Three Mallards: Watercolor Sketch
Three Mallards, Color Sketch, Large.
Three Mallards Sculpture, Large.

Grainger uses watercolor sketches to preserve and note the precise coloring of the non-feather elements of a bird. The colors on the feet and bill (unlike those on feathers) degrade quickly with time, so must be recorded from a live or freshly killed specimen.

Three Mallards uses a fully connected infrastructure of heat-treated steel for support. This is somewhat of a departure from his earlier works, where the connecting steel feathers will usually terminate into their respective birds with nuts and bolts.

Click here to see a high-resolution PDF document of how the sculpture was made.

Three Mallards: 2005
Basswood, steel, bronze and oil paint
Collection of Mr. James A. Kennedy

Poster for 1999 Brookgreen Gardens Exhibit.
American Kestrel Sculpture, Large.

American Kestrel (wood original). Also called the Sparrow Hawk. Basswood, bronze and oil paint. Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Taucher. This is the fourth 'reflection' sculpture Grainger has created since 1984.

Amreican Kestral: 2003
Sterling, onyx (eyes), and ebony (base)
Collection of the Artist

The American Kestrel has been cast in sterling silver and bronze limited editions.

Woodcock: Bronze
American Woodcock, Painted.
American Woodcock, Painted, Closeup.
American Woodcock, Silver.

"Grainger McKoy of South Carolina has become well-known for his wood carvings of wildlife and casting in bronze, but most recently has been doing sculptures using the lost wax method of birds in sterling that are breathtaking."
— Connie McNally, Editor, Silver Magazine

American Woodcock: 1996
Collection of Artist

The American Woodcock has been cast in bronze limited editions.

Pouring the molten bronze
Barn Swallows, Large.

"This sculpture was first carved in wood, disassembled, and molds made from each individual section. When the lost wax process is combined with vacuum-assisted casting techniques, detail found only in jewelry is the result."

Barn Swallows: 1997
Bronze
Collection of Artist

The Barn Swallows has been cast as a limited edition in bronze.

Preliminary wood model
Least Bittern, Early Drawing.
Least Bittern, Wood Model.
Least Bittern Sculpture, Large.

"This was one of my greatest challenges, trying to represent a two dimensional water surface by carving a three dimensional reflection."

Least Bittern: 1987
Basswood, walnut, metal, and oil paint
Collection of Earl F. Slick

Once common in the southeastern United States, the Carolina parakeet became increasingly scarce as deforestation reduced its habitat. Already rare by the mid 1880s, its last stand was in Florida, where, in 1920, a flock of 30 birds was the last ever seen of the only native parrot of the United States.

Parakeet Study: Bronze
Carolina Parakeets, Sketch.
Carolina Parakeets Sculpture, Large.

"These Carolina Parakeets evolved after reading Alexander Wilson's observations in the early 1800's: 'having myself seen them, in the month of February, along the banks of the Ohio, in a snow storm, flying about like pigeons, and in full cry'."

Carolina Parakeets: 1992
Basswood, metal, alabaster, and oil paint
Collection of Dan W. Lufkin

The Carolina Parakeet has been cast in bronze limited editions.

Clapper Rails Preliminary Sketch
Clapper Rails Sketch, Large.
Clapper Rails, Blue.

The Clapper Rails sculpture was first exhibited at Hammer Galleries in November 1976.

Clapper Rails: 1975
Basswood, bronze and oil paint
Collection of Mr. Earl F. Slick

This is the fourth 'reflection' sculpture Grainger has created since 1984.

Graphite Sketch
Common Tern Sketch, Large.
Common Tern Sculpture, Large.
Common Tern Assemply.

"I began this project trying to capture the nimbleness of this acrobatic shorebird. As the sculpture took shape, another concept evolved in my mind: the sharp crispness of the upper bird represents truth. The increasing bluriness and confusion of the bottom bird represents distance from truth."

Common Tern: 2003
Basswood, bronze, and oil paint
Collection of Brookgreen Gardens as a gift from Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Taucher.

Completed when he was only 34 years old and over a period of 20 months, this sculpture of 13 quail is recognized as Grainger's most significant work. It can be seen at the Sanderling Inn in Duck, North Carolina.

Grainger's two other covey rise sculptures are the Nine Quail Rising (1992) and Hawk and Quail (2002).

