Painting the underside of the wings

      I spent about three hours today painting the primary and secondary coverts on the underside of the wings.  These areas were not covered in Al Jordan’s book on carving a half-size osprey because his bird was in a resting pose, perched on a rock.  The wings were folded and their undersides could not be seen.  My task was to use the color palette he has in his book along with the numerous reference photos I have showing the undersides of the wings to create a reasonable and defensive painting job.  The secondary coverts seemed to be darker than the primary coverts, and the bars on the secondary coverts were broader and lighter in shade than those on the primary coverts.  I swallowed hard, and began painting.  Several hours later, this is what I had accomplished.

  

   Still to do are the dark patches under the wrist area, and some random dark or nutmeg-colored feather scattered around the wings and rump.  I also painted in the feather shafts, which is a time-consuming job requiring a steady hand and concentration.  At least all the shafts are done now, although I may revisit some of them before admitting that I have finished the carving.  I keep seeing individual spots here and there that look sloppy from up close, but at the usual viewing distance of about 18 inches they seem to disappear somenow.

     This carving is looking good, it may be a better carving than the Archaeopteryx, although the latter is unusual because it is an extinct animal.  Both of them have very dynamic poses, which is the only way to go, in my opinion.  I may never carve a bird just sitting on a branch or rock, too passive for me.

Three hours today makes 133 total hours spent on this carving.