Hawaiian owl

[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.

[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

[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.

[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.

[Claude]

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

Claude

[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

[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

[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.

[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

[Merle Rice]

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

[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.

[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

The pueo (Asio flammeus sandwichensis) is a subspecies of the short-eared owl and is endemic to Hawaii. The pueo is one of the more famous of the various physical forms assumed by ʻaumākua (ancestor spirits) in Hawaiian culture.

Pueo inhabits forests and grasslands throughout the islands of Hawaiʻi, although their numbers are major declining, particularly in the last two decades, and especially on the island of Oʻahu, upon which they were at one time numerous. Pueo is listed by the State of Hawaiʻi as an endangered species on the island of Oʻahu. It is well known that it is very rare to see one.
It is noted that it measures sort between all kinds of owls, thicker in the body than a barn owl although close to total size...making this one hard project as I had to use different kinds of owls to make this drawing. Because I only had a number of actual size and lots of photos which in turn lots of guesswork went into it. Which I push off as artist choice of the direction of the work...

[Merle Rice]

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

[DiLeon]

Wow! That's going to be some carving. Yes drawing can be a pain. I've been doing it every day for the last 42 years. Except now it's on a computer. Grumble grumble...gimme back my pencils and t-square.

Not sure if you have a Kinko's, Staples or any engineering reproduction place near you but you could easily get the drawing scanned and printed on a wide format laser printer. It would save you time and keep all your references consistent size wise.

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out for you.

Good Luck! And remember, have fun!

Bob L

Fed Ex they have the big machines in town... although bad experience with enlargement in dealing with employees. I swear they hire really stupid people. One time they would not enlarge due to lawsuit in Copywrite... and he did not believe that I was the person that made the drawing. What!!!? So they refused to do the job. Another time they did not have the paper and lots of other things, ....that was years ago. But the frustration of dealing with them, and my inability to deal with stupid people....was not worth trip into town...when in fact I can draw it out myself. Of course, that was years ago....I am sure that they may have their act together by now??? I could drive into the people zoo Honolulu...but eight-lane LA type traffic is death or do situation that this old fart is not willing to venture often. I had trouble with this one ....lots of non-stop correction and yes muttering major. Then I did not like the finished drawing it was good but not what I wanted. I never got into drawing on the computer, old school style ....snail drawings. I get spoiled at times as the last few drawings for carvings, I could get them done in a days work. A lot of times I just do it no with no drawing just tons of photos. Art is not fun some times but I learned that it is part of the process...that fretting and chaos and at times muttering loud enough the neighbors can hear me, ....LOL. And there is the knowledge that it may not work out at all in the end, but do it anyway.

[Just Carving]

Wow! That's going to be some carving. Yes drawing can be a pain. I've been doing it every day for the last 42 years. Except now it's on a computer. Grumble grumble...gimme back my pencils and t-square.

Not sure if you have a Kinko's, Staples or any engineering reproduction place near you but you could easily get the drawing scanned and printed on a wide format laser printer. It would save you time and keep all your references consistent size wise.

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out for you.

Good Luck! And remember, have fun!

Bob L