The Turtleback Harlequin, Part Two

The Turtleback Harlequin

This article is part of a 3-part series.

Read Part 1 of The Turtleback Harlequin here

PART TWO: PAINTING & RIGGING THE DRAKE

When I started this project, I planned on making only one decoy, but I liked the block so much, I ended up making three. The initial bird was painted in Parker decoy paints, which are oil based. The plan was to get the decoy finished and then ship it to a friend who was taking a trip to Alaska to hunt specifically for harlequins and goldeneyes. I know Parker paints are quick drying, flat, and durable. I hoped that my buddy would be able to get some great shots of the decoy on the water with some fantastic Alaskan scenery in the background. Unfortunately, the skies were very dark, and the sea was angry the day he took the decoy out, so the shots he sent me were limited and somewhat soft. However, this gave me the time to paint a second decoy in acrylics and take the photos myself. I prefer using Golden acrylics for their consistent high quality, but you can use your preferred brand.

Back in the market-gunning days on the Chesapeake, oil paints were the only kind available. Paint styles in this region tended to fall into two categories: basic block painting and wet-on-wet feather blending. On the upper Chesapeake, with decoy rigs numbering from 300 to 350 birds, most drake decoys were painted using the simple block-painting method, with perhaps a little blending or stippling on the head or simple brushstrokes suggesting wings on the decoy’s back. For this drake harlequin, I’ll stick to the basic block painting with the key identifying feather patches that define the species. There is no need to be intimidated by all these feather groups if we break them down into the few colors that say “harli.” As I work through the demonstration, I’ll reference both the Parker oil paints and the Golden acrylics. Many carvers are moving away from oils to avoid the paint and thinner vapors, and I’m starting to drift that way myself. So, let’s get started with the demonstration where we left off, with the completed carving.

PAINTS

(Choose either oil-based or acrylic option)

• Parker Decoy Paints (Oil-Based)
  • #61 Venetian red
  • #2 White
  • #5 Black
  • #69 Royal blue hue
  • #60 Slate blue
  • #3 Brown
• Golden Acrylics
  • Red oxide
  • Titanium white
  • Carbon black
  • Prussian blue hue
  • Payne’s gray
  • Raw umber
  • Burnt umber
  • Burnt sienna
  • Van Dyke brown
  • Raw sienna

PAINTBRUSHES

• #4 coarse bristle fan brush
• #16 Golden Taklon round
• #6 Golden Taklon round
• #8 Golden Taklon flat
• #18 Golden Taklon flat
• #9 nylon wedge stipple brush
• 1/4″ flat brush
• 3/4″ flat brush
• 1/2″ rake brush
• Medium round brush
• Fine rigger brush
• 1/2″ Filbert brush
• Small palette knife

OTHER MATERIALS

• Jansen Art Cork Sealer
• Golden Fluid Matte Medium #3520-5
• Golden Acrylic Retarder
• Black acrylic gesso
• Krylon 1311 Clear Matte Finish (Matte Finish 1311)
• 120-grit sandpaper
• Flexible ruler
• White pastel pencil
• Lead or regular pencil
• 3/32″ drill bit and electric drill
• Small hammer / tack hammer
• E6000 adhesive / glue
• 3/4″ brass O-ring
• 1/2″ galvanized fence staple
• (2) 1-1/4″ ringed underlayment nails
• (2) 1-1/4″ brass trim nails
• Approximately 4-ounce lead ballast weight
• Large rubber bands or elastic strap
• Lead pot and lead
• Casting sand
• Needle-nose pliers
• Q-tips

1. The first step is to add a little hardware to the bird. Although the epoxy holding the head on is as strong as the joint needs, I like the look of a traditional decoy with a couple of nails in the neck. Measure about 1 1/2″ back and about 3/4″ up on the neck on each side and drill a small pilot hole using a thin 3/32″ drill bit. I just drill through the neck and not into the body’s neck shelf. This will keep the neck from splitting.

2. I use a small tack hammer to drive a 1 1/4″ ringed flooring nail into each side of the neck.

3. I slightly countersink the nail into the wood. This will prevent the decoy line from catching on the neck.

4. Time to seal and prime. For the Parker paints, I just thin down some of the black. For the acrylics, I mix some Jansen Art Cork Sealer with some black acrylic gesso. This mix will provide some tooth for future paint layers to stick to.

