The World Record Largemouth Bass

Just Documenting the Progress on a side project destined for Ebay...

We start with a white fish, paint it black, steel wool the black off, then tone down with white.

At this point all of my epoxy work is done, and the eyes are set, just painted over.

Using a detail airbrush and a custom mix of very dark green details are added based on reference photos...see them on the dorsal fin?

Continuing details...painting individual scales when necessary. My gosh...I think I've gone cross-eyed!

Monochromatic goodness!

Toning down some of the harshness of the white.

 Adding color...candy bright yellow. Normally I add gold toner and silver pearl before this step, but doing a bit of experimentation with this fish.

Blending everything with brown...

That's it for the basic colors...will edit tomorrow for the detail portion of the post. 

The Devil is in the details...

 

Here is the fish with flesh tones added, gold toner and silver pearl, and red added to the fins according to reference. The Fins in the pic are particularly red...I have toned it down a little because most people are not used to seeing them this red/orange. I did want to represent the fins as they were in life, but with out making the fish look clownish.

 Anal Fin.

 

Soft Dorsal

Mouth and Teeth.

Now Lets Tip Some Scales!

 
Pearl-ex Gold pigment powder applied one at a time with a small brush on the back of the fish.
You can actually see this tipping on the reference photo at the top right of this picture.

Here is a cropped photo of the real fish...this is what we are trying to achieve...
Natures version will always be better, but our effort makes for a much more realistic representation.

Finished the tipping at last!

Gold on the top white pearl on the bottom.
 The WP doesn't really show on film, but looks great in person.

A quick flash coat of Gloss to lock in the powders.

 

First gloss coat...blending everything together and tones down the tipping to a more realistic level.

After this dries we will make any necessary adjustments.

The backside

And the final and most important detail of all! Decoupaged!  Martha Stewart would be proud!

The Finished Product!

If only it were true!

Of all the liars in the world,

It is the FISHERMAN that is the most trustworthy.

Allen Taxidermy Studio‎

13919 61st Lane N

WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33412

(561) 880-7986

Area served: West Palm Beach, FL 33412, and locations within 75 miles -

 Find us on Google Maps for 10% off Fish Mounts till Apr 30th !

The Eyes Have IT!

One thing that has always bugged me about most mounted fish and replicas is the lifeless dead looking flat eye. I want to remember the fish as I caught it or as close as possible.
The eyes are the windows to the soul and if you miss this small detail all you have is a dead fish.

Here is my attempt at giving a replica Bass his Soul Back.
The eye on the left is "Factory Set"...the Right eye actually looks like it is capable of looking back at you.
I am amazed every time I see the life come into a mount with this one detail.
Is it worth the added effort to cut out the old eye and re-sculpt a new setting? For a customer who knows! But is is one thing that bothered me even before I knew it did!
I don't usually change the back side eye on a wall mount, as it will not be seen, I'd rather spend more time on the front. :)

 

Allen Taxidermy Studio‎

13919 61st Lane N

WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33412

(561) 880-7986

Area served: West Palm Beach, FL 33412, and locations within 75 miles -

 Find us on Google Maps for 10% off Fish Mounts till Apr 30th !

Holly's First Fish!

Holly has been doing great with the deer and other animals but was intimidated by fish.
She felt that she wasn't artistic enough to do a life like paintjob...
I Think she did great for her first try. The fish was an older second hand repaint. I cant wait to see what she does with a better canvas!

She is already as good or better than most of the taxidermy I've seen around here. ( West Palm Beach, FL).

Fish Replicas

To keep my skill set up I have ordered some replicas to paint...

Here are some pics...

Florida State Taxidermy Association Competition

We decided at the last minute to join FSTA and attend some more training seminars...
The president Trina suggested that I bring something to enter and compete. Reluctant, because I didn't have anything prepared, I grabbed a 1.1 lb hybrid bluegill I had mounted for my son...
To my surprise and astonishment I received a second place ribbon. I cant wait for next years convention.

In addition to the great experience competing for the first time, I attended seminars on Painting fish by the best in the world Rick Krane ! As he was also the judge of the competition I think the experience has taken my fish to the next level. I hope to someday take a one on one course with him in the future.

We also attended a fish seminar by none other than Archie Phillips, arguably the most successful fish taxidermist ever. Between these two men I learned so much about the art and business of taxidermy.

We also attended seminars on WT deer, Wild Boar, and Ducks...
More on those later.

Gator Skull

A friend brought me a Gator that he tried to clean in a fire ant pile...Complete with Resident ants!
"Get'Em OFF ME!"
The skull was coming apart at the seams and all the teeth were missing.
After removing the trespassers, and DE-greasing for a good while we finally got the puzzle back together.

 

Some small mineral stains from the soil wouldn't come out but all in all turned out great!

Frank the Head....

Our first deer was a hodge podge of damaged ill fitting parts...he has more stitches than Frankenstein's monster, hence the name. The form was too big, or the cape too small, and had more missing hair than a mangy cur. Perfect for something that will probably end up in the trash anyway. If my first fish was any indication. This in progess pic is the only one I had.

We learned a lot from ol Frank, and will be giving him a well deserved facelift in the future.
We have since worked on quite a lot more and this doe is the most recent...also in progress, I'll get more pics when I do the finish work.

Family and Friends

Family and friends started bringing me fish to do...after a few weeks and a dozen fish...I ran out of work.
Everyone kept asking about Deer, Hogs, Foxes etc, but no fish were coming in soooo an Idea was born and we started thinking about expanding the operation.
Through a friend we took a trip to the frozen tundra of central Maine (in December). I had never been so cold in my life!
If you are up that way and need Taxidermy Look no further than Russel France, a great teacher and a top notch taxidermist.