After an extremely long hiatus, I have finally started
fishcarving again. My prolonged break began a few years ago when I was working on a fish and the motor on my carving tool died. I never got it replaced until now. As a result, I have a number of carvings I started a long time ago that are at different stages of completion. It was so nice this weekend to be able to sit out on the deck and get lost in a project. I went over to my uncle's shop and cut out "blanks" for a bluegill, rock bass, perch, and a generic folk art decoy. Usually I do trout, but I wanted to mix it up a little. I'm thinking about trying a shark, too, my first non-freshwater fish.
I do these for the pure enjoyment of it. The cost is minimal now that I have all the equipment. The wood is free and the airbrush paint goes a long way. I have given away about 60 fish since I started. People seem to like them. Some have asked me why I don't sell them. I think selling them would take some of the fun out of it. Plus, if the cost were based on the time I spend, I'd have to charge a ridiculous amount I'm sure no one would want to pay.
So, if anyone wants to put in a request and doesn't mind waiting a really long time, leave them in the comments. Just do me a favor and stick to freshwater species.
This is a simple folk art decoy I carved and painted for Megan's parents
I haven't forgotten about the fish I promised some of you. 
Well, after some shitty, non-summer-y weather recently, I've made some progress on my carving. I was able to finish the carving on Dr. Monkey's perch (it's on the little stool). This one is a cute little rock bass and one that I've never done before. I used to think it was cool to do really big fish, but after finishing a few, I think I'm gonna focus on ones in the 4"-8" range. Like I mentioned, I am going to concentrate on the carving phase while it's nice out and do the painting when it gets cold.
You can see that I generate a lot of sawdust. I also sunburned the shit out of my thighs.
Sometimes my carvings are so realistic, I mistake them for real fish and try to eat them.
After an extremely long hiatus, I have finally started fishcarving again. My prolonged break began a few years ago when I was working on a fish and the motor on my carving tool died. I never got it replaced until now. As a result, I have a number of carvings I started a long time ago that are at different stages of completion. It was so nice this weekend to be able to sit out on the deck and get lost in a project. I went over to my uncle's shop and cut out "blanks" for a bluegill, rock bass, perch, and a generic folk art decoy. Usually I do trout, but I wanted to mix it up a little. I'm thinking about trying a shark, too, my first non-freshwater fish.