Duality

[fethrduster]

I already posted this on the upland forum, but I thought this might be a more appropriate forum.  I make my living as an artist, selling art in galleries and also creating art on guns.   In the vein of "art with a nice gun attached to it", I recently finished this silver inlaid Belgian 12 hammer gun.  The art is titled "Duality," basically a yin/yang concept with the right side fleur de lis morphing into a dove representing our spiritual nature and the open mouthed lion/naked woman on the left representing our primal nature.   It's an idea I've had for a long time.  Here are some pics:

Before:



After:

















gun art:  www.marklarsongunart.com
contemporary fine art:  www.marklarsonart.com

[270Flat]

Nice work!!

[jackmaster]

wish i could see it but all i see is red x's  , hey mark if you need a gun to practice on i have that old 20ga that might need some art on it 

[fethrduster]

Thanks Brandon, but I think I'll pass.     Not sure why you're seeing red x's either.     That's frustrating.

[AWS]

It is beautiful work, but a little over the top for me.  I would prefer that engraved on the sideplates not coverying the walnut. 

Question is that the original stock, are you enhancing the pattern of the walnut on it or is that an upgraded walnut replacement.

[fethrduster]

Yes, it is purposely over the top.  I'm mostly known for my grain enhancements, refinishing and extension blending, being one of the only artists in the country doing this kind of work, but the custom art gets my creative juices going.   I like beautiful engraving too, but sometimes it's just not enough for me.  And, since this is my line of work, it's a great conversation starter at the skeet range.  This is the original stock, and I did enhance the grain underneath the art a bit, but not much.  I used more reddish color stain on the wood as well, and re-cut the checkering, which was worn smooth.

[724wd]

i kinda like it!     beautiful gun, and the restoration work looks good!  i know some might not like the art added, but i think it's unique and well done! 


and nekkid wimmin always make things better!   

[762Armo]

awesome work

[whacker1]

Do you intend to sell this piece?  Very impressive work.... That is one of the first pieces of art that I could see putting some money into...

I can't afford it for a long time, but would you ever consider having one commissioned?  not sure I used the right terminology there

Congrats - great finished product

[Biggerhammer]

Sad to see that done to a double.

[sirmissalot]

Jeez, thats amazing

[high country]

Your work is very nice, and I know you are a fan of the correct style of double gun....but I am with hammer. It saddens me to se a classic end this way.

[Stilly bay]

Sad to see that done to a double.

Your work is very nice, and I know you are a fan of the correct style of double gun....but I am with hammer. It saddens me to se a classic end this way.

Damn, whats he supposed to do with it to make you happy? shine it all up so its just another old gun ( a very, very, nice old gun) then it will get lost in the crowd of other very nice old guns that nobody could give a chit less about?

Love it or hate it; what fethrduster did took balls. he elevated a nice old double to some thing truly unique, original AND useable...  in the world of doubles that is a pretty tall order. and then he showed it to a world of old farts that are so set in their ways they can't see past checkering and engraving.

IMO its pretty *censored* amazing to witness something original; since it so rarely happens in this day and age of remakes and sequels.

keep it up fethrduster. 

[Skyvalhunter]

awesome work

[Dan-o]

Sad to see that done to a double.

Your work is very nice, and I know you are a fan of the correct style of double gun....but I am with hammer. It saddens me to se a classic end this way.

Damn, whats he supposed to do with it to make you happy? shine it all up so its just another old gun ( a very, very, nice old gun) then it will get lost in the crowd of other very nice old guns that nobody could give a chit less about?

Love it or hate it; what fethrduster did took balls. he elevated a nice old double to some thing truly unique, original AND useable...  in the world of doubles that is a pretty tall order. and then he showed it to a world of old farts that are so set in their ways they can't see past checkering and engraving.

IMO its pretty *censored* amazing to witness something original; since it so rarely happens in this day and age of remakes and sequels.

keep it up fethrduster. 

 

[Biggerhammer]

Sad to see that done to a double.

Your work is very nice, and I know you are a fan of the correct style of double gun....but I am with hammer. It saddens me to se a classic end this way.

