THE PROCESS

All of my sculptures have been carved, by hand, entirely from wood.

I use traditional carving tools such as chisels and gouges, the same tools that have been used by carvers and sculptors for centuries. The type of wood I carve is Basswood. It is a very stable hardwood that carves well, holds detail and is very receptive to bleaching, a technique I often use. Each element of the sculpture starts from a single, solid block of Basswood. Carving is a reductive process which means, once the wood is carved away, there’s no going back.

I use very little paint to colour the work, in fact quite the contrary. My preferred method of “colouring” is to actually eliminate the natural colours of the wood. I achieve this by bleaching it. Everything that appears white is carved wood that has been treated with a commercial artist’s bleach which completely removes the natural colour and renders the wood pearl white. Elements that are black have either been ebonized or scorched with flame. The gold is 24K gold leaf. The work is then coated with a protective finish. Upon close examination the grain of the wood remains evident.

With my most recent work, which is carved to resemble paper, the designs have been painted on after the bleaching using acrylic paint and an artist’s brush. I debated on how important it actually is to explain my working process.

Interesting, maybe. But important, I’m not sure.

I feel that regardless of how the work was made, when it’s hanging on the wall it either works or it doesn’t.

And that’s important.

Dan