Preliminary Sketch
Covey Rise Maquette, Large.
Covey Rise Sculpture, Large.
Covey Rise and Artist with Live Quail.
Artist Assembling the Covey Rise.

The following is an excerpt from a magazine article written after the sculpture was completed:

"The possibilities for this sculpture sprang into existence on a cold, dreary morning in deep broomsedge. My brother and I, just a few lazy feet apart, instantly and unannounced had quail up our legs."

Covey Rise: 1981
Basswood, metal, and oil paint
Collection of Earl F. Slick

The following is an excerpt from a magazine article written after the sculpture was completed:

Walter Rosine, author of Bobwhite Quail, considered the bible on managing quail, visited with McKoy and advised him on aging the birds, and sexing them for the time of year. He gave him the right proportions - three adult birds and ten sub-adults - for a covey rise of thirteen birds.

There were some side benefits, too. McKoy recalls a rainy Saturday afternoon when he was working on the sculpture. "I was over here painting this bird and my son, who was about 11 at the time, was helping me make up the droppings for the roost." I said, "Son, there are four billion people on this earth today, and I bet you are the only one other than quail who is making that stuff." He stopped, and his head started swelling a bit, and he said, "Daddy, do you really think so ?" I said, "I know you are the only one making that stuff. He made quail droppings all day long. I couldn't stop him, and I've still got plenty of it left over." So when McKoy finished the sculpture, he put his name there on a leaf. And, he added, "and son." "That's just as much his carving as anybody else's," said McKoy with a father's pride.
— Sporting Classics, September, 1983

A maquette of the Covey Rise sculpture in bronze is available within our online store.

The bronze sculpture below is often exhibited without any accoutrements, so that the viewer first is shocked to see a dead bird laying on the floor of a gallery, home or office.

Dead Bird: Bronze
Closeup of the Dead Bird Sculpture, Painted.

"Growing up in the rural South, one naturally has a connection with birds. If there is one bird that epitomizes this region of the country, it is the Bob White Quail, and the way I connected with it often was with my teeth. This sculpture was not created out of a sense of sorrow but with anticipation of the meal to come."

Dead Bird: 1999
Basswood, steel, bronze and oil paint
Collection of Ms. Leigh Manigault

The Dead Bird has been cast as a limited edition in bronze and sterling silver.

This sculpture incorporated Grainger's first use of tupelo wood, seen below as the torn sack material.

Grainger Working on Duck in Sack
Duck in Sack, unfinished, with Artist.
Duck in Sack Model Sketch.
Duck in Sack Sculpture, Large.

"As a young teenager, I hung a wood duck on my porch while I ate supper. When I returned to my prize, I discovered the croker sack I had been carrying it in wasn't as strong as I had thought, and my duck was caught again, this time in the midst of an escape."

Inset (above) representative of detail of sculpure.


Wood Duck in a Croker Sack: 1993
Basswood, tupelo, and oil paint
Collection of Mr. Buck Fulp

Assembling a teal wing
Inserting the Five Teal Feathers.
Five Teal, unfinished, with Artist.
Five Teal Sculpture, Completed.

"If you know anything about his art, you will instantly recognize it as his work. The unmistakeable gravity-defying complexity of his composition and the faithfulness to realism in the depiction are sure signs of a work by Grainger McKoy."
— Robin R. Salmon, Vice President and curator of sculpture, Brookgreen Gardens

Five Teal: 1975
Basswood, metal, and oil paint
Collection of Mr. & Mrs. William R. Ireland

Purple Gallinule: Foot detail
Purple Gallinule Toes, Closeup.
Purple Gallinule Scupture, Large.
Purple Gallinule Sculpture in Silver.

"The feeding habit of a Purple Gallinule pulling back a lilypad triggered this mirror image/reflection idea as it would be played out in a calm backwater environment."

Purple Gallinule: 2000
Basswood, bronze, and oil paint
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Kuhne

The Purple Gallinule has been cast in sterling silver and bronze limited editions.

Gamecock
Gamecock Sculpture, Large.

"During the American Revolution, the British labeled my county's namesake, General Thomas Sumter, as "The Gamecock" because of his tenacity in battle. To celebrate Sumter County's 200th anniversary and to honor the General, I was commissioned to sculpt a gamecock. The bird I chose to carve is known as a Brown Red Cock, and I was assured by the locals that his ancestors would have been strutting in our area long before our General did."

