Taxidermy is fine art.
There is good art and bad art , the same goes for taxidermy.
We have all seen the good and bad. The only thing about taxidermy is that , that animal gave it’s all to be there. With paint or clay, you can always just start over , the same with taxidermy but with some differences .
Some people will say that taxidermy is not a art form, they are so closed minded that they can not see out of the box. They think that you must be using a brush or clay to create their art. Well I hate to tell this type of people that the good taxidermist use those items and a hell of a lot more. At Capp’s Taxidermy Studio LLC we use hand brushes and airbrushes with acrylic, water and lacquer paints to finish the mounts but before any of that happens, we start with a form that must be molded,carved and sculpted for the pose out of urethane form. welded in all thread for strength , then molded with clay for all the muscle detail on the whole form. Then its time to prep the tanned skin and that alone takes a good while.
With the great artist, they must see it in their minds before doing it with their hands. Same with the wildlife taxidermist artist, we see and plan it out in the mind. If you don’t see and feel it, you will never be one of the best. The proof is in the pudding so to say.
When you bring or send your trophy into a taxidermist artist. like Capp’s Taxidermy Studio LLC, he should be putting out ideas on your ideas on how it will look the best, how he should sculpt the form, the base with habitat. So like I tell my clients, if you can put their ideas in my mind,it will be done with some of my twists.
If the wildlife taxidermy art doesn’t look alive or so to speak, wink at you, its not good taxidermy art. All my clients are given the choice of action. I tell them they will have to look at this for a long time so why not have action in the pose instead of just staring into space. I also tried to tell them to place in other critters into the scene, like for example a mt goat bedded down on the rocks and having some blue grouse walking around it. it all in the imagination.
Open your mind and experience all the great art especially the wildlife taxidermy art .!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!