carved and coloured panels
My carvings are made from solid hardwoods of mainly sycamore and oak in shallow relief. Where there is open grain I like to show this across a single-width board and allow the carved undulations to influence the fibers of the wood. Sycamore has closer grain and is more suited to an emphasis on shape, shadows and finer detail, with a white wax finish.
Some could be be described as small landscapes without horizon. The selection of scale and surroundings have a close correlation to short stretches of water where a myriad of effects make each moment different.
Some could be be described as small landscapes without horizon. The selection of scale and surroundings have a close correlation to short stretches of water where a myriad of effects make each moment different.
Looking out/looking in. Holy Island.
Split Ripple. Sold 2024
"The thing with your panels is the way they change in the light, the shadows move and the grain in the wood stands out.Sometimes they just catch your eye and you stand a few moments staring and smiling". D Stevenson, Edinburgh. 2023
I've carved wood for as long as I've made furniture. It was the possibilities upon chest fronts that lured me away from painting initially. Chipped-carved patterns and compositions led me to research early oak furniture and the presentation of a carved front chest panel suggested it could be more easily explored as a wall-hung relief without functional constraints.
Subject matter has come a full-circle to once again to revolve around short areas of landscape with water, although now less about reflections and more about creating form with real-time light and distortions upon the wood-grain. The depth of space is expressed by perspective and the photographing of drawings, models and observations of local rivers and ponds.
I have little idea how these panels will look until the final making stages. Only when the wood is as smooth as silk does the grain show itself in the way I'm looking for. It then begins to resemble different things and not just about the way I've made it.
Wood grain is inherently important to both my panels and furniture in different ways.
Subject matter has come a full-circle to once again to revolve around short areas of landscape with water, although now less about reflections and more about creating form with real-time light and distortions upon the wood-grain. The depth of space is expressed by perspective and the photographing of drawings, models and observations of local rivers and ponds.
I have little idea how these panels will look until the final making stages. Only when the wood is as smooth as silk does the grain show itself in the way I'm looking for. It then begins to resemble different things and not just about the way I've made it.
Wood grain is inherently important to both my panels and furniture in different ways.
Creating pictorial space and perspective. Carving stages and finishing tools.