If you are a prior customer of ours and would like to leave us a testimonial, we would like to hear from you. Send your comments to rob@rkwoodcarving.com and we'll post them on the site!

"Some of the very best moments of my life have been spent outside watching and listening to mallard ducks and loons living free in their own habitat. The artistic genius of Robert Kelly has allowed me to bring his extremely beautiful, exquisitely detailed, brilliantly painted, and completely life-like mallard and loon decoys into my home.

My home is filled with beautiful art. Robert Kelly’s exquisite decoys stand out among my most dearly-loved works of art. Each of his hand-crafted life-like decoys has the priceless beauty of nature’s bird wildlife.

Before buying these decoys I did a complete search of all decoys available on the internet. All of Robert Kelly’s decoys stand out as the very best. He hand carves and finishes each decoy with life-like feathering that captures the true character of the bird. The finish on his decoys is a combination of semi-transparent stains and latex paints.

Robert Kelly is a genius at crafting the most beautiful of all decoys. He is also a very nice person who personally provides you with quick delivery and excellent customer service. If for some reason you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, he will gladly offer you an exchange or a refund.

I am very pleased to recommend to you all of Robert Kelly’s decoys. If you love beautiful birds and/or prize beautiful art you will be forever happy and proud to own, display, and cherish Robert Kelly’s decoys."

Sincerely,

Dr. John Seem

"Over the past 5 years, I have added four Robert Kelly decoys to my collection. These include a Red Breasted Merganser Drake, a Hooded Meganser Hen, a Western Grebe, and a most cherished Flying Common Loon. You can see my Robert Kelly carvings on my personal Decoy Collection Page.

I don't have the flying loon posted yet as the site is a never ending work of love - (with many more pieces to add yet, including the loon).

But I am compelled to say that among all of the birds in my collection, Robert's decoys stand out as champion works of art. I think there are two primary reasons why his work commands appreciation:

1) He carves in character. These decoys have a personality. And there is no doubt. So many modern carvers now just whack out their work, bing, bing, bing.

Robert TAKES HIS TIME and you can see it in his work. It's clearly a matter of pride that no decoy leaves his studio before it's the best it can be. I can personally attest that anything less than superior goes in the wood stove.

The more closely you examine a Robert Kelly carving, the nicer it becomes. It takes a special talent to give a carving a life of its own. I call it expression and very few artists have that capability. Each Robert Kelly decoy I own is truly a masterpiece.

2) The finishing technique. Robert carefully chooses his wood because the semi-transparent stains and clear finish coats he uses allow the warmth, beauty and depth of the wood grain to show through. Rich, true to life colors along with the natural wood characteristics are a combination of style and presentation that you just can't find now days.

If you are considering purchasing one of his carvings, you can't go wrong. You'll be purchasing an heirloom that will last many lifetimes - and will only appreciate in value.

To sum it up, I'd have to say that Robert carves and paints every one of his decoys UP to a standard of excellence, NEVER down to a price. High quality all the way."

Tom Bailey
Web Site Developer
tjbailey Iternet Services