Bill has two styles of painting; Air brush and hand painting. They produce very different looking decoys. The air brush is capable of fine graduations and delicate fading color changes. The examples above show this technique. You can also see the hand etched scales in the example on the right, while the trout, which has no scales, is smooth.
Hand painting is a very refined art that more closely defines the carver, or artist if you will. All carvers (and painters) grow with their craft, and their styles become more unique as time goes by. The brook trout on the left above is a very early example of Bill's work and is highly valued by collecters. The pike on the right is a more recent carving and shows where Bill has gone with a paint brush. Today the air brush isn't getting much work as Bill's recent creations are mostly hand painted. Imagine the pictures above without fins, because they get installed in the next step.
All of the fins are hand cut out of sheet metal, or like in the fish shown here, out of copper. Most of the time they are painted, but in this case they have been etched. They are glued into slots that have been pre-cut in the decoy.
The decoy you see above is actually a rarity. It's one of the few not painted to look real. Bill was impressed with the natural grain of the wood and chose instead to build the decoy around it. This also inspired the etched copper fins. And in case you're wondering, the finished product does have eyes.
After the paint is dry, there's one final test. Every fish spends some time in the tank, and Bill knows right then and there if the decoy is any good.
You see, there's one thing left to add to this decoy, and that's Bill's signature on the bottom. It won't be getting that if it doesn't pass the test.
