.......sometime during my hiatus from carving my wife quietly got rid of all my dead ducks from the freezer.
Mike,
Now that one made me smile. I could relate some funny stories about my wife not being thrilled about assorted "duck parts" being stored in the freezer. Hey, back then when money for supplies was a big issue, sawing off "study bills" for freezer storage was an inexpensive alternative to buying cast study-bills.
Wooster did a courtship display ruddy-drake for the Worlds one year. In order to draw the pattern, he froze a ruddy in the position he wanted, and then he used to ferry it from the freezer to his workshop and back while he was working.
Kevin,
Willy's class = one more layer. Now you just have to be willing to spend the "TOB" (time-on-brush). Keep notebooks; write stuff down; save feather samples; record paint mixes; keep a folder on each species you do. I still refer to scraps of paper I may have stuck in a folder back as far back as the '70's.
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Every time I sit down to start painting another bird, I check the notes on color mixes I've made over the years in the margins (and over most of the available space) in this book :
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The real trick is to keep enjoying yourself!