art work on sinew backed rawhide osage in progress

[bradsmith2010]

  this is a bow I started I think a year ago,, I roughed it out and just looked at it,,it is bout 47 nock to nock
it is from some fence post that were on the ground a long time,, I did not put reflex in it or heat treat it, I am being gentle with it ....  it  has some bug holes and other issues,, but holding together so far,,
  i was going to wait till I got it tillered to paint it but got impatient and started putting some on as I tiller,, bad idea cause you have to wait for the paint to dry to tiller again,,,, I am using oil paint,, its what I have handy,,and a bit more organic than acrylic,, not totally natural,, but pigment mixed with linseed,,
  the design is Native  inspired but not anything that would be considered authentic or a replication of something in a museum,, just my imagination,,, I enjoy making stuff up,, I drew the design on with an ink pen from the art store,,, its kinda like a sharp bendy point sharpie,, but has archieval ink,,

[Selfbowman]

Nice art work Brad hope it works out for you. Arvin

[StickMark]

Any artwork on a bow blows the mind of the $$$$ camo crowd. Life is too short to have weapons that do not please the eye.

[Will B]

Looks Awesome Brad. Your inspiring me to try that on a rawhide backed bow.

[bradsmith2010]

u should try,, with paint,, you can keep correcting till you like it,, give it a go,,

[M2A]

Very cool. Looks great.
Mike

[bradsmith2010]

thanks guys, a few more pics, I tillered the bow out to 20 inches 55#,,and it shoots pretty good and did not blow up,, so Im calling it done, thanks for looking,,
the bow is 43 inches so would probably draw further,, but thats all I can handle unless I take weight off,, so just leaving it for now,,
the tips were a bit cracked and checked so I just made some nocks from sinew and they held fine, that way I didnt have to file into the tip I felt was a bit compromised,, it will shoot a 413 grain arrow 160 fps,,

[bradsmith2010]

more pics,, the one limb is more colorful, and I left the other limb more simple, I just liked the design and was not worried about making the limbs the same,, but I think it could have worked either way,, making bow limbs with more color,, or both with a more simple design, I am basically just experimenting ,, so thats how it turned out,,
the handle is just a rawhide strip with the hair on , I am still experimenting with that,, next time I am going to cut it much thinner and see how it works,,

[Hawkdancer]

It works for you!  Nice job! 
Hawkdancer

[bradsmith2010]

thank you,,,

[Marc St Louis]

Looks pretty darn good