| Project by LittlePaw | posted 434 days ago | 1174 views | 0 times favorited | 28 comments |  |
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The Canada Goose project is finally finished. It shouldn’t have taken two months, but it did . . . no excuses.
Each feather is drawn in with a pencil, knife outlined, then carved to slope down and under the feather in front of it. Then depending on how it turned out, I smooth the rough corners with a rasp then sanded it until I’m satisfied with it. When that was finished, it was ready for woodburning.
It did not occur to me that when I burn a feather vane crossing from one piece of wood to the adjacent one, the burn would look different. Even though the heat setting is the same, and pressure and speed are the same through the vane, when the burn crosses onto a different piece of wood, the result was noticeably different. The problem was that it is almost impossible to go back and darken the lighter half of the vane. The only solution, I can think of would be to use one solid chunk of wood instead of bonding several pieces together for the fuselage. I will be trying that on the next bird.
In future bird carvings, I am not going to color any of them – not even the white parts. I think most people know what a Cardinal, a Bald Eagle, a Canada Goose, or a pheasant look like so I really don’t need to show them the color of a Red Tail Hawk, do I? The painting cover over the detailed carving which is exactly what sets mine apart from being just another plastic decoy. So, if I get any criticism for the lack of color on the birds, it’s not going to bother me. I decided not to cheapen mine and let them be just another made in China plastic decoy. Mine are all hand carved from wood – feather by feather – in America!
I would love to hear from y’all, good or otherwise. Thank you for looking.
-- Paul - The sweetest sound in my shop, next to Mozart, is what a hand plane makes slicing a ribbon.
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28 comments so far
Martyroc
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2708 posts in 475 days
#1 posted 434 days ago
Beautiful carving, I just saw someone carve one of these on TV,I can appreciate more how much time and effort you put into this.
-- Martin ....always count the number of fingers you have before, and after using the saw.
Sheila Landry (scrollgirl)
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5937 posts in 1089 days
#2 posted 434 days ago
I think it is absolutely beautiful! I don’t see a problem with the color being slightly different. In nature, everything isn’t exactly the same color so slight variances to me make it look natural.
What an amazing amount of detail and care you put into this! No wonder it took you two months to do. It would have taken me two years! And I bet mine wouldn’t have looked like a goose, either! :)
Beautiful job, Paul! It is something you can really be proud of. Me – I like the color in it, but I also understand you wanting all your detailing to show too. This is a real pleasure to see!
Sheila
-- Contributing Editor, Creative Woodworks and Crafts, Sheila Landry Designs http://www.sheilalandrydesigns.com "Knowledge is Power"
degoose
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6594 posts in 1524 days
#3 posted 434 days ago
Very lifelike… and the variations imitate nature..
-- Drink twice... and don't bother to cut... @ larrysworkshop.wordpress.com For lovers of all things timber...
CalgaryGeoff
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497 posts in 651 days
#4 posted 434 days ago
I’m impressed beyond belief. Great work. I think the plain wooded decoy idea is brilliant. Anyone can find a painted duck. For a unfinished duck I would suggest a solid body rather than a laminated.
-- If you believe you can or can not do a thing, you are correct.
Jordan
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1336 posts in 1294 days
#5 posted 434 days ago
I can’t see any variance in color. I think it’s just great! I know how hard you worked on it too. C’mon, don’t be shy, show them the ribbon!
-- http://www.jordanstraker.com
devann
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1718 posts in 862 days
#6 posted 433 days ago
O that’s nice LittlePaw. Your workmanship is exordinary. I think two months is pretty quick. Most of us would have taken a lot longer if we could have done something like that at all. Well done!
-- Darrell, making more sawdust than I know what to do with
Moron
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4436 posts in 2063 days
#7 posted 433 days ago
Nicely done dude.
You should be proud : ))
-- "Good artists borrow, great artists steal”…..Picasso
LittlePaw
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1500 posts in 1248 days
#8 posted 433 days ago
Thanx for all the kind remarks y’all. Ok, Jordan, I wasn’t going to brag, but since you let the cat (in this case goose) out of the bag, the goose did win a Blue Ribbon at the Eastern Oklahoma Woodcarvers Association’s March meeting and I was named Carver of the Month. That ended Monday on a really REALLY high note – so high I was singing in soprano and I don’t think I touched the ground on the way home!!!
-- Paul - The sweetest sound in my shop, next to Mozart, is what a hand plane makes slicing a ribbon.
Brandon
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3757 posts in 1121 days
#9 posted 433 days ago
Paul, I’m going to have to flag this “project” because it obviously falls outside the definition of a project. All I see here are a few photographs of a duck. Oh wait, it’s actually a super-realistic carving?!! Wow! Hats off to you!
Congrats on the blue ribbon!
-- "hold fast to that which is good"
shipwright
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3392 posts in 967 days
#10 posted 433 days ago
Great one Paul. Looks fine to me and I too like the colors.
Have you ever considered applying color with dyes?
You should be able to have color and keep the detail.
Maybe it’s not practical. I’m not a carver.
-- Paul M ..............If God wanted us to have fiberglass boats he would have given us fiberglass trees. http://prmdesigns.com/
Joe Lyddon
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6395 posts in 2222 days
#11 posted 433 days ago
LittlePaw,
You did a GREAT Job on that bird!
Perfect coloring as far as I can tell!
Now, when it comes to the Red Tailed Hawk, the Red isn’t really a bright red… IIRC, it’s more of a dark reddish brown… If you used some Reddish wood & burned it, it might come out pretty darn close…
You are GREAT! KEEP IT UP!
Thank you for showing us the finished beauty!
-- Have Fun! Joe Lyddon - Alta Loma, CA USA - Home: http://www.WoodworkStuff.net ... My Small Gallery: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?ppuser=1389&cat=500"
LEITH
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168 posts in 1027 days
#12 posted 433 days ago
This is awesome! Amazing detail LittlePaw. I love it!
-- LEITH, SOUTH CAROLINA
Woodenwizard
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846 posts in 1224 days
#13 posted 433 days ago
OUTSTANDING!!!!
-- John, Colorado's (Wooden Wizard)
kenn
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663 posts in 1889 days
#14 posted 433 days ago
Well, this is a beautiful carving, well deserved of a first place ribbon. I’ve looked as close as I can and I can’t see the differences in the wood you refer to, maybe it is in the lowest level of the bird’s muscle, it is a little lighter there. So my opinion, you are being too hard on yourself. It is great, well done.
-- Every cloud has a silver lining
Jimboe
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238 posts in 1919 days
#15 posted 433 days ago
wow littlepaw shes beautiful … congrats on the awards they are well deserved … she looks so lifelike
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