December Workbench

[D. Hinton]

Been trying to get some more time with my brush .
Had a couple of head patterns courtesy of George Williams .
Trying to get ready for Argentina . Wanted to just mainly fool around tonight and practice some techniques I learned .

Not 100% happy but content as this is just the base layer. Was thinking I had at least a decent starting point …

Then I went and dropped in my paint mixtures

 

[Don Mintz]

that's looking mighty fine. The challenge on a Chiloe is the back for me. I've hand painted one in the past year. Your painting style is similar to my approach on hand painting, just building layers from base coat to finishing touches.

 

[D. Hinton]

Last minute Christmas present in the works

 

[Cody Foster]

Well I finally got my other Sage Urn completed. This one will hunt. Added the speculum and tried a different approach on the tail, from the feedback I got last time. I think it turned out better than the first.

 

[Don Mintz]

beautiful hen.

 

[Steven Alexander]

Well done, @Cody Foster.

 

[D. Hinton]

Been working diligently the past few days.
Life has been too busy to carve much this fall, finally able to get a break so trying to capitalize and not only get as much quality carving done as I can .

 

[Don Mintz]

I'm going to finish up a little flocking today and then get started on painting. I'm making these for my son for Christmas and I just found out we are going to do it on Christmas eve, so everything is going to have to be finished by Monday night and stored in the drying room overnight. I'm cutting it pretty close, wish me luck.

I just recently had a sudden insight, I guess you might call it an epiphany, We don't have hardly any decoys. Kind of a cobbler's children have no shoes proposition. I got to thinking what a shame it would be after making thousands of decoys over the past decades it would be a shame to think my son and grandson's wouldn't have any of my decoys to hunt over. I've begun to start a series I call the "ᎩᎦᎨ ᏲᎾ" or Red Bear series, which is my Cherokee name. These will all be part of that series. What my plan is will be to make decoys or sets of decoys for everything we've ever shot. In the wigeons here I have a euro/american cross, something I shot years ago. I also have a black duck for one I shot in Illinois 38 yeas ago. It's going to be a fun project and long overdue, giving them to my son as gifts will eliminate the temptation to sell them. I'll be using both 6 slot and 12 slot bags we get at Scheels where my wife works and hopefully God will grant me enough time to have species bags full of everything we have or will hunt.

hopefully I'll have a picture of all of these completed by Monday.

 

[Ronald Bock]

Roughing out some wigeon and pintails.

 

[Matt Mahoney]

Christmas Presents

 

[Ronald Bock]

I'm going to finish up a little flocking today and then get started on painting. I'm making these for my son for Christmas and I just found out we are going to do it on Christmas eve, so everything is going to have to be finished by Monday night and stored in the drying room overnight. I'm cutting it pretty close, wish me luck.

I just recently had a sudden insight, I guess you might call it an epiphany, We don't have hardly any decoys. Kind of a cobbler's children have no shoes proposition. I got to thinking what a shame it would be after making thousands of decoys over the past decades it would be a shame to think my son and grandson's wouldn't have any of my decoys to hunt over. I've begun to start a series I call the "ᎩᎦᎨ ᏲᎾ" or Red Bear series, which is my Cherokee name. These will all be part of that series. What my plan is will be to make decoys or sets of decoys for everything we've ever shot. In the wigeons here I have a euro/american cross, something I shot years ago. I also have a black duck for one I shot in Illinois 38 yeas ago. It's going to be a fun project and long overdue, giving them to my son as gifts will eliminate the temptation to sell them. I'll be using both 6 slot and 12 slot bags we get at Scheels where my wife works and hopefully God will grant me enough time to have species bags full of everything we have or will hunt.

hopefully I'll have a picture of all of these completed by Monday.

View attachment 62332

I love that idea. My son and daughter hunt and now my granddaughter and her fiancé hunt. Making sets of decoys for my future generations of hunters is very worthwhile project. Alot better than passing on my repainted and repainted plastics. Of course they'll get them too.
Thanks Don. Have a Merry Christmas.

 

[Don Mintz]

I'm working non stop trying to finish up as many as I can by tomorrow night and then let them dry overnight. I made good progress on painting today, but still have to go over any area that is white one more time and clean things up a little with the airbrush. I'm pretty sure my son is going to be shocked. I have to do a little flecking on the wigeon heads and the black duck head and then just mess with them the rest of the day. My drying room is pretty efficient, it's just our guest room with a ceiling fan. I do have a barrows drake to go with the hen, but he's in the shop waiting for some more white.

 

[Derrell Jeffcoat]

Finishing up a mallard urn now. Got a couple of wood duck orders out of the shop earlier this month.

 

[Don Mintz]

I'm done just in time. we are headed to my son's house for Christmas tomorrow, all that's left is signing and dating.

 

[Steven Alexander]

@Don Mintz, them widgeon got me chuckling. Great work.

 

[Don Mintz]

I call the hen "the nag" and the drake "hen pecked". I've done them in mallards and wood ducks in the past.

 

[benp]

I'm going to finish up a little flocking today and then get started on painting. I'm making these for my son for Christmas and I just found out we are going to do it on Christmas eve, so everything is going to have to be finished by Monday night and stored in the drying room overnight. I'm cutting it pretty close, wish me luck.

I just recently had a sudden insight, I guess you might call it an epiphany, We don't have hardly any decoys. Kind of a cobbler's children have no shoes proposition. I got to thinking what a shame it would be after making thousands of decoys over the past decades it would be a shame to think my son and grandson's wouldn't have any of my decoys to hunt over. I've begun to start a series I call the "ᎩᎦᎨ ᏲᎾ" or Red Bear series, which is my Cherokee name. These will all be part of that series. What my plan is will be to make decoys or sets of decoys for everything we've ever shot. In the wigeons here I have a euro/american cross, something I shot years ago. I also have a black duck for one I shot in Illinois 38 yeas ago. It's going to be a fun project and long overdue, giving them to my son as gifts will eliminate the temptation to sell them. I'll be using both 6 slot and 12 slot bags we get at Scheels where my wife works and hopefully God will grant me enough time to have species bags full of everything we have or will hunt.

hopefully I'll have a picture of all of these completed by Monday.

View attachment 62332

Great idea Don. My wife has complained many years about how I make stuff and give it away and don't keep anything. I've tried to make sure I make her stuff and for the kids, I need to take the time and make some decoys for the future generations.

 

[Don Mintz]

We opened presents with Caleb's family today, he was out running errands when we arrived and I was able to sneak the Christmas tree bag into the house and hid it behind the couch. We spent an hour or so opening and exchanging gifts and started cleaning up. I moved some stuff out from in front of Caleb and brought out the Christmas tree bag, they knew we were getting them a new one, but he had no idea what was in the giant bag. As it turns out it was just about perfect for the 12 slot decoy bag. This is the photo I took right after he opened the the corner of the bag and saw what was in it. He got pretty choked up, we will remember this for a long time. As long as the Lord allows I'll be adding to the decoy spread at every birthday and Christmas.

 

[Brad F]

Very cool

 

[Ronald Bock]

After gifts were opened and the Grandkids got busy playing with their new toys we slipped out to the shop. I rounded out some wigeon heads and my daughter is trying her had at some basswood mini decoys. Relaxing Christmas afternoon.
I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas.