Not sure if anyone can help or if this is even a taxidermy question. I was lucky enough to harvest a bull moose with my bow this fall and I would like to do some shoulder blade art. My taxidermist is mounting my moose but has no info on this. He suggested this site. I have used peroxide to whiten the blades but I don't know what kind of paint to use for the scene I want to paint. My partner and I both got a bull and I want to paint the scene of the kill ( trees, lake, moose, hunter at full draw, etc ) on each blade and give his to him as a gift. Can anyone tell me anything about this kind of art? Do I need to prepare the bone differently or let it cure for awhile? Do I paint on a base coat first? What kind of paint? Do I use a different kind of paint for the actual scene? Thanks for any help you can give me.
Joe Nowak, Green Bay WI
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I would degrease it, seal it and then paint with acrylics. All bone contain fatty oils and you would not want them to seep into your artwork over time. I am sure there are other methods.
DaveT
Start by removing most of the flesh. Leave scraps on it here and there.
Put the blades into a large pail and cover with water and allow it to sit there for 3 weeks in a warmish environment (basement works well). Bacteria will develope that will eat the rest of the flesh as well as blood etc and make the bone very clean(this is called 'maceration' and can be researched more in the archives).
Dump all that water out and wash out the bucket and blades. Put them in the pail again with new water and add a 1/2 cup of anti bacterial dawn - the clear colour. Let this sit for 3 more weeks. This step is the 'degreasing' that Dave mentioned above.
If you like natural bone colour - then let it dry for a few days and you are ready to go. If you want it to look all bleached white... make a paste out of hydrogen peroxide and magnesium carbonate and brush that on and allow it sit for day. Wash it off and it should be all white and bleached looking.
Go ahead and paint..
Have fun =)
I'm glad I'm not the only one guilty of not reading all of a post. It seems that Joe has already passed those stages. LOL Don't worry, tomorrow is Monday.
...on the bones I paint. I don't usually seal the bone as I clean them myself and don't have to worry about anything coming thru the paint. If the bones are nice and clean and degreased and white, then start, of course, with your background, then your front scenes. A small word of advice, leave some of the bone without color on it, I've seen a few jawbones that were painted from end to end with just a base color and it makes it look fake. Pick a spot on your bone, whether round or oval and just use that area for your scene.
Best of luck and have fun with it!
Wolfie
Actually I had started out with the intent of talking about painting more... but I thought I'd put a detailed procedure from beginning to end so it was in the archives should anyone think to actually search for something ;) Well just when I was getting to the painting part, my wife started buggin me to do stuff, so I had to wrap it up - haha! I figured Dave already covered all the points Joe really needed so just sorta quit half way through the post ;) Wolfie had my back and finished it up properly - LOL! Thanks girl! =)
I use oil paint, first cut a circle or oval out of oneside sticky paper[shelfing paper] to a size you want to paint on the bone; paper gives a sharp line around your PIC.
Next a thin coat of liquid white-----start your painting.
...I would think a soft edge at the oval or circle would be more pleasant than a sharp, crisp edge. Unless you're going for the contrast that is, perhaps if you were only using black paint. But if you're using colors, I would prefer a subtle transition via a soft edge...