Stool Pigeons, Part Two
When painting your dove decoys, you'll want to do two things: fool the birds and please yourself.
Stool pigeons mounted on a tree, real or artificial, and staked out in a recently harvested grain field are effective lures. You can mount the decoys with fence mounts or with dowels pinned into the tree. A half dozen stool
perched on a six foot “Dove Tree” makes a deadly combination.
I would have preferred to finish this painting demonstration in the issue following my carving demonstration. The oil treatment took longer than expected to fully dry. My walnut and tung oil treatment didn’t dry in a couple of weeks, as I had expected.
I paint my stool pigeons as decoys, having no interest in creating a realistic replica of a living bird. How is it possible to judge which might be more effective? I can’t really define what may or may not be necessary for a decoy other than that I should be pleased with how it looks. I like shapes and colors that are visible from far away. There are no rules.
This article is from the Fall 2012 issue. For more information on our issues, check out our issues page.