Damn, whats he supposed to do with it to make you happy? shine it all up so its just another old gun ( a very, very, nice old gun) then it will get lost in the crowd of other very nice old guns that nobody could give a chit less about?

Love it or hate it; what fethrduster did took balls. he elevated a nice old double to some thing truly unique, original AND useable...  in the world of doubles that is a pretty tall order. and then he showed it to a world of old farts that are so set in their ways they can't see past checkering and engraving.

IMO its pretty *censored* amazing to witness something original; since it so rarely happens in this day and age of remakes and sequels.

keep it up fethrduster. 

Did I miss something? Didn't know he was trying to make me happy?

[Stilly bay]

Sad to see that done to a double.

Your work is very nice, and I know you are a fan of the correct style of double gun....but I am with hammer. It saddens me to se a classic end this way.

Damn, whats he supposed to do with it to make you happy? shine it all up so its just another old gun ( a very, very, nice old gun) then it will get lost in the crowd of other very nice old guns that nobody could give a chit less about?

Love it or hate it; what fethrduster did took balls. he elevated a nice old double to some thing truly unique, original AND useable...  in the world of doubles that is a pretty tall order. and then he showed it to a world of old farts that are so set in their ways they can't see past checkering and engraving.

IMO its pretty *censored* amazing to witness something original; since it so rarely happens in this day and age of remakes and sequels.

keep it up fethrduster. 

Did I miss something? Didn't know he was trying to make me happy?

he wasn't trying to make you sad either but you said as much.

Sad to see that done to a double.

[fethrduster]

Do you intend to sell this piece?  Very impressive work.... That is one of the first pieces of art that I could see putting some money into...

I can't afford it for a long time, but would you ever consider having one commissioned?  not sure I used the right terminology there

Congrats - great finished product

Do I intend to sell this?  No, this is going to be my personal skeet gun, and a walking advertisement for my servides, which is partly why it's so over the top.  I do this full time and would be very happy to discuss a commission with you if you like. Feel free to pm me, and check out before/after examples on my web site at www.marklarsongunart.com in the meantime.

As an artist, it is also my job to push the envelope to see what's possible.  Art on guns, even nice doubles, shouldn't be confined just to metal.  I look at this is an original piece of fine art that happens to have a nice gun attached to it.   As Stilly so eloquently stated above (thanks for that Stilly,  by the way) creating something truly original these days is difficult, especially in this age of mass produced plastic guns and the like.   I have shown my paintings in museums and galleries all over the world, and to me, a  gun is merely another canvas, albeit a functional one.  I don't expect everyone to like this, kind of like Dodge Ram pickups when the new style was re-introduced back in the 90's (but look at them now).  That's the whole point of art.  Either it speaks to you or it doesn't.     But to those that do like it, I say thank you very much.  To those that don't, I say thank you for looking anyway, try to keep an open mind, and have a great day!  

[runamuk]

Well from this artists perspective I think your vision is a huge success ....

your workmanship is beautiful, the rendering is beautiful and the gun is definitely memorable....

[fethrduster]

Well from this artists perspective I think your vision is a huge success ....

your workmanship is beautiful, the rendering is beautiful and the gun is definitely memorable....

Thank you.  I appreciate that very much, especially coming from another artist.

[high country]

Sad to see that done to a double.

Your work is very nice, and I know you are a fan of the correct style of double gun....but I am with hammer. It saddens me to se a classic end this way.

Damn, whats he supposed to do with it to make you happy? shine it all up so its just another old gun ( a very, very, nice old gun) then it will get lost in the crowd of other very nice old guns that nobody could give a chit less about?

Love it or hate it; what fethrduster did took balls. he elevated a nice old double to some thing truly unique, original AND useable...  in the world of doubles that is a pretty tall order. and then he showed it to a world of old farts that are so set in their ways they can't see past checkering and engraving.

IMO its pretty *censored* amazing to witness something original; since it so rarely happens in this day and age of remakes and sequels.

keep it up fethrduster. 

Stilly, you may want to take a deep breath and read what I wrote. I complimented his work, in fact I made a mental note of his skills and how I may be able to use them in the future, yet offered my perspective. I did not say anything negative about his gun or his work, just perspective on my taste.