Gamecock: 2000
Basswood, bronze, and Oil Paint
Collection of Sumter County, South Carolina

This, one of Grainger's first major sculptures, is one of several of his on display at Clemson University's Madren Conference Center in South Carolina.

Green Herons
Green Herons Sillouhette, Large.
Green Herons Sculpture, Large.

"Someone who has known my family suggested that these herons represented my two older brothers and me growing up."

Green Herons: 1973
Basswood, metal and oil paint
Collection of Mr. Doyle Cotton

This sculpture was delivered to the patron's plantation near Albany, Georgia, in November of 2002.

Hawk and Quail Early Wood Model
Hawk & Quail Covey, Closeup A.
Hawk & Quail Covey, Closeup B.
Hawk & Quail on Exhibit, Large.
Hawk & Quail, Dead Bird & Unfinished Bird.
Hawk & Quail Rejects.
Hollow, Unfinished Hawk.

"This sculpture took 26 months to create, longer than any other. It was also the most complex. It tested every skill I've learned over the past 30 years."

Hawk and Quail: 2002
Basswood, metal, and oil paint
Collection of Mr. Joe Davenport

This is one of Grainger's earliest and, to those who have seen it in person, most memorable sculptures. It is currently in a private residence in Birmingham, Alabama.

Early Sketch
Hawks & Snake Sculpture, Large.
Hawks & Snake, Unfinished.
Hawks & Snake, Unfinished, Grainger's Pet Hawk on Right.
Hawks & Snake, Unfinished, Prior to Painting.

"This idea was triggered after observing the bold, hunger-induced behavior of an immature red-shouldered hawk blundering in upon an adult trying to make a meal of a copperhead."

Red-Shouldered Hawks and Copperhead Snake: 1974
Basswood, metal, and oil paint
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. William R. Ireland

This is the second extinct species Grainger has sculpted. The first was the Carolina Parakeet. Grainger used steel for the two lowermost feathers to support the sculpture. The pine branch below is cast out of bronze and reinforced with steel as well.

Ivory-Billed Woodpecker: Unpainted
Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, Unpainted, Large.
Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Sculpture, Large.

"The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker couldn't have come to fruition without the gracious assistance of Dr. William Post, ornithologist at the Charleston Museum in South Carolina. By allowing me to sketch, measure and photograph the century-old skins in his collection, he enabled me to create a reasonable facsimile of this now long-extinct bird."

Ivory-Billed Woodpecker: 2006
Basswood, steel, bronze and oil paint
Collection of Ms. Leigh Manigault

Sculpture prior to painting
Mourning Dove, Unpainted, Large.
Mourning Dove, Wall Mount Large.

"I read a quote of Leonardo da Vinci that struck a chord in me: 'Where the spirit does not work with the hand there is no art.' "

Single Mourning Dove: 1982
Basswood, metal, and oil paint
Collection of Richard P. Mellon

There are several dove jewelry items in sterling and gold available for purchase in our online store.

The original wood-and-bronze sculpture of the Mourning Dove Pair was commissioned by a private individual. Recently, Grainger began painting his limited edition bronze sculptures to make them look identical to the original wood sculpture.

Mourning Dove Pair cast in bronze
Mourning Doves Sculpture, Large.
Mourning Doves Sculpture in Bronze, Large.
Mourning Doves, Disassembled.

This was the first sculpture that I incorporated bronze with wood. Not only is the habitat of corn stalks bronze, but the supporting right wing of the upper bird was molded from wood, cast in bronze & painted to match the rest of the bird.

Mourning Dove Pair
Basswood, bronze and oil paint
Collection of Mr. Earl F. Slick

If desired, please contact us for price and availability of the painted and unpainted bronze sculptures. There are also several dove jewelry items in sterling and gold available in our online store

Model of Sanderling Inn
Brown Pelican / Sanderling Inn Model, Large.
Grainger with the Brown Pelicans Sculpture, Large.

"This one hundred and twenty-five pounds of black walnut is suspended from the wall by the 4 primaries of the upper pelican. These feathers are steel which continue through the hollow upper bird to the pelican below."

Brown Pelicans: 1994
Walnut
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Earl F. Slick

Basswood model
Artist Assembling the Feathers.
Pintails Wood Model.
Pintails Maquette, Large.
Pintails Sculpture, Large.

