Chris Lowry of Ecotone Productions has a Flickr album of his woodwork, including some carved and hand-painted paddles. Chris draws the designs in pencil freehand and then uses sharp tip wood burner to etch. The paddles are then painted with diluted oil paints and protected with spar varnish.
Photo Credit: Chris Lowry
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Included in the set is a lovely painting of a Heron and realistic image of a snake wiggling its way up the blade.
Photo Credit: Chris Lowry
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Readers of the blog might notice the scroll pattern on one of the paddles as the famed c.1849 Green Passamaquoddy paddle in the Peabody Museum. Chris based this pattern on the hand drawn sketch by Liz Regan which appears in Warren and Gidmark's Canoe Paddles: A Complete Guide to Making Your Own. Below is the original paddle blade catalog photo...
Canoe paddle, elaborately decorated. Blade painted green, double curve motif.
Peabody Number: 99-12-10/53655
Dimensions: Length: 180.5 cm, Width: 17.6 cm, Dep: 3.3 cm
Provenance: Donor: Heirs of David Kimball (1899)
Anyone interested in seeing this paddle in person are reminded that it is currently on display (until April 2016) as part of the Peabody Museum's exhibit, The Legacy of Penobscot Canoes: A View from the River. For those of us that can't make the journey to the museum, closeup photo's of the paddle blade and carved grip can be view in previous posts here and here.
Thanks to Chris for permission to repost his photos. Looking forward to future paddle art projects.