The current Collection
Intricately detailed and realistic artworks of Canadian Wildlife;
Burned by hand, one hair at a time.
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"Maple Gazed” This piece has been created on a repurposed piece of wood that was harvested here in the Kootenays. Featuring three young raccoons in a tree hollow, this piece boasts extraordinary attention to details and depth, creating a very realistic and almost 3D effect to the piece. The raccoons seem to come right out of the wood, and the working of the natural bark edge into the piece creates a mesmerizing fusion of the canvas and medium. The name: The wood slab is maple, a group of raccoons is called a "gaze", Maple glazed is a popular donut flavour and very Canadian- Thus the name Maple Gaze was born. I think I stared at this piece of wood for at least a year before I could finally figure out who deserved the spot. It's such a beautiful piece of maple with the live edge, I wanted to make sure I did it justice. I knew I was firm in the idea of it being viewed as through a hollow of a tree, I just had to find the perfect subjects to fill that hollow. I think the raccoons are just the perfect fit, I'm very excited about how this piece turned out, I'd say one of my all time favourites. If I could hold on to this one forever I wouldn't be unhappy about that. The maple for this piece has been repurposed from a fallen tree right from the Kootenays where I live, feels really amazing to be able to use wood from the very forests I draw my inspiration from.
‘Bear with me’ This piece boasts extraordinary attention to details regarding the complex patterns and flow of the fur; carved deeply into the wood to create realistic looking depth and textures. Viewing from different points in the room will accentuate these details from different angles, creating a realistic view and a 3D effect. The bear stands out from many different angles, and the eyes seem to gaze at you from wherever you are in the room. I started with the bears face on this piece, and that look of exasperation continued to gaze at me throughout my struggles of tackling the fur textures. This piece took much longer than anticipated, and had many ‘do overs’, but that expression looking up at me was always there, and so the title ‘Bear with me’ is what resonated. It’s burned on a beautiful warm slab of cherry, but it's to be noted that there is a slight colour difference in certain areas of this piece, due to the inner layers of bark that burned a different colour than the heart of the wood.
‘Curiosity Kills’ Possibly one of my favourite pieces to date. There’s a cute element to this piece, and a sense of familiarity with the pose being a favourite of house cats. It’s a reminder of how all animals were wild at one point, and even domesticated they still share these similarities and instincts with their wild cousins. The eyes of this piece are captivating, and they seem to follow you around the room as you move. It's burned on a beautiful warm piece of cherry, with the natural white inner bark creating a natural contrasting border to accentuate the piece. Fur details have been carved in with care one strand at a time, allowing for a soft and natural looking blend of the different shades that make up the cat’s fur. The back of this piece has been coated with resin. This is an additional step to protect the wood from moisture as well as to ensure the wood does not crack if exposed to changing temperatures.
‘Heard’ This piece depicts a bull elk bugling into the frosty winter morning. There are many different textures that make up the depth and realism to this piece- the breath delicately shaded on the surface a stark contrast to the gouged hair details of the complex fur patterns, while the antlers have their characteristic smooth rounded texture. A great piece for the elk enthusiasts, and a sentimental piece for me. I saw more elk than probably any other animal growing up; herds of hundreds would graze through my property and congregate all throughout the surrounding East Kootenay area in the winter and spring season. I always found it so amusing that when it's hunting season there's not an elk to be seen, and as soon as the seasons over they show up in these giant herds to stand right on the highways. This piece has been coated on the back with a resin, to further protect the wood from moisture and to ensure the wood does not crack with fluctuating temperatures. And because it makes the wood grain look nice.
‘Brobdingnagian’ Yes, that's actually a word, I didn't just lean on the keyboard. Brobdingnagian means gigantic:huge:immense- I thought it was a fitting title for this subject. The concept of ‘Less is more’ is truly put to use with this piece; the contrast of the inner bark creating a natural and simple, yet bold frame to accentuate such a powerful majestic subject. Care was given to capture the details in the bears face, with attention to fur textures according different parts of the bears coat. Bears will always have a special place in my heart when it comes to pyrography, their fur and faces are just so challenging and satisfying to bring to life. Standing tall and ferocious, this piece has a gorgeous natural frame created from the live edge bark as well as the contrasting inner white bark. This piece was applied with a linseed oil, and the wood ended up turning much more red than I had anticipated. This is part of the job, sometimes you never know how they will turn out. While the piece has not lost any qualities, it is not quite as bold of a burn, and for that- discount!
Describe your image
‘Mule it over’ This piece has been burned on a repurposed piece of birch that was harvested from deadfall within the Kootenay area, via Woodland Hillside inc. A simple portrait of a mule buck on a grassy field. This piece has fine texture work depicting the short smooth hairs that make up the coat, carved in one hair at a time without resorting to shading. The antlers by contrast have a smooth and bumpy texture, giving realistic depth and dimensions to the piece. The natural birch bark framing the piece adds a natural, one of a kind border.
Done and Gone
Commissioned and original pieces that are SOLD and have gone to their new homes.
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