Black ducks

Keith, close ups would be great! Question for you................Before painting the feather detail do you first draw it on with a wax pencil or something or do you just paint?......................Kevin
 
Keith- very nice- the Crowell-
that looks the the hollow black at the Peabody Museum in salem mass.-

I like his work- not my favorite black duck- but he could paint!!

Thanks- John
 
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Hi Steve, I did and it didn't (several times). I even tried getting off and getting back on through the internet, still no luck!! Everytime I try to reply, no upload browser space appears....just the "switch to basic editor" bar is visible, thats all.

Sorry for being a pain, I was starting to get into this...really enjoying it!!

I think I will try again in the morning.
 
My pleasure Kevin.....although I won't be able to post them now.....I seem to be having trouble with the advanced editor space. Hopefully it will be resolved soon. For feathering a black duck, I always lay out my feathers wet on wet oil paint. I have included a few different black duck feather painting demos in my book. If you have a chance to look at somebody's copy, that may help you.

Keep watching for those feather close ups.

Keith
 
THank you John, you are correct, it is a faithfull representation of that black duck. Has that bird been moved to the Peobody?? I handled that black duck originally at Shelbourne.

Anyway, Mr. Crowell cold paint, that's for sure.

Thanks again,

Keith
 
North shore Massachusetts......... That one is perfect. I'm normally a simple decoy kind of guy but that one does something to me.

Since I'm somewhat Black Duck ignorant does the green iridescence on the rear end and the middle feather curling up a little show some recent mallard blood in that first drake?

Tim
 
but you accidentially switched to "basic editor"....this is where you go "doooooohhhh" and slap yourself on the forehead........to fix....got your palm open and ready for the slap.....just click on the "basic editor" bar and it will switch back to "advanced editor"......

O.K....no say it with me......DOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH..........

Steve
 
Hey Keith, The pictures are great and also the decoys. Could you send some of those pictures to my email or could someone tell me how to get them off the post. Also Keith still waiting for a black. Thanks Pete
 
Kieth first of all let me say thank you for coming to this forum and posting all these threads they are truely a work of Art and you are truley a master at what you do, Those Black ducks are out of this world thank you for posting the pictures.
take care and God Bless
Eddie.
Its all about Building that Bond.
 
Pete.....right click on picture and "save picture".....my clicking fingers are exhausted.
 
there is one at the shelb,- the one at the peabody is hollow and has its mouth open- so you are right- the one at the peabody was made for Dr. Phillips-


the thing i noticed when i used his blacks- note these were oval brand- straight head blacks and mallards- they were too narrow- and rolled alot-

just what i saw- i bought a small rig from Cleon- they were one the Elmer had made for a client and not picked up- I bought them and still have them- I do have a early crarved crossed wing black duck that is a bit wider-and its is somewhat better- but in a stiff wind they do not stand tall- just my thoughts- then again my masons rolled like logs!!!

BUT_ Shang's birds look so much better in the water- as did- Lou Rathemells- Did you know him? he was a cranky bugger!!

you make nice blacks- a hard bird to do right!!!

take care- John
 
……….I have done that already…..and many, many times!! I have resorted to pulling my hair out, and when that didn’t help, blood started shooting out of my eye!!!!!

My first inclination (even with my very minimal computer skills) was to do that, but when I did, there was no “Advanced Editor” bar there….it was missing on the page below the reply field. I could access the Basic Editor, but when I clicked back…..the same thing happened! To further complicate this, the site will not “remember me” when I log in, regardless how many times I “check mark” the “remember me” box. So I tried again this morning, and the same thing happened, and when I tried to log in…..the page went blank, and it stated “Internal Server Error”! When I try and access the forum by clicking on my emailed “forum reply link” the same thing happens, or I see the “server error” page and I can’t access the forum. I tried using the internet to sign on, and it works sometimes.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, my face is sore, and I don’t have much hair left!!

Thank you,

Keith



Amended post.......I don't know what happened, but all of the sudden it is now working!! Thank you for all your help, and for whom ever fixed it!!
 
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Great shots Keith. Thanks for posting them. Looking forward to seeing you at Westlake.
 
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THank you Tim, that style of black duck became very popular for my collectors; I seem to be making quite a few of them. There has been so much discussion over the years about mallard/black duck hybridization on what or how much plumage abnormality on black ducks was considered a "hybrid", and since I am not a biologist, that question should be directed to Clint; he is the one that could answer it for you. Years ago this very same matter caused problems in our state because the DEP told the hunters if you shot a black duck and that black duck had one or more of the following it was considered a mallard: a white secondary margin, any green on the head or upper tail coverts, and/or slightly curved greater tail coverts. And I asked the question: what about the hens? What if the hen black duck had heavier than normal feather margin color on the contour feathering, etc? Who is going to make that determination....the CO's? The judge? So with that in mind..my thoughts were very simple, if it looked like a black duck (minus a little white and green) I considered it a black duck. The rest is left up to DNA and experts like Clint.

Thanks again for your comments.

Keith
 
Thank you Eddie, I really appreciate that! There is no one more happy than I am for joining the DHBP......I have never met a more fantastic group of very intelligent and talented people!! I am glad you like the black ducks, but you have a very speciel bird in the UK that is high on my list of favorites....the common shelduck. That is a very beautiful bird. My only chance to see them is in an aviary, but they are absolutely special.

Thanks again,

Keith
 
Keith, don't feel bad. I used to post picks inline all of the time. Now when I try it will just not allow it to happen. As soon as I click on the image icon in the advanced editor it dissapears. I have to resort to posting images as attachments. It's not me or you it's these blasted computers!...........................Kevin
 
John, Thank you kindly for that information at the Peabody, looks like I will be visiting the museum, and thank you so much for all your insight into Mr. Crowell and all the other makers. I wished that I had a chance to meet him or Cleon, but their great decoy art legacy has been very fullfilling to me. You are so blessed to have met many of these decoy making genius' and to have gathered such a wonderful collection of their work. I can only imagine how it must feel to hunt over their decoys, although I might have just an inkling of that since I have carved and hunted over their "influenced birds" for all my carving life.....I believe their spirits were alive with me through their decoy designs. THe only decoys of that period that I have hunted over were Roz Bliss'. I had acquired a dozen or so of his goldeneyes and broadbill that were unpainted and I painted them in Mr. Wheelers patterns and added them to my rig. It was a pleasure to hunt over them for quite a few years. I had a friend who was very good friends with Mr. Rathmell, and he had purchased most of his cork black ducks from him ( I think you know who he is). He eventually sold all the black ducks, but he would tell me some interesting stories about Mr. Rathmell......!

I am fascinated how beautifully Mr. Wheelers decoys (especially his black ducks) behaved in the water. All of the decoys that I made influenced by Mr. Wheeler over the years floated like a dream. The sat perfectly in the water, swam realistically in the currents of the Housatonic or even off Casco Bay or Cape Cod waters. They handled the heavy water while eider hunting in Casco Bay to the quiet coves on Cape Cod. My absolute favorite decoy to make!


I do agree with you on Mr. Crowell's birds being narrow, I have made his styled birds over the years with more beam and hollowed which made them more stable, along with better floatation because of the lighter bird. They would handle the wind and tide proudly and were such a pleasure to hunt over; a real joy.

I can't thank you enough for all your insight and for your kind comments about my birds. I never had the opportunity to enjoy their birds on the water, but I did enjoy their work through their influence and spirit by carving decoys in their great memory.

Thanks again, I appreciate your comments.

Best Regards,

Keith
 
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