Taxidermy Yellowhammer Commission
Taxidermy Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella): I had the pleasure of working on this beautiful British bunting.
Unfortunately, the male Yellowhammer got lost in the post for a day, resulting in him fully defrosting and starting to turn.
This is usually game over for small birds, as they start to decompose fairly quick –Â I didn’t hold out much hope.
Despite soaking in alcohol for a while to toughen the skin and kill bacteria that makes the skin bad and feathers fall out, lots did.
I persevered anyway and did the best I could.
His back was completely bald and he had some secondary feathers missing on one side, which was a great shame.
Painstakingly, I glued as many feathers back as I could, and despite his condition, I’m very happy with how he turned out.
They have a very distinctive call that most birders recognise as sounding like “A little bit of bread with no cheeeeeeeeese”
Bespoke Taxidermy Rabbit Project
Custom Taxidermy Rabbit Commission on Hand Painted Shield
This project was a first for me, I really enjoyed it.
This one is a special project for someone that wanted a unique gift to give to his regiment after leaving the British armed forces.
Originally, the client wanted a shirt with the regiment emblem pinned to the shield.
I suggested painting the emblem on to the shield to give a cleaner and neater looking finish, as this was something I was able to do.
Logistically, the rabbit would mostly obscure the emblem if it was placed centrally on to the shield, so I suggested a slightly different, more contemporary approach.
I came up with a rough concept sketch to help my client visualise the final piece a little better.
The emblem has been deconstructed slightly to cover the whole shield, so the important elements are still visible such as the crown and the lion.
The shield was primed and painted by hand with oils.
The rabbit was the result of an unfortunate roadkill, but was in overall great condition and will now be honoured for a very long time to come.
Thank you for looking! If you have a bespoke taxidermy commission idea, please feel free to get in touch.
Happy New Year! First taxidermy project of 2019 – White Pheasant
Taxidermy Male White Pheasant
This is my first completed taxidermy project of 2019 – a stunning white (or leucsistic), male pheasant.
This specimen definitely put me through my paces, due to the fact he was in moult. Feathers were flying out left right and centre and he had sustained some damage to his wing and leg bones, which I have to retain in the taxidermy process.
He also had a bare patch on his neck that was quite noticeable. I used some of the feathers he dropped to carefully repair this patch.
All ready to go to his new home now.
Happy 2019 everyone!
‘Two For Joy’ Taxidermy Magpies
Two For Joy
Here’s my latest commissioned project, a pair of lovely magpies!
A lot of people are superstitious about magpies, seeing one being somewhat bad luck, originating from the rhyme ‘One For Sorrow’
For this reason, I prefer to create magpie pieces in pairs.
They’ve now flown off to their new home.
No photography ever captures magpies beautiful iridescent colours on their feathers.
Taxidermy Swan in Progress
Taxidermy Mute Swan
I actually skinned this swan a long while back after she unfortunately fell victim to a fox attack.
Due to a change in law relating to the Royal Swan Marker, I can no longer sell this specimen.
I can, however keep her for my own personal collection. It would be such a shame to waste such a beautiful specimen!
Due to the lack of space, as well as time and energy due to my on-going health issues at the moment, I opted for a half/head mount.
It’s still surprising just how much work is involved!
Waterfowl have extremely dense, waterproof feathers, as well has having extremely fatty deposits on the feather tracts and skin to make them buoyant on the water.
This makes the de-fleshing, washing and drying process twice as long and even longer when the feathers are white.
But it’s worth it, look how beautiful she is!
Once dry, I will do some re-construction work of the bill and do some paint work to make her shine.
Taxidermy Red Squirrel
Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) Taxidermy Commission
I’ve never worked with a Red Squirrel before, only our invasive Grey’s, so this project was a real treat!
Unfortunately this little Red Squirrel was found on the side of the road in Cumbria by the client as the result of a road traffic accident.
I’m surprised at just how much smaller and fluffier they are compared to Grey Squirrels!
This poor squirrel had a badly smashed up skull, which made taking measurements needed for eye placement and facial features impossible.
I took a death mask of her before I started work, which helped me to roughly estimate where certain things had to be placed.
In this process, I made an alginate cast and poured plaster of Paris in to it to get a 3D model of her head.
She was placed on a piece of wood provided by the client and she’s going to be placed pride of place in the corner.
Taxidermy Goldcrest – The smallest bird!
The Goldcrest (Regulus regulus)
One of the taxidermist’s greatest challenges.
Here are the results of the gorgeous little Goldcrest I recently completed.
Considering how small and fiddly it was, I am extremely pleased with how it came out!
The glass dome with the pine foliage really sets this piece off.
It’s now in it’s new home with the owner who found this poor bird laying in the middle of the road.
She is really pleased with how it turned out and she left me a lovely review!
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I am extremely pleased with my Goldcrest commission from Taxidermy co.
Krysten created a simple mount in a protective dome that fulfilled my brief perfectly, showcasing the tiny form of the Goldcrest in a fabulous way. She listened to my brief, ensured that the work stayed within budget and regularly updated me with her progress.
After completion, the item arrived in quick time and extremely well packaged. I would not hesitate to commission again
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I really do get to work with some lovely people.
The Biggest Smallest Challenge! – Taxidermy Goldcrest
The Goldcrest (Regulus regulus), along with the Firecrest (Regulus ignicapillus) is the UK’s smallest bird, weighing just 5.5 grams – about the weight of a 10 pence piece!
Needless to say, this bird was definitely going to be a challenge due to it’s size, so I have been putting it off for a while now.
Small birds seem to just fall apart from even the warmth of your hands, so did 90% of this project with tweezers alone!
After soaking in an alcohol solution to set the feathers and prevent bacteria before I started work.
It was extremely fiddly to do, but over all I am pretty happy with how this little one has turned out!
The hardest part was probably wiring the legs.
On all birds, to be able to attach them to their base/perch, I have to insert wire through the ball of their foot, all the way up their legs into the body cavity, where they are attached to the body form.
Take a look at the ‘behind the scenes’ photos to really get a sense of just how small this specimen is!
