Hawaiian owl

[DiLeon]

Hi Di , Boy when you decide on a Project you go all the way and the sign of a Artist . One comment though, I'm not to sure about the Size on a 16" Pueo . What the Hell is a Pueo ? Ha,Ha. You got my interest . Merle

I just went and got my facts....about the size to make sure I did it right. Pueo wingspan from 33.5 inches to 40 inches extreme 45 inches. The body with tail length 13.4 inches to 17 inches. Via the University of Hawaii information.

[Merle Rice]

Hi Di , that's what I thought . smile . Merle

[DiLeon]

Getting wood for this project was not easy....finally resources came through,... it was between camphor or Hawaiian primavera. Primavera was in the shop and being cut to size yesterday. It has been a long wait but worth it. I did not want a dark wood which is all I have on hand right now. primavera.jpg

[DiLeon]

I am back in the studio ....I dug out myths of the Hawaiian Pueo.....it really gave me what we call here chicken skin or English goosebumps. The last time I worked on the owl was February and then the pandemic hit. In the myth the Pueo appears as a warning of things to come, providing safety in times of danger. So I am making a Pueo...and here comes a pandemic...wow talk about timing. Perhaps the Hawaiian spirts are talking to me in my sleep?? It has been a hard year, and lost my shop cat a few weeks ago, we are in lockdown, ....but the shop is clean and I am starting again. Hopeful nothing else bad happens. Right now I have to decide if the legs are folded back against the body or coming out.

[Merle Rice]

Hi Di, hope you make the right Decision on the Legs or you won't be able to get around . Ha,Ha. Glad to see you are back to making Chips . Gona be watching your Mind and Hands working . Merle

[pallin]

Di - I admire the way you have approached this owl project: gathering information, sketching ideas. And it's driven by a personal experience. The overall project may have many starts & stops, but I sense a strong drive on your part to make this one of your best. We'll be watching. . . Phil

[Claude]

Keep us posted with frequent photos of the progress, Di. I love to see your work!

Claude

[Glenn Jennings]

Love the photo I did quite a bit of bird photography and it takes a lot to pull off a shot like that. Good luck with the project. Will be watching with interest.

[DiLeon]

Owl basic shape is cut on the bandsaw. I spent the day study owl anatomy. Meaning looking at bird bones all day long and study the whole thing. Which is a must if I do not want to look like a fool..... Nothing worst than putting your work in a show and someone goes

hey you put the legs on wrong the only way that the legs would look like that is if they were broken.

Bone structure matters a lot of time even when you can not see it. I took an anatomical drawing class, we had to learn the muscle and bone structure of human being ....meaning the final test was a real skeleton put into a position and you had to draw the whole thing with the muscles on it in the right position. It was not a fun class. But you learn, bones and muscles matter if you want to do the basic 3 D the right way. Pinterest has

today

wonderful anatomy drawing photos and diagrams, so lots of resources. I have an illustration book on owls and tons of pictures for references and google research. For someone who has never see an owl up close, this will have to do. I am not looking for 100 percent perfection, as an artist, I may change a few things for design reasonimages.jpg but it will be by choice and not non-education. This photo is a wing of an owl found on Pinterest. It shows where the joints are, where I can bend things and the direction of main feathers.

[NoDNA]

Holey snicklyfritz. I have been off line for a while and love owls too. You have my attention. Plus I have a wonderful native Hawaiian gal friend that lives here in the Tri cities WA. one of her sons just started carving,, and get this 2 months ago sent me a picture of his first carving??? Yes his rendition of the Pueo, and his mom had seen one when she was a child. Of course I just had to look up this wonderful bird and found out the rarity of it also.

We have just moved into this home this past month and one of the neighbors told us one of the professors or teachers would come to our large Spruce trees and observe an Owl that would roost it one of them. Then just the other evening on the deck the wife and I were sitting there having a drink and this large owl came swooping through.. .. I can hardly wait to see your progress and great job so far on those drawings too.
Good luck
Chuck

[mobjack68]

I like your choice of Primavera, really neat wood, then I like to carve mahogany. I hope you have carved some of that before?? Sometimes that interlocking grain can be a bit frustrating. Are you planning to woodburn the feather detail or are you going for a softer look? Sorry, Wednesday is always question day...
I found that using a woodburning tool, kinda like a cautery tool, to burn some of my boo-boos, was a huge advantage. Have a little misstep and the cut wants to "glide" and cut a little deeper? Burning it will level it out without fear of cutting deeper. If you are going to paint? The singe marks won't matter. Good luck and please post progress pics.

[DiLeon]

We are having a major pandemic surge and things are closing down by the day. Due to the fact we do not have the nurses for the hospital ...., over a thousand out sick right now. I will have to be extra careful I do not hurt myself. The workshop is a great place to hide the next few months. OK almost two years and we are back....and carving. Right now chasing mosquitos out of the shop and setting the shop up to do this project. I have been painting pictures and notice it may take me a while to get back into SHAPE for mallet work. Next step is find my notes and see what the plan was... hopefully, it was written down. smile. Jack was asking about the finish.... I may stain or I may burn ....undecided at this point as it will take some test work. Right now I have to shape it....and doing rough out is not a fun part and I do not like it..... so I plan to be Rockin in the shop with some ABBA and other music.

[DiLeon]

OH yea the legs are coming out....with sharp and pointy claws just like the wings on my carving dragon. I am going to attach them do to the fragile areas...will not have to worry about breakage plus can mess around with the design if need be. So we will have three or four attachments....wings to body and legs to body.

[Claude]

Something like this?

Claude

[DiLeon]

Something like this?

Claude

yea but I am not going to have the head and butt sticking out like that if I can help it...lol.... Make it more like this where he is just starting to pull his legs out and I want the head up and straight ahead sort of..the-great-horned-owl.jpg