Percy Puffin II

The incentive to carve Percy Puffin II came about while setting out to see who my next carving recipient would be. The idea for Percy came out of a conversation I had with a guest while driving him to his resort. The well-spoken executive opened up with a few questions about my back ground experiences. We hit it off when I mentioned my tour of duty in Iceland in 1969. He recently had the opportunity to plan a few days stop over in Iceland and see some of the beauty the "Land of Fire and Ice" has to offer. I couldn't resist asking him if he got to see a Puffin. He didn't get to see one but he knew about them. I mentioned I still had the stuffed Puffin I purchased back in 1969. (Please, don't get too upset. Back in '69 the locals weren't too concerned about what foreigners thought about selling stuffed animals.)
The gentleman asked me if I gave the Puffin a name. Without hesitation I responded, "of course, Percy, Percy Puffin!" With a few laughs and a surprised look he said, "that's my Father's name!"
Over the next day or so we would have a chance to meet and I showed him a picture of Percy.
His interest and the wonderful conversation we briefly enjoyed led to the idea for this carving.

Over the next few days my quiet time was spent putting together my plans for "Percy Puffin II."
Using my "real" Puffin as a model, the shape was simple and worked up quickly. I knew the basic shape will need some very specific details to make this work... I'm not a bird carver! Painting Percy would become the key to making this carving work.

Here's how Percy worked up....

 We'll start with a block of basswood.

 

The idea was to keep Percy small for a faster work up.

 

Much of the bulk was removed by the band saw.

Percy's basic shape was quite simple. Although, as they say, "the devil is in the details."

I new early on it will be subtle touches and (hopefully) a very detailed paint job that will make the difference in this piece.

 

The block of wood Percy is glued to will become his feet and the "Lava" he'll be standing on.

Percy's legs are 5/16" wooden dowels drilled and glued into his hind area as well as into the "rock" base. 

 

Admittedly, a fair amount of guess work went into the angular drilling to fit the dowel legs into position. Wood filler finished off my "guess work." The dowels are to be thinned/shaped once the glue sets.



 

Below, Percy is clear stained and ready for color. 

(As a side note, Icelandic lava is called Aa lava. It's extremely porous and extremely crusty/sharp and nearly black in color. The beach sand is black. I ruined a pair of hiking boots in a matter of just a couple hikes over the ancient southern coastal lava flows.)



Not being a bird carver I'll leave feathers to the bird carvers who utilize wood burners for such detail.
I opted for a medium rough round burr to simulate a feather type texture on his surface.

 

Painting Percy provided me with much needed practice on my brush techniques. I struggled to "fine tune" accent colors and "dry brush" techniques as well as appropriate color renditions.

 

Percy Puffin and Percy Puffin II meet officially for the first time.