Alpha, Part Two
Painting a carved gyrfalcon
With the help of his wife and a great number of friends, Ted Smith has been a full time bird carver since 1979. The carving shows that he enjoys most are the Columbia Flyway Wildlife in Vancouver, Washington, and the Ward World Championship in Ocean City, Maryland. Ted lives in Nampa, Idaho. Email him at tjsmithbirdcarver@cableone.net or visit his website at http://deerflatwildfowlartstudio.weebly.com.
When the gentleman who commissioned this piece came to my studio to give me the okay on the carving of Alpha, he seemed unsettled. He said he loved what I had done, but he was not sure if he should give me the go ahead to paint it. I told him how the painting really brings a bird to life. “Alright,” he said, “paint it white!”
You do most of your ground work in the carving. A great paint job can save a poor carving, but the best carving in the world will not rescue bad painting.