These mallards took first and third best of show in the IWCA novice category at the PDFA show this past weekend. The drake was first and the hen was third.
Antique hooded merganser mini-demo just added
I just finished an antique style merganser and I created a mini-demo to show some of the steps. You can see the demo by clicking on the merganser mini demo link
Here's the finished bird. You can also see more images in my decoy photo gallery 
Contemporary style hen mallard
This one has been in the works for a while now. I base coated it ages ago, then set it aside. I finally finished it up this week and I'm pretty happy with the results.
Finished wigeon pair
Here's that widgeon pair I was working on. All painted and keeled up.
Base-coated Pintail
Here's that cedar pintail I post a couple entries back. I went out to close the garage window before I went to bed and ended up with a base-coated bird before I made it back inside.
More pictures of the demo wood duck
I uploaded some additional pictures of the wood duck I created for the carving demo. They are in the wood duck picture gallery.
My Wigeon Rig is Coming Along
Here's a rig of wigeon and a single pintail I've got in progress. These four (3 drakes and 1 hen) are all sealed up and ready to paint. I've also got another low head hen and high head drake wigeon in the works, but they aren't really worth taking a picture of right now. One of the drakes is carved from basswood that I've had for a while now. The others are white cedar I bought from Dwane Ong.
Here's a pintail I've been casually working on as well. I'm still putting the finishing touches on the carving. It's carved of white cedar but I've inlet a piece or hard maple for the tail.
I've also another hen and drake wigeon in the works, but they aren't really worth taking a picture of right now.
Some things I've been working on
Since the beginning of the year, my paints have all been in the cardboard box I moved them in. I decided it was about time to build a simple shelf to organize them a little better.
And here's a few birds I'm in the process of carving.
Some of my 2010 Westlake Decoys
Here's a couple of the birds I brought to Westlake with me. This first mallard was for the gunning bird contest on Sunday. The rules are very strict about carved detail so I carved the primary feathers to appear as if they were raised, even though they are not individually carved. It took third place in mallards. I hoped to do better, but it did pretty good considering there were over 20 birds in the pool.
Here's the birds all sealed up before paint.
And here it is painted.
Here's another mallard I entered in the Saturday IWCA contest. This type of contest allows for more carved and painted detail. This mallard took third best in marsh.
Getting ready for Westlake
The ODCCA show is next weekend in Westlake, OH. I've been carving and painting every spare minute I've had for the past couple weeks. Since my mallards sold down in San Diego, I had to get a couple new birds completed for the Sunday pool contest. The ODCCA show is very strict on not allowing carved detail such as raised primaries and nostrils on the bill. They also want a very simple paint scheme. I was able to complete a couple birds and now I just need to add keels and make sure they float well.
This year I'll have entries in both the IWCA contest on Saturday, as well as the gunning bird contest on Sunday. I'm really looking forward to it. I'll post pictures soon.