flickers were fairly well roughed out.

5.) Thursday, July 5, 2018 Today's work consisted of continuing to Rough-out and carve the Major Detail on the three Flickers. Good news? They are now ready for Fine Detail.

6.) Friday, July 6, 2018 Most of the Fine Detail carving is now done. Time now for some Minor Detail carving! ; )

7.) Saturday, July 7, 2018 Another good day of carving. By 5:30 p.m., the three Flickers were all carved and ready to be painted.

8.) Monday, July, 9, 2018 The Flickers got their base-coat of paint. Now, for some detail.

9.) Thursday, July 12, 2018 A good day of painting detail on the three Flickers. Maybe I can finish painting them, tomorrow.

10.) Friday, July 13, 2018 After a day of fine detail painting, the Flickers are very close to being ready for their bases.

11. Saturday, July 14, 2018 I did just a little more painting on the Flicker's this morning; then they were ready to be sprayed with a sealant.

12.) I took the birds outside and put them on the studio railing to be given three coats of satin spray.

13.) A very nice assortment of bases to choose from.

14.) After affixing the birds to their mounts, I made their feet and toes out of coat-hanger. I then did all the "finishing touches", including painting the feet, glossing the feet, eyes and bills, etc. This is a picture of the only table-mount I made.

BARN SWALLOWS

RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS

Eastern Painted Turtles

1.) Monday, July 23, 2018 Saturday's "Made in the Adirondacks" show was a pleasure to participate in. Now it's time to get back to work. ; ) I drew a new pattern, cut out six E. Painted Turtles and made good progress roughing them out.

2.) Tuesday, July 24, 2018 Another full day of carving resulted in completing much of the Major Detail on the six turtles.

3.) Wednesday, July 25, 2018 The turtles looked like this when I left them, yesterday.

4.) Today, I refined their carapace and plastron contours, and started working on Fine Detail.

5.) Thursday, July 26, 2018 The turtles are almost completed; a little more work on them tomorrow, and they will be ready for their first coat of paint.

6.) After drawing the carapace scutes with pencil, I outlined them with a wood-burning tip.

7.) I did the same thing on the turtles' plastrons.

8.) Friday, July 27, 2018 I was able to finish all the Fine Detail carving and wood-burning on the turtles by noon.

9.) Saturday, July 28, 2018 The picture may not show it, but I painted the turtles for five more hours, today. As usual, it will take me one more painting session to complete them -- next week.

10.) By 5:00, the turtles had been given a good base-coat of paint.

11.) Monday, July 30, 2018 I painted fine detail on these turtles until lunchtime. After lunch, I gave them two coats of varnish.

12.) A closer view of one of the finished turtles. Soon, I will upload the available turtles to this website store.

AMERICAN BITTERN

The video, below, was taken of the Bittern after it was painted and before it was sprayed or its eyes, beak, legs, etc, were glossed.

PAINTED BUNTINGS

CHICKADEES

GOPHER TORTOISE

SPOTTED TURTLE

SWIMMING OTTERS

ORNAMENTAL LOONS

The next Ornamental Bird project is Loons.  I'll be making 15 each of four different poses.  Some are on order by a local store.  The rest will be for sale on my website.

FAMILY FEUD

Powertool carving involves using electric-powered tools to grind the wood away and to texture it.  Here is a slide show of the process of converting a solid block of basswood into a difficult and intricate carving, using "powertools".

SNAPPING TURTLE

LITTLE GREEN HERON

WOODCOCK

HORNED GREBE, winter plumage

 Quite a few years ago, on a very cold mid-winter night, while driving through the country on a state highway in northern NY State, my headlights picked up a Horned Grebe in the middle of the icy road.  I imagine the bird had been blown far off course in a winter storm and had mistaken the shiny road surface for water.  Since these birds require a run across the water to become airborne, the stranded bird was unable to take off.  I picked him - or her - up and brought her home.
     The grebe floated buoyantly and peacefully on a few inches of water in my bathtub, with its head pulled back and 'hunched' between its 'shoulders'.  All seemed well, but the bird died during the night.  
     I sketched the grebe as it floated in the tub, and roughed out a carving of the bird, not many days later.  I always intended to finish the carving, but that roughed out grebe has been part of my studio 'decor' for the past 25 years, or so.      Finally, I'm getting around to finishing it.  Unfortunately, my memory of the bird has dimmed, and I can find no pictures of the bird in this particular pose.  I'll just do the best I can.

ORNAMENTAL BIRDS

     My mother and I worked happily together to design, hand-draw, wood-burn and paint four bird species ornaments:  Cardinals, Goldfinches, Bluebirds, and Chickadees. 
     The project involved drawing patterns, cutting the birds out on a bandsaw, sanding the edges of each bird, drawing detail on the cutouts, wood-burning the detail, painting the birds, and varnishing them.  Here is a slide-show of the process.

BLUE-THROAT

ROADRUNNER

CARDINALS

CEDAR WAXWING

GREAT-HORNED OWL

WARBLERS

EASTERN BLUEBIRDS

BLUE JAY FLEDGLINGS

BLUEBIRD FLEDGLINGS

SNAPPING TURTLE

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COMMON LOON in DISPLAY POSTURE

FLEDGLING ROBINS

BOBOLINK

Here's a bird I have "always" wanted to carve!  I'm so glad I'm finally getting around to carving some!  I used to love to see them and hear them, while growing up in upstate New York and Canada.  It has been many years since I've seen this special bird.  It's time I make one to hang on my wall.

WINTER WREN

RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH

VERMILLION FLYCATCHER

TUFTED TITMOUSE

RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS

EASTERN PAINTED TURTLES

CACTUS WREN

HERMIT THRUSH

BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER

CHICKADEES

A 3/4-size Common Loon
For the past few weeks, I've been carving Loons - partly because I was asked to provide some for the newly opened Adirondack Loons & Trails store in Saranac Lake; partly because I am fascinated by these beautiful birds, and never tire trying to capture their anatomy and 'essence'. 
I didn't take photos of this Loon's earlier progress, because other slide shows [below] of previous Loon carvings show the procedure.

18" COMMON LOONS

7" COMMON LOONS

10" COMMON LOONS

14" COMMON LOONS

CAPE MAY WARBLERS

CARDINALS

SANDERLINGS

If you've ever been to the beach, you've probably seen these cute little birds running along just out of reach of the waves.  Except for a single Solitary Sandpiper I carved as many as forty-five years ago, or so, these will be my first shorebirds.  I'm looking forward to seeing how they turn out!

LINCOLN'S SPARROW

Here's another species I'm carving for the first time: the very handsome and secretive Lincoln's Sparrow.  I've wanted to carve this bird for quite a few years, so I'm thankful for a customer who recently suggested that I should carve some of the lesser known and seldom seen Adirondack species.  

BAY-BREASTED WARBLERS

Bay-breasted Warblers being painted . . . .

HERE

EASTERN BLUEBIRD

Carolina Wrens 

SNOWY OWLS HATCHING - two poses at once

BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES 

My daughter, Megan, and I made some trial videos a few weeks ago.  You'll hear me talking to Megan, and you'll notice we have some wrinkles with focus and distance to work out.  But these are a start, and they'll at least give you a rough idea of what's to come in time as Megan and I perfect our methods.

BURROWING OWLS