5. I thin the first layer down a good bit so it will soak into the wood. This will raise the wood grain, so we will give the block a good sanding using 120-grit sandpaper once the primer dries.

6. After sanding, a second full-strength coat of the acrylic mix or the Parker black goes on. Let this layer dry thoroughly.

7. The primary body paint color is a slate blue-gray. Parker’s #60 slate blue is perfect. For acrylics, I mix Payne’s gray, a touch of Prussian blue hue, and white to make the body color. Paint the entire body with this layer and let it dry thoroughly.

8. I’ll use my pastel pencil to draw in the side pockets on each side. I measure back about four inches or so from the tail and draw in the back of the side pocket.

9. Using my ruler, I can then measure forward and get the length on each side. I like the side pocket to run to about where the neck shelf starts up. Then, I get the height of the pocket the same on each side.

10. Using the Parker #61 Venetian red or acrylic red oxide, I paint the side pockets using a 1/2″-wide rake brush. I paint from the back of the pocket forward. When I get to the front, I pull and lift the brush to get this sweeping effect.

11. This gives a blended look between the two contrasting colors.

12. Using the pastel pencil, I draw in the centerline down the middle of the back and then draw in two angled Vs that will designate where the black-and-white tertial feathers will lie.

13. Next, I draw in three cone shapes on each side of the V.

14. These cone shapes are filled in with white. Two coats of white may be needed to completely cover the slate blue.

15. Never throw away old brushes. Here is an old flat nylon bristle brush that has splayed apart but now makes a great stippling brush. Moving to the head, I’ll use the Prussian blue hue for acrylics or mix a similar color with Parker paints using #5 black, #69 royal blue, and #60 slate blue.

16. Using a blotting motion, I work the dark blue paint all the way around the neck. I then use a ½” flat brush to finish painting the head. If you have any leftover mixed paint, it is a good idea to save it in an airtight container so you can use it as touch-up paint down the road.

17. Wiping off the old pastel lines, I draw in a new set of lines like so. Harlequin tertials have a black lining that edges the white.

18. On the underside, I draw in this curved line for the rump. From here, the back will get painted black.

19. The top of the rear has been painted black. Painting between the white feathers gets time-consuming. I use a thin, pointed brush to get into the narrow areas. A wider, flat brush gets the bulk of the black paint.

20. An option that requires a bit less filling in is to paint black edges along the white tertials, as I have done here on the Parker-painted decoy.

21. Don’t forget to paint the underside of the rump black.

22. While we have the black paint on the palette, I draw in these curved lines on each side just in front of the side pocket, under the neck shelf, and down the back of the neck and head.

23. I then draw in this area along the front of the face and edge of the bill and extend it to the back of the head.

24. Using the stippling brush, I blot black over all the lines except the line along the top of the head. I also blot a bit along the back of the bill. The bill on a harlequin is slate blue near the front and blends into nearly black at the back where it joins the head.

25. Along the top of the head, I use a narrow flat brush to get a nice, sharp line. This tapers from both sides to a point at the back of the head.

26. This is how the black should appear on the chest and head. Note also how I tapered the black on the bill.

27. Here is the pointed taper at the back of the head. This finishes up the black.

28. Switching to white, I use a medium-sized round brush to make a stroke down the middle of the black on the chest.

29. Continue adding white strokes down through the middle of the black patches we made. You may need two coats of white to get complete coverage.

30. Using the pastel pencil, redraw the face patch and stripe. Make sure both sides look the same from the front and back of the head. Then, fill this in with your white paint. Use a fine rigger brush to keep the top stripe thin and straight.

31. Keeping with the white, I draw in where the scapulars will lie. I add what looks like football stitching to indicate the direction the feathers flow.

32. Using a 1/2″ filbert, I lay in the scapular feathers with individual quick strokes. There is no set number that we need to do here as long as both sides end up looking the same.

33. Almost finished with the white. In this image, I’ve circled the pastel pencil dots so you can see them more easily. These will be the harlequin’s small feather patches. Locate them first with the pastel pencil so you can get both sides symmetrical.

34. Taking a line from the Ned Burgess playbook, it’s time to divert back to our kindergarten days and do some finger painting. Get a small dab of white paint on the end of your finger. Practice this on a paper plate first to see how much paint and pressure you need to make a small white dot.

