If you follow my blog, you know that I am interested in marine animals.

Killer whales or orcas, are very social animals. They are known as “The Wolves of the Sea,” as they hunt in packs.

I saw this amazing Pacific Northwest tribal orca hanging on the back of a log cabin. I knew that one day I would make a similar orca sculpture. Last month, that day came.

I began by gluing up some scrap lumber from a floating shelf project and some old plywood.

While the wood was clamped, I began to sketch out the design.

Once sketched, I used my saber saw to cut it out. In the process, I broke off one side of the fluke. No problem – glue and a clamp to the rescue. The orca is 28″ high and 46″ long.

When painting the body, the black paint reacted to one of the boards that was stained. Careful when applying one type of paint over another. This bubbled up. I consulted the web on what to do and easily corrected the problem.

With the body painted all back, I used chalk to outline the areas that I wanted to paint.

Here is the finished piece.

Orcas are the guardians of the sea. I am honored to hang this in the yard!