Picture Wednesday

MLBob Furia

MLBob Furia

Well-known member
This gadwall sat on a shelf in the studio for way too long while I got diverted by other carvings. Took him down last week and got him painted up.

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There were also boxes on the porch around noon. Remember that MacQuarrie story where he becomes a "pine-knot millionaire"? Well, I feel like a "palm-frond millionaire" this afternoon. I am awash in palm-fronds!

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Some very nice specimens in this load. In fact, I already "see" another BIG-'ol-pintail right in the middle of that pile.
 
Bob, you must have the patience of Jobe. My gosh that gadwall drake is something! Congratulations on a marvelous job well done.
Creativity knows no bounds.
Al
 
Bob

Your photos are always great, but you always mix in a few words that strike me as well. I have read "Pine knot millionaire" many times. Calling it "a calling" and "layers upon layers" are stuck in my head these days as well. Everytime I sit down at the paint table I think about the next "layer" I want to master, and all those I should already be able to execute, learning something new everytime I carve or paint. Thanks for articulating these thoughts and feelings so well.

I received a frond from mister Wilcox that looked just like that big'un in the middle of your stack there. I immediately saw a Pintail as well! Certainly a medium that requires a little imagination...leave your patterns and calipers at the door.

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Thanks all.

Geoff: Is that a little "spatter" I detect on the head of that pinnie :0) !!
Here are some words on painting for you: "PAINTING: The art of protecting surfaces from the weather and exposing them to the critic."



Al: Not the patience of Job. You and I both know it has more to do with unlimited time (... even on limited funds). I read this yesterday and thought you'd agree:

"Happy is the man who lives contented with himself in some retired nook."
 
Rats! Thought I had a frond/spatter convert
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No no Bob,my friend Geoff is way too anal for that kind of free flowing, randomness...he like to plan out his "random" patterns :)

Great deeks, both of you!
 
Bob

I have a drake pintail decoy of yours I bought from Chuck May's widow. So now you know where the idea for those brush marks came from...

I took that along with a Chesapeake Bay neck joint (of the abrupt type) and rolled it all into a vacation for John Blair out in California. Funny to think of where all the little pieces and parts come from.
 
Geoff is way too anal for that kind of free flowing, randomness...
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Hey...I resemble that remark
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If I had half your skill, I'd be as anal as possible...as it stands, I'm best off to go for the loose, artistic craftsman type...or just be content with being a decoy hack...
 
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Geoff,

The late Doc May was a true southern gentleman. He also owned one of my black ducks and a little frond mallard I sent him. The 3-D pickleweed decoys I carved and used last season were made from a bunch of little fronds that the good doctor sent me. They were too small for decoys, but some of them were big enough to use on the stick-ups.

While it's on my mind - Chuck May passed away after contracting a nasty respiratory illness. I spoke with him when he was battling it, and he mentioned that it all started when he wasn't careful while exposing himself to wood dust in his shop. Next thing I knew, he was in the hospital and then passed.

Gents, please be careful with dust collection in your workplace - especially if you're power carving or sanding. I installed good dust collectors in my shop a long time ago, and I even wear a Trend Airshield on top of all that whenever I get to doing any operation that produces dust.

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I know of too many carvers who had a "cavalier" attitude about shop dust (even when they knew the hazards), and paid for it later. If you knew Joe Wooster, you probably remember everything in the the workshop always being about 3" deep in wood chips and sawdust - and Joe was strictly a tool-carver!. I can remember how we needed to load Joe's wheelchair & oxygen tanks into the truck everytime we'd "sping" him from the VA for a day. Knowing how much he loved being out tramping the marsh made it even sadder to see. Be careful with the dust, the solvents, all of it!
 
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