Murray River Princess - Final stages

Many hours of work has finally paid off...
And I am very pleased with the results of the Murray River Princess!

The final stages in construction were very exciting...but it was important to take care and not to rush as one wrong action could destroy the final result.

Once all the paint was dry, I realized that the cod needed a little more colour, so I added in some white to its belly...and it came out great! Then it was time for attaching the body segments to the leather.
Once everything was set in place, it was time to start thinking about the handle. I pulled out an old piece of salvaged rosewood and began to design a shape. May aim was to create a handle that would allow the puppet to be free-standing. After alot of shaping, I came up with a design I was comfortable with - I then sealed it and pollished it.
Now all the parts were ready for the final step...And here it is...I give you...The Murray River Princess!As I mentioned earlier, I am very thrilled with my take on this legendary Australian fish.
It will be somewhat sad to sell it...but it will be a great feeling knowing that it will have a good home. If you are interested in purchasing the Murray River Princess, please get in touch.

"Murray River Princess" cont...

Many hours of work and late nights have gone into the following stages of producing the "Murray River Princess"...or Murray River Cod Puppet.

Painting a puppet in the style I do is always a task you fear to begin...but as you progress...you begin to see your puppet take on new life.After painting the majority of the body segments, it was time to prepare the brass chimney stacks. This meant cutting the tubing and drilling the holes into the upper body either side of the cabin. This had to be done before painting the cabin to be sure everything would fit in place.
Then it was onto painting the cabin. I had a few things in mind for the colour scheme. But in the end, I went with the following. Although maybe not 100% to the actual Murray Princess cabin, I thought that the red roof would add a little more "depth" and visual aid the effect I was after. I also shaded some yellow into the roof to help break up the solid red. This gave a great result.
Now I "flared" the tips of the brass tubing to give that real "paddle steamer" look to the chimney stacks...And its time to wait for the paint to fully dry before I assemble everything...

Murray River Cod Puppet - The Murray River Princess"

It was time to start another puppet...and it happens to be that I had a silly idea.
In Australia, there is a famous endangered fish swimming in one of its great rivers....The Murray River. This fish is highly prized by fishermen...and is one big mother of a fish!
It is known as "The Murray River Cod".
Now, the Murray River is known through out Australia for another thing... Its paddle steamers.
These historical boats still chug up and down the river and are quite the tourist thing to do on the Murray. One of the most famed boats is known as "The Murray River Princess".

I began to think about the decline in the great fish and the boats, both unique to the Murray River...Both in decline from days gone past.

Soon I began drawing and coming up with concepts.
It wasn't long before I had put the two together and was happy with a design...So, I then came across a nice lump of salvaged "White Cedar" that would be perfect for the "Murray River Princess" !So, I rough cut the lump to size...And began carving. The great thing about using White Cedar is that I was able to hand carve...

One thing I didn't expect was the constant rubbing of my hand on the cedar caused a graze and a fair amount of pain in my hand...so, for the sake of my hand healing, I decided it may be best to finish the minor details using a "dremel". Then it was time to seal the wood.
Then it was time to segment the body and prepare it for the leather...

So then it was time to prepare the leather and see how it all looked with a test fit...
I am absolutely thrilled with how this "princess" is coming along...
Now the puppet pieces are ready for painting and then its time for final assembly!
As you can see, on the Cod's back it the "helm" cabin of a paddle steamer.
Although I initially planned on carving them, for the sake of strength, I will be making brass chimney stacks to go either side of the dorsal fin.
So stay tuned as this "princess" comes together!

Whale Shark Complete!

After many hours of cutting, carving and pure puppet building fun...
I'm pleased to announce that the Whale Shark puppet is now complete!
The photos do it no justice and I simply couldnt wait to get the completed puppet up on this blog.
The Whale Shark is for sale, so if you are interested...please contact me.

Whale Shark Cont..

