Thought you might like to see...

MLBob Furia

MLBob Furia

Well-known member
... how a spatter painted palm-frond gunner takes shape.

Laying on base head colors:
Frondrig 018 (600 x 399).jpg

Spatter brush used to add "feathering" details to head:

Frondrig 019 (600 x 399).jpg

Finished head:

Frondrig 025 (600 x 399).jpg
 
Base body color for black duck painted on:

Frondrig 026 (600 x 399).jpg

Finished base. Will add some shading details to primaries and add a speculum, but still keep it simple.

Frondrig 034 (600 x 399).jpg

Closeup of head :

Frondrig 040 (600 x 399).jpg
 
Well done. I bet that will look good with a little snow falling on it's back.

Tim
 
Bob you saved me an email. I was going to send you one today. I'm working on a burnt cork black duck and I'm going to play with spatter painting the head. Thanks for this thread!!!


Josh
 
Simply amazing work Bob.

A question if I may: are you splattering 2 OR 3 different colors? Obviously a "golden" color is in there that's a little different shade then the base color, but are you doing straight black AND a shade of brown or just one of these?
 
Another "Palm Frond" friendly bird. You'd be in hog heaven Bob, if you lived in Southern California, their are tons of old hige palm trees that were planted in the yards of millions of homes in and around Los Angeles. Not to mention all the Date Palms that grow around Palm Springs, Indio and Desert Center, CA.

Back in the 1970's, I was hunting pheasants om some private land west of Merced, CA. and ran across the reamains of an old duck club. In the tall grass on the bottoms of the old flooded parts I started seeing decoy heads here and there. I picked one up and it was a home made palm frond decoy. The heads were all the same and made from a rubber like material. I found about 20 of them that day and the owner of the property said that I could keep them. The antique shops sure liked them. Now I wish I would have kept a few. BTW they were all Wigeon.

Nice work Bob.

Dave
 
Simply amazing work Bob.

A question if I may: are you splattering 2 OR 3 different colors? Obviously a "golden" color is in there that's a little different shade then the base color, but are you doing straight black AND a shade of brown or just one of these?
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....two base colors; four different colors in the spatter - some mixed, some straight from the bottle. No straight black (no black at all). But I won't tell you my mixes- got to keep a few secrets. ;-)
 
Another "Palm Frond" friendly bird. You'd be in hog heaven Bob, if you lived in Southern California, their are tons of old hige palm trees that were planted in the yards of millions of homes in and around Los Angeles. Not to mention all the Date Palms that grow around Palm Springs, Indio and Desert Center, CA.
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Dave,

The fronds I'm working with for this rig were sent from So. California. I was just thinking the other day that I'd take all I could get if I had a source. They are great fun to work with, but your knife better be razor sharp. Seems as if pinnies were the #1 bird to make from them, but I can see where a widgeon pattern would be suited to the taper of the top end as well.
From the pictures I've looked at, it seems that the big Queen palms are where the ones I have must've come from. Goal is to have a working frond rig of 5 blacks and a pair of mallards in service by the season. They sure suck up the sealer, but the Val-Oil does the trick.

Frondrig 021 (600 x 399).jpg

Fun part is figuring which end should be stem or stern and how that translates into the overall effect.....
Of course for the discerning sportsman there is always the epicurians delight:

YFrondcoot (600 x 399).jpg

This bird got to have "shot dropped on it" on the mighty Ohio before being sent away to the CA Open auction last February.

Workingcoot 017 (600 x 369).jpg
 
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the same bird I had out here?

The first "palm frond" bird I ever saw was in San Diego at the show there and I was talking to Bob Sutton at the time we walked up on it....small world for sure...that bird was a Loon standing on his tail, in a vertical pose with his neck in an "S", mouth open and calling.....almost as stunning as your birds.....

Looking at a couple of your fronds I see a "Vertical" Grebe running across the water in one of those courtship displays......I'll be waiting to see its progress as you work on it..

Steve
 
the same bird I had out here?


Looking at a couple of your fronds I see a "Vertical" Grebe running across the water in one of those courtship displays Steve
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I was thinking a higher head (but still relaxed) bird than my low head widgeon pattern.

Small world, as Bob Sutton now owns that coot. Last time we spoke, he mentioned that he thought a Western Grebe would be a good subject for a frond carving (...but how would I get that pose to self-right?). I'm thinking a purple gallinule.
 


....two base colors; four different colors in the spatter - some mixed, some straight from the bottle. No straight black (no black at all). But I won't tell you my mixes- got to keep a few secrets. ;-)
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Secrets Bob? Carving secrets?? No way...I can't believe it LOL! Thanks for the info you did provide...definitely points me in the right direction.

That head close up is just amazing. I have stared at it and stared at it today to the point that I keep thinking it's one of those pictures that you're supposed to stare at one dot on the screen until you start seeing different things appear. And then sometimes a witch or ugly woman jumps out on the screen and screams real loud causing me to spill coffee everywhere. Man I don't like those kind of emails.
 
Wonderful Bob, as always...

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Hitch
 
Bob, I can really see a purple gallenule come to life using fronds. And teh way you paint the bird would be incredably beautiful. Hitch's photo's show how wonderfully they are colored.

I can see where a razor sharp knife would be needed. Fronds are as light as balsa, but a lot tougher. Bob, it would make you SICK to see the thousands upon thopusands of good palm fronds that go into So. California landfills every year. Now most crews that do palm tree trimming use chipper machines to reduce them to mulch.

Dave
 
it wouldn't be a display you'd expect to see in hunting season so like the displaying Loon I saw it would definatly be a decorative......still would be neat though......

I can't wait to see the paint job on a Furia Purple Gallinule.......

Steve
 
it would make you SICK to see the thousands upon thopusands of good palm fronds that go into So. California landfills every year. Now most crews that do palm tree trimming use chipper machines to reduce them to mulch.

Dave
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Got any contacts with someone who would be willing to ship me "culls" if I was willing to pay the shipping costs? If so, I'd be interested.

Heard that makers like "Pappy" Kidwell would paint 'em with housepaint (no Sealer) and that they could be had for .50 each back in the day. True that most were left out all the time and usually chewed on by muskrats and other marsh critters?
 
Hitch's photo's show how wonderfully they are colored.
Dave
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He, he, he.... Hitch's photos have been in my reference photo file long before he re-postd them. The one's I have have his "trademark" seal on them (Thanks, [again] Hitch)..

My problem is that I get too many idea's running around in my head. Like planning to get another blackduck for the rig started, and then doing something like walking into the shop and laying a widgeon pattern on one of the fronds Steve sent to see how it would fit...... if I'm not careful, I'll get distracted by that for a week or so. I need to retire so I can pursue my hobbies full time.
 
Your decoys look great ! Could you tell me how you do the dark strip down thw back of the head and the mask over the eye ? I have just started a little while ago painting decoys and i'm trying a hen mallard now . To get the spot on the sides of the head,is that a paint brush , and how does it work ? Thank you for any help .!
 
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