"McKoy produces bird sculptures in wood that are so true to life they can hardly be believed. Even if you care nothing for sculptures or for birds, they will leave you breathless."
— Edward J. Sozanski, The Philadelphia Inquirer Magazine

Pintails: 1991
Basswood, metal and oil paint
Collection of Mr. John A. Leutkemeyer, Jr.

The Pintails has been cast in as a maquette in bronze and available in our online store.

The Recovery, one of Grainger's limited edition sculptures, is actually a life-sized wing inspired by Grainger's Pintails sculpture. More recently cast in solid sterling silver, this sculpture resonates with people experiencing an illness or loss of a loved one.

Recovery: Detail of wing
Recovery Bronze Sculpture, Large.
Recovery Stainless Steel Sculpture, Large.
Recovery at Night Sculpture, Large.
Recover Feathers Closeup, Large.

"I've always been attracted to a wing when it is in the recovery position. This is when it's the least productive and most vulnerable, yet here can be found a grace and beauty that exist nowhere else."

Recovery
Bronze, 22" High

Basswood model
Ring-neck Model, Large.
Two Ring-neck Sculpture on Exhibit, Large.

"The carvings speak for themselves: they convey controlled energy embodied in vivid detail. The result is pure, natural, and unsurpassable quality, the hallmark of a hugely creative talent."
— O. Kelly Anderson, Jr., Coe Kerr Gallery

Two Ring-neck Ducks: 1988: 1973
Basswood, metal and oil paint
Collection of Earl F. Slick

This sculpture of 15 Sanderlings on a wave of walnut is one of several major works of Grainger McKoy viewable by the public at The Sanderling Inn in Duck, North Carolina.

Basswood Model
Sanderlings in Process.
Later Wood Model of the Sanderlings.
Sanderlings Sculpture, Large.

" Like those grand masters of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century (Tilman Riemenschneider and Viet Stoss), McKoy enshrines a sense of the permanent with a fine, feathery touch."
— Thomas Hoving, Director Emeritus, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Inset (above) representative of detail of sculpure.


Sanderlings: 1986
Basswood, metal, and oil paint
Collection of Earl F. Slick

The Black Skimmer was Grainger's first "reflective" sculpture. There have been two others: the Least Bittern in 1987 and the Purple Gallinule in 2000. Although not immediately acclaimed, these reflective sculptures have become reference pieces for him.

Black Skimmer in Watercolor
Closeup of Watercolor Sketch.
Black Skimmer Sculpture, Large.

"As I was gazing out across a calm, foggy North Edisto, when the sky and water were one, a black skimmer sliced by, inspiring me with its reflection."

Inset (above) representative of detail of sculpure.


Black Skimmer: 1983
Basswood, walnut, metal and oil paint
From the Rivers Collection

The highly-polished Black Skimmer Bracelet in sterling silver, available in our online store, is derived from this sculpture

"Art can never exist without naked beauty displayed."
— William Blake

Teal in Wood: Preliminary sketch
Teal in Wood Sketch, Large.
Teal in Wood Sculpture, Large.

"Although I know it is a compliment to hear: "I can't believe it's wood!", I would still like my viewer to get a sense of process, therefore I chose to leave part of this teal "in the wood"."

Teal in Wood
Basswood and oil paint
Collection of Mr. & Mrs. Tom Waggoner

Field & Stream: September, 1974
Wood Duck Pair, Field & Stream Cover, Large.
Wood Duck Pair Sculpture, Large.

"Like the great painter - ornithologist James Audubon, whose knowledge of birds was gathered in the field as a hunter and observer, McKoy has soaked up the look of nature by contact, and this in turn is infused into his art."
— Margaret Nichols, Managing Editor of Field and Stream Magazine.

Wood Duck Pair: 1973
Basswood, metal, and oil paint
Collection of Earl F. Slick

Wood Duck - Brookgreen Exhibit: 1999
Wood Duck Wingless On Exhibit, Large.
Wood Duck Wingless Sculpture, Closeup.

"I've always been intrigued with the idea of birds becoming an extension of their habitat or vice versa. I tried to engage this thought by allowing the oak leaves not only to support the bird, but also to represent his left wing by framing the space it would occupy if it existed. This idea replicates itself if you look closely into the shadow cast above."

Wood Duck: 1984
Basswood, walnut, metal, and oil paint
Collection of Artist