A neighbor spent a year building a 55' Chevy hardtop it turned out sweet.....looks nearly original, except it got shortened about 10" and sits on a blazer chassis. Nice work? Yes. My cup of onions? No.

At the ripe old age of 38, I strongly doubt your " old fart" comment was headed my direction, but to be clear, I am a fan of classic doubles and am not anti modification as I use every one of mine every year.

[fethrduster]

Just so everyone is aware,  I too am a huge fan of classic doubles.  I just sold an FE grade Lefever, partly because it was a heavy duck gun and I don't have anywhere to duck hunt anymore, but also because it was a highly collectible original condition gun, and as such, didn't offer me any opportunity to make it uniquely my own, since I wouldn't dare customize such a gun.    I chose this hammer gun to work on because it is a no name Belgian guild gun, and not highly collectible, albeit very beautifully engraved.   Thanks for all the different perspectives shared here.  Very enlightening.

[Stilly bay]

Sad to see that done to a double.

Your work is very nice, and I know you are a fan of the correct style of double gun....but I am with hammer. It saddens me to se a classic end this way.

Damn, whats he supposed to do with it to make you happy? shine it all up so its just another old gun ( a very, very, nice old gun) then it will get lost in the crowd of other very nice old guns that nobody could give a chit less about?

Love it or hate it; what fethrduster did took balls. he elevated a nice old double to some thing truly unique, original AND useable...  in the world of doubles that is a pretty tall order. and then he showed it to a world of old farts that are so set in their ways they can't see past checkering and engraving.

IMO its pretty *censored* amazing to witness something original; since it so rarely happens in this day and age of remakes and sequels.

keep it up fethrduster. 

Stilly, you may want to take a deep breath and read what I wrote. I complimented his work, in fact I made a mental note of his skills and how I may be able to use them in the future, yet offered my perspective. I did not say anything negative about his gun or his work, just perspective on my taste.

A neighbor spent a year building a 55' Chevy hardtop it turned out sweet.....looks nearly original, except it got shortened about 10" and sits on a blazer chassis. Nice work? Yes. My cup of onions? No.

At the ripe old age of 38, I strongly doubt your " old fart" comment was headed my direction, but to be clear, I am a fan of classic doubles and am not anti modification as I use every one of mine every year.

plenty of oxygen coursing through my veins highcountry, I really didn't intend for my comment to sound as blustery as you might have taken it. you may have complimented him at the beginning of your statement, however you did say "it saddens me to see a classic end this way" from my perspective you are insulting the art and the artist and thats nothing if not negative. thats like looking at someones wife and saying "she has nice legs, but it saddens me to look at her face" something that could just be left unsaid.

Im sorry if at the ripe old age of 38 I pegged you as an old fart, I myself am even younger and I love classic doubles and feel I have more upland bird hunting tradition in my pinky than most of the people have in their whole body. but I am also aware that myself, you, and mark are in a minority of younger upland sportsmen that like to carry on the traditions that we admire in this sport and I appreciate your contributions to this forum in that area, but the majority of this demographic are all a great deal older than us.

too often people reject things that are out side the norm just because its outside the norm. nothing could be more true of the SXS shotgun industry/culture when was the last time something really different was accepted SXS crowd? its a tall order because traditionalist really don't like new/different stuff... I guess thats what I was getting at.

[AWS]

Changes to the SxS were done a long time ago, perfection was reached before we were born and I'm an old fart.  Pick up a well made classic SxS and you have perfection in your hands, great balance, fast handling, instant selection of choke, and reliability of two seperate firing systems.  I killed my first flying grouse with a beautiful European 16ga hammer double,  i hope to kill my last one with a fine SxS.  Over the years I've been seduced by technology and have owned a number of pumps and autos but none have lasted, even my single trigger SxS's spent enough time in the back of the safe to go down the road there has always been at least one nice classic double close at hand.  As I aproach the twilight of my life the old classics just seem to fit and feel better in my hands.  The warmth of the walnut stock, the way it cradles in your arm as you hike the fields, the safety or hammer under your thumb as you aproach a point everything right where it should be. 