35. Now, place a small dab of paint on each spot we marked. The spot on the side of the head is slightly larger than the wing spots, and the tail spot is about twice as large as the rest.

36. With all the white finished, I use the thin rigger brush and paint a thin red oxide stripe right under the white stripe on the head. I start at the eye and let the stripe extend back to the end of the black cap on top of the head. Work on both sides simultaneously to keep the stripes equally thick and symmetrical.

37. Paint the eye. Using acrylics, I mix a touch of white into raw umber to lighten it up a bit. For Parker paints, the #3 brown is fine as it is.

38. To paint the pupil black, I just dab the end of a Q-tip in some paint, then touch it to the center of the eye. The painting is done. Parker paints are good to go; however, I let acrylic-painted decoys dry for a few days before giving them up to three coats of Krylon Matte Finish 1311 spray paint to seal off all the pores.

39. Time to rig this block. Many Chesapeake decoys had a steel or brass ring and a fence staple for the line tie. If the carver didn’t have these available, they used a leather strip to form a loop and nailed it to the front of the block. I found these solid brass rings online. Get the 3/4″ size.

40. I nail the ring on like so where the curve of the breast begins. Leave enough play under the staple to allow the ring to move freely. Note that you can see where my initial centerline lies under the paint. I used this to help position the ring and staple.

41. Back in the market days, most carvers used hand-poured ballast weights. Some used forged steel keel weights that were called horseshoe ballasts. These were like thin, steel keels whose ends were bent at 90 degrees and sharpened so they could be hammered into the block. We are going to run through the process of making our own cast ballast weights. I start with a small scrap piece of wood that is 3″ long and 1/2″ thick. I simply carve one end to look the way I want my weight to look. The finished form is V-shaped with angled ends.

42. I purchased a couple of pounds of casting sand on the internet. It is reusable. The moisture content in the sand was perfect, but it will dry out as you make castings. You can tell the right moisture content by squeezing some of the sand in your hand. You don’t want it to stick to your skin, but you do want it to hold the squeezed form. Use a mister bottle of water to add moisture and mix it well. If it is too wet, do not use it; when the hot lead hits it, it can explode. I place the sand into a shallow Tupperware container. Press the sand down flat, then press your weight blank into the sand and carefully lift it out. While you prepare your mold, plug in your lead pot to melt your lead.

43. Do all of the lead pouring outside where you have good air circulation, and wear good, full-coverage eye protection. Once the lead pot has melted all the lead, pull off the slag on top of the molten lead and then pour the lead into your sand cast mold. Let the casting cool for several minutes and then pull it out of the sand using needle-nose pliers. This will destroy the sand cavity, so you will redo that process for each weight you need. You can vary the weight of each casting by filling the indentation to different depths. I usually pour around 20 weights at a time and vary the size a good bit.

44. When floating a block for the first time, I fill a deep sink with water. I slide a large rubber band over the decoy and slide a weight underneath it near the back of the block along the bottom centerline. I want this block to float with the tail slightly up out of the water, but I still want most of the weight near the back of the block so it rides better in the rough. This block rolled over perfectly using a 4 1/2-ounce weight. You can shorten your weights somewhat using a vice and a hacksaw if needed to make them lighter; then you can hammer the ends out to round out the sharp cut edges. Mark the weight’s location on the bottom of the block using a pencil.

45. Using a 3/32″ drill bit, I drill a single hole into each end of the weight.

46. Although glue wasn’t used back in the market-gunning days, I like to put a thin coat of E6000 on the bottom of the weight before nailing it into place. I feel it helps seal the weight to the bottom and keeps everything waterproof when the nails are driven into the wood. These are the nails I like to use. They are 1 1/4″ brass trim nails.

47. With the weight in place, I hammer in the nails a little at a time to prevent the weight from creeping out of place as the hammer strikes. Once the nails are set, I wipe off the excess glue using my finger.

48. The rigging is complete. Once the glue has dried, the decoy is ready to be used.

49. Here is the finished product. In the final part of this series, I will paint a hen harlequin using the wet-on-wet feather blending technique that so many Upper-Chesapeake decoy makers do using oil-based paints…with a twist. I’ll be painting her using acrylics.