Creating a Classic, Part One

The blue-winged teal has always been one of my favorite birds to carve. My infatuation most likely started many years ago when I attended a Richard LeMaster seminar and was blown away by his iconic blue-winged teal carving, which was featured on the cover of his first book. Both blue-winged and green-winged teal—the hens especially—seem to be very popular with carvers, perhaps because of their classically shaped, small bodies adorned with handsome plumage. And everyone is drawn to that blazingly colorful wing patch, which automatically starts them thinking “what colors am I going to use to match that wing?”