Feet and beak

    Because I don't have the right sable color, I worked instead on the feet and on the beak.  I mixed the color suggested in the workbook for the feet and applied it.  It looked much too dark and too yellow, so I lightened it up a bit with warm white to better match the reference photos.  The color looked better, and I applied a thin wash of raw umber to bring out the carving details on the feet and painted the claws black.

    I then painted the beak with several washes of slate, followed by some washes of a mixture of equal parts of slate, black, and brown.  The washes of this mix were applied to the beak starting at the tip and working backwards toward the part of the beak with the nostrils (the cere).  This part I left the slate color, according to the instructions and the photos.  I added the darker mix to the nostril openings.  By the way, the osprey is the only predatory bird with nostrils that can be closed, a definite advantage when you are hitting the water at high speed going after a fish.  A photo of my work on the feet and beak is shown below.

    I also received in the mail today two 24" acrylic rods, 1/4" in diameter, to use for the support.  Unfortunately, they had a bubble pattern in them, and were not the clear ones I wanted.  I contacted the company, and they will send me a complimentary set of two clear rods.

    Also, we went last Saturday to a sale of wood, books, and tools in Sydney, outside of Augusta.  The sale was arranged by some of the members of the Maine Wood Carvers on behalf of the widow and family of a championship-level carver from Sydney name Gordon Harde.  The prices were right, and I picked up some pieces of carving wood recommended by the professionals - tupelo and juletong.  These are clear woods with little grain, easy to carve and well suited to power carving or hand carving. I am thinking of carving a series of small songbirds - chickadee, goldfinch, sparrow, nuthatch, junco, grosbeak, etc. - and some of the pieces are just the right size.   

    I also picked up some basswood, a nice cherry plank, and a round, 14" diameter wooden base that I think I may actually use for my osprey carving.  I had considered an oval, but the ready-made round base with good grain is tempting.  There are water-based colored wood stains available, and I found a "marine blue" color that would suggest water but still allow the grain to show through.  I may try cutting an oval base from the cherry plank as well, so I will have a choice.  The cherry has a good grain pattern.  All of a sudden, too many choices!

    About three hours worth of painting over two days, for a total now of 116 hours.