Finished and Sold
A week ago I finished painting the whimbrel decoy for the auction at the Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust Barn Dance last Saturday. I let the paint dry overnight and then rubbed it with a burlap sack to soften the paint edges. I stained the dowel a greenish-gray, roughly the color of a whimbrel's legs, and found a fine old piece of driftwood for the base.
The last step, after this shot was taken, was a very thin wash of raw umber and turpentine slathered over the whole bird, then rubbed off with a rag. That final step has the effect of further softening the paint edges and giving the bird a little patina--a matte finish with the appearance of a bit of age.
By the time we got to the dance, the silent auction had begun and the bird had reached $150--my recommended price. (To get the action going, most items had suggested opening bids at about half the item's value. I'd pegged the decoy at $150: the minimum opening bid was $75.)
We left early, but I'm happy to report that the last bid I saw for the bird was $300, twice what I'd hoped it would fetch for the Trust. I'm delighted that it did so well, money for a good cause. I hope the new owners get as much pleasure out of having it as I did making it. I'll certainly carve another bird of some kind again next year.