A Bufflehead Tweener

Thomas F. McCollum took up carving after he saw a decoy-carving contest at an outdoors show in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in the late 1970s. Since his first attempt at a mallard, he’s carved hundreds of decoys and won many ribbons and best of shows. He lives in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Sandra, their dog, Santana, and cat, Kiwi.

Finally, we’re at the painting stage of the bufflehead drake project. I plan to paint this drake by hand without using an airbrush. I will use heavy-body Liquitex paints. Along the way I will explain wet blending, wash coats, dry brushing, and other techniques that will help you make your own decoy a success. My goal is to paint with a little decorative detail, but, at the same time, I want to keep some areas simple but effective.

You will see the brushes that I used but I can’t tell you what they are. My brushes are old, broken, and taped together! It’s not the way everyone paints, but it works for me. Or maybe it’s time I got some new brushes.

Let’s get started!