Last month I spent two weeks in MT chasing birds with a 28" SxS 12ga that weighs 5#14oz with the sling on it and there isn't a bit of aluminum or plastic on it.  Been duck hunting since I came back with a modern classic SxS, straight grip, double trigger with barrels made to shoot steel, next duck hunt I'll be hunting with a nearly 100yr old work horse of an American hammer double a Stevens 235 and it is still in original but worked hard condition but still tight as the day it left the shop.

Fetherduster does beautiful work, but I can't imagine me with a painted stock.  First if I carried it I would be afraid to damage the art, I couldn't afford to send it back to be repairred.  Blackberries, barbwire and assorted other mayhem in the field leave scares that when you run your hand over bring back fond memories or reminder of what not to do.  With a art piece stock they are just ugly and need repair.  Does it sadden me only if the gun gets hung on the wall never to be enjoyed for what it was.

[whacker1]

Changes to the SxS were done a long time ago, perfection was reached before we were born and I'm an old fart.  Pick up a well made classic SxS and you have perfection in your hands, great balance, fast handling, instant selection of choke, and reliability of two seperate firing systems.  I killed my first flying grouse with a beautiful European 16ga hammer double,  i hope to kill my last one with a fine SxS.  Over the years I've been seduced by technology and have owned a number of pumps and autos but none have lasted, even my single trigger SxS's spent enough time in the back of the safe to go down the road there has always been at least one nice classic double close at hand.  As I aproach the twilight of my life the old classics just seem to fit and feel better in my hands.  The warmth of the walnut stock, the way it cradles in your arm as you hike the fields, the safety or hammer under your thumb as you aproach a point everything right where it should be. 

Last month I spent two weeks in MT chasing birds with a 28" SxS 12ga that weighs 5#14oz with the sling on it and there isn't a bit of aluminum or plastic on it.  Been duck hunting since I came back with a modern classic SxS, straight grip, double trigger with barrels made to shoot steel, next duck hunt I'll be hunting with a nearly 100yr old work horse of an American hammer double a Stevens 235 and it is still in original but worked hard condition but still tight as the day it left the shop.

Fetherduster does beautiful work, but I can't imagine me with a painted stock.  First if I carried it I would be afraid to damage the art, I couldn't afford to send it back to be repairred.  Blackberries, barbwire and assorted other mayhem in the field leave scares that when you run your hand over bring back fond memories or reminder of what not to do.  With a art piece stock they are just ugly and need repair.  Does it sadden me only if the gun gets hung on the wall never to be enjoyed for what it was.

I like to think that i would be comfortable enough to retire a firearm someday in a similar fashion.  Possibly justifying a restoration and a makeover so to speak.  I haven't decided as I have never gotten into anything like that, but I think it shows a great deal of respect to a classic to make it a show piece whether all original in perfect mint condition, with wear and tear, in restored format, or to a piece commissioned as art.......  I like to think that I don't know what I want yet, but open minded enough to see this as a possibility.  Either way I see your point of view, but I keep thinking back to the point, why can't I have a working version and one hanging on the wall.  I haven't found a gun yet that couldn't be adopted.  I find very few reasons to get rid of them, so why not something different? 

Definitely not for everybody, but I would think that would be pretty dang neat if I saw that in someone's house, especially if there were stories to tell behind it.

[fethrduster]

Definitely not for everybody, but I would think that would be pretty dang neat if I saw that in someone's house, especially if there were stories to tell behind it.

It's a lot of fun to shoot a gun like this at the range.  It definitely stands out in the crowd of o/u's, autos and such.  You can't walk anywhere without people asking you about it.  It's especially fun when you score in the mid 20's with a gun made in the late 1800's.  I guess part of me likes being a contrarian. 

[runamuk]

Definitely not for everybody, but I would think that would be pretty dang neat if I saw that in someone's house, especially if there were stories to tell behind it.

It's a lot of fun to shoot a gun like this at the range.  It definitely stands out in the crowd of o/u's, autos and such.  You can't walk anywhere without people asking you about it.  It's especially fun when you score in the mid 20's with a gun made in the late 1800's.  I guess part of me likes being a contrarian.

I think its an inherent part of an artists nature to be mildly contrary and often a conundrum if we were content to see the world as it is I dont think we would be driven to create.  This is based on a lifetime immersed in artists worlds...its something all seem to have