Getting Close!

I finally got around to painting the pike decoy.  I started it last December and had it ready for paint a back in February!  Where has the time gone?

I have to add some grey-green details on the back and on the face.  I need to work the mouth / lips in brown and the gills in a light yellow-brown.  I also have to add the eyes as well as apply a thin grey-green wash to the upper half of the chain pattern on the sides.  About one to two more hours of work to go.

It is amazing how much you need to look at pictures of pike to really understand their coloration.  There are patterns and details you miss when you just catch a fish and throw it back.  I had to really look at the chain pattern on the side, understand the relationship of the gills to the fins, think about how to layer color upon color to get the change in shading.  It has been more than an exercise in carving, but one in looking.

Stay tuned for the final pictures!