After a very productive time, the whale shark puppet is progressing nicely.
Unsure if this was a good way to go or not...I decided to trust my instinct and add a stylized version of the whale shark's spots...
Then it was time to split each of the body segments and prepare the back of the head for the flexible leather...Then it was time to prepare the leather. I used a piece of what is called "Mad-dog leather". I like using this due to the fact that both sides have a similar teture and colour...
And of cause I couldn't resist and had to check what it looked like with the body segments on...Before going any further, I needed to prepare the groove for the side fins...
And another test fit with the fins...Aside from the head, it was time for the final assembly (the head segment was set aside for painting)...
And after painting the eyes and details on the head...it was attached to the waiting body...
The handle...for the handle, I used some salvaged "Red Gum"... a native, exotic Australian hard wood. I love discovering the hidden beauty of the grain in old, discarded exotic woods such as these... The handle grain came up brilliant!
There are a few minor things left to do and if all goes to plan, soon this Whale Shark puppet will be complete and ready for sale.

Whale Shark Puppet

After some time away and gaining insight, inspiration and a clear head...
It was time to get serious about making puppets.
With the "Tea Cart" still in production, I put it aside and began work on a new puppet - a Whale Shark.

First...some research followed by a few design sketches and form concepts...
And then it was time to find the wood...
Some of you who know my work, may recognise the selected chunk.
It is the base used for the "thylacine" puppet...
It is a piece of "beef wood" - an Australian wood that is very rare and has a very unique grain pattern. This was also selected as I was searching for a grain pattern that would resemble the pattern on the back of a whale shark.
On with the rough cutting...And blocking out ...
And after a lot of work...The grain patter worked brilliantly!
Both hand carving tools and Arbortech power carving tools were used to get the Whale Shark to this stage.


Stay tuned as this Whale Shark enters the final stages of birth...

BIGining of the Tea Cart

After much research, inspiration and contemplating....I have taken the first steps in what is potentially the most ambitious project to date!
The project is what will be known as "the loutky tea cart".
As the name suggests, this big idea is planned to be a fully functioning tea cart. The cart itself is part of an even bigger project...but more of that another time.
The first step was settling on a design concept...then came the fun tadk of selecting the wood.
For some reason, i thought using "tasmanian oak" was a wise choice as it is readily avaulable and reasonable in price.
I had never carved tazzy oak before...and let me say...although a hard, splintery wood....im gaining a great "feel" for carving this stuff.
Back to the tea cart...the first thing to build is the "sculpted side beams"...the way this was set up was by laminating 19mm thick pieces together. Each individual piece was pre-cut to a rough profile shape before gluing and clamping.

I have begun carving the 1st beam and it is coming along nicely.
Hopefully you can see the face begining to find form.

Due to the hardness of the tasmanian oak, i decided to use the Arbortech "Power Chisel" to help rough out the form...but i soon found that the wood responds to Pfiel hand chisels really well....although quite physical and exhausting, the result is very rewarding.
I plan on using the Arbortech tools to rough out more of the shapes in each of the beams.

I am hoping to follow the progress of the "loutky tea cart" on this blog...so keep visiting to stay up to date.

Lil' Boy Blue Ring Completed

Today i was able to put some finishing touches on Lil Boy Blue Ring.
Im very pleased with the results!
I used a PupHed as the blank starting point for the facial features...the puppet was fully hand carved...
The "rock" is carved using an arbortech power chisel on salvaged "ironbark".

Lil' Boy Blue-Ring

Heres a sneak peak of my latest WIP.
I had every intention on posting the carving process...however, this little boy will hopefully feature in my entry for the upcoming PupHed Art Show.
For those who dont know, "blue-rings" are a native octopus of australia. Whilst they may apear harmless...and are anly about the size of your hand...they pack a very deadly punch. Blue-rings are extremely venomous and are one deadly sea creature. It is said that the bright blue flashes may be the prettiest thing you will see...and they may very well be the last thing you see!
The concept of this puppet stems from the idea of creating "australian cautionary tales"...featuring sone of the unique deadly creatures of our country.
Lil' Boy Blue-Ring is a tale of a boy who somehow has survived a blue ring living on his head. The down side to this is that he lives a lonely life...where nobody can trust hime. He is forced to spend his days on the rocks...looking out to the ocean...hoping that someone will come his way...