# cardinal stick



## MJC4 (Mar 6, 2014)

I started these cardinals when I was roughing out the robin.Wife went shopping with her daughter and g-son today so I had the whole day to myself, uninterrupted. Took advantage too make wood chips out of basswood.
As both the male and female cardinal are beautiful in their own right I took a page out of Cobalt' play book and decided to put the male & female on the same topper. For those that haven't seen it Dennis did a very cool male & female mallard stick' pic is in his gallery. For my friends across both ponds I included the pics of the male & female cardinal in case the species is not found on your continents. I have a very unique looking aspen stick to mount these guys on after they are tweaked and painted. The wife is already making noise about snagging the stick for herself and its nowhere near done!
Thanks for looking.
Mark


----------



## RandyL476 (Aug 24, 2014)

Nice carvings I always like to see carvings of wildlife.


----------



## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

I love the way you have incorporated the carvng of the heads nice design.. It seems to work very well .would have like to have seen the handle slighly larger rather than the restricted to a piece of 2x2 , but still cleverly done ,

you best design mark

We dont have cardinals this side of the pond,The beaks on the birds naturally look large and the head feathers interesting with prominate colours surprised that they survive as they must attract a lot of predators but they seem in abundance .

The stick should attract a lot of attention with having both male and female carving on .The wood burning is nicely done mark and has emphasised the head shape, so will be interesting to see the final piece

well done


----------



## Gloops (Jan 23, 2015)

Well thought out Mark, when completed an coloured will look striking, keep posting


----------



## Rodney (Jun 12, 2015)

Nice looking work. No cardinals here either but they are a pretty bird.

I can see why your wife is claiming that one.

Rodney


----------



## Whiteroselad (Dec 4, 2015)

What a beautifully coloured bird! I love to see wildlife from other countries. I really like the eyes on your carving MJC4, they are very striking! N.


----------



## MJC4 (Mar 6, 2014)

Painting done. Need to mix up some wood putty and fill around the female's head, then paint the transition. Debated whether to putty then paint or visa, versa. Elected to paint the heads then mount. Easier to paint the female head that way. Should be ready for stick mount up tomorrow.


----------



## MJC4 (Mar 6, 2014)

Cardinals are done! The state bird of Indiana is the cardinal so that makes this one the State Bird Stick.

The male & female cardinal are carved from basswood. The black around beaks & eyes is done with the wood burner as are feather highlights. Paint is craft acrylics. The tree bark the cardinals are mounted to is accomplished by using the wood burner before and after paint. The stick is an aspen I picked up in a National Forest in Utah. Beetles killed the tree and their tracks are still visible in several areas on this stick. I left the aspen natural. The colors in the wood "popped" when an oil based spar poly was applied. The lanyard is 3 strand brown & green paracord with wood beads on the tag ends. Its been a fun piece to make. This stick was inspired by the work of several talented members on this site, their creativity taught me there is more to stick making than sanding, stain and varnish.

Thanks for looking!

Mark


----------



## CV3 (Jan 30, 2014)

Well done mark!! Very creative.


----------



## cobalt (Nov 14, 2013)

nice one mark

possible to make a thumb stick on these lines


----------



## Gloops (Jan 23, 2015)

Well done Mark it's a good looking stick.


----------

