Deer Antlers

Years ago, my dad shot a buck.  He had the antlers mounted.

 

Aren't they nice?  My dad certainly thought so, but they languished in the dusty basement.

 

I had this lovely piece of wood, just languishing on my craft table...

  

Oh, look!  A picture of a mounted deer head!  I'd give credit to the photo and hunter, but I can't remember where I found it.  It came up on Google Images.  The original included the antlers, but I cropped those out. 

I measured the antlers at the bone (4") and re-sized the inspiration photo to fit.  The ears didn't fit on my board, so I cut the ears off and repositioned them.  I forgot to take a picture of that and the next couple of steps.  Anyhow, I traced around the head and ears, and filled in with brown (FolkArt 2559 Coffee Latte).  I slapped some white (Apple Barrel 20403 White) on the ears, chest, eyes, and highlights.  I put some black (FA 925 Wrought Iron) and dark brown (FA 462 Burnt Umber) in the shadows.  I added some color (FA 949 Skintone) to the ears.  I went over some spots to add shading.  I rarely washed out my brush, so the colors would blend.  Once I was satisfied with my dear deer, I snapped a photo.

 He's not as fierce-looking as the inspiration photo, but I wanted a caricature.  I screwed in the antlers.

At this point, I thought I'd better show my dad what I had done.  He wasn't too impressed, but he wasn't mad.  (Thumbs up!  Hooray!)  He said a sportsman wouldn't approve.  Then he have me permission to paint the bone to match.

 Here it is on the wall in his office.

 I like it!  It's fun. ;)

Linked to Funky Junk Interiors.