old decoy maker checking in

Delaware is the home place--Hope to yak with you guys some time

Sure is nice to have you here George! I'd love to see some of your decoys. I've only been carving for a few years...I'm still trying to find my "style". Seems I go from contemporary decoys one day to Barnegat bay style the next. Really haven't found my niche yet, so I'm just carving what I can when I can!

Tried to send a pm, but was not able--one week thing---go to runamuckdecoys.com--You can see pics of older dekes there.
Have been at this since around 1977-The carving was the new thing, since i have an MFA in painting, that part was reasonably simple to deal with. 6000 decoys later, i am still learning what to add, what to leave out.

Damn, I didn't know you were Runamuck George! Holy shit you guys carve some nice decoys. Maybe I should take a trip to Delaware sometime and we can carve something together. I think you're decoys are fantastic. My painting skills suck but I'm pretty crafty at building and carving things. My birds look much better naked than they do with paint.



Here she is with some skin.



I think my wife is getting me the airbrush kit that I want for Christmas, complete with 5 gal compressor. I've done some airbrush work in the past and I think my decoys will look much better when I incorporate the airbrush.

Man, you put a lot more stuff on a deke than i ever would!
Found a neat way to get rid of the superfluous stuff---Put the deke at least 20=25 yards from you and see what information still shows up--betcha a lot of detail work disappears---the trick is to find what makes the decoy look like a duck to a duck ad a reasonable distance from the blind---Well, at least, that has been our philosophy for a long time-either that, or we are just too ADD to mess with minutae!

Haha! Well this Black was one of my more detailed gunning blocks. I like your idea though of placing the decoy 20-25yrds away.

I did this black with just a touch of detail, but more for the eye than for the ducks.



And this was the very first mallard I've ever carved. A bit too light on the side pockets.

If that is acrylic--went there from oils for my thesis project and never went back--try a wash of water with raw umber in it--That will soften that harshness and grey it out a mite-

Davey that mallard drake is one good looking deke. I would hate to see some shot holes in it.

Rick

if it is intended as a hunting tool, inevitably, shot holes happen. I am presently in the process of rehabbing my rig--an anual process when you have cork and balsa stool.
I have seen some "decoys" that only see water during comps. The only other time they get wet is if the roof leaks onto the coffee table.