A client reached out specifically asking me to create a black skimmer sculpture for his wife as it was her favorite bird. I love when I get requests for unique sculptures. And the black skimmer certainly fell under that category for me.

These birds have a unique look with their lower beak being much larger than their top beak. They glide along the water and skim their lower beak along the surface, snapping up fish as they pass them. I had been aware of this shorebird for a while but never considered making one, so it was a fun challenge.

Since black is not a color I can get with heat patinas I decided to make the dark areas with blues and purples instead. And then I ground in the feather details, colored the golds as they are a colder color, and finally ground in all the silver details to bring this bird sculpture to life.

This black skimmer sculpture is wall hanging, made entirely of stainless steel, colored using only heat patinas, and is safe to be kept outdoors!