My Technique
My work is neither a political nor an artistic statement of great import but rather I am simply trying to take thoughts, ideas and images and put them down in a way that intrigues and fascinates you the viewer. I have always felt that words are key to what inspires the image and for this reason I always include the text with the work.
The medium is a mixed media. I always start with a pencil drawing. It is not a sketch but the actual drawing that, once complete, is painted with watercolor and finally covered with an ink line and wash. Most of my work in Canada has been done on material other than illustration board for I feel that the use of water color on materials such as bone, wood and leather allows the actual color and texture of those materials to come through and thus actually become part of the work.
Drums
The drums are made from steam bent white pine covered with a rawhide drum head on each side of the hoop with rawhide lacing. The drums come in sizes from 7 inches to 22 inches in diameter.
Paddles
My paddles are made by John Bell owner of The Red Tail Paddle Company in Cambellford, Ontario. Each paddle is hand crafted by John from a single length of wood. I use hard Maple wood, the light color of the wood compliments the artwork. However I have sometimes used darker woods such as cherry and effect is very different but no less interesting. The paddles that I usually use are carved in the traditional High Backed Otter Tail design as this shape allows me a large surface area on which to work but I have also worked on other forms such as the Stern and the Beaver Tail paddle each of which has its own distinctive characteristics. John also makes kayak paddles for me made from three laminated lengths of maple but, unlike the canoe paddles, these are purely decorative wall pieces. The handles of my kayak paddles are fully decorated and the words that have inspired the image are written on the reverse of the blade. The paddles are available in three sizes, 60”, 48” and 24” or can be commissioned to any specific length or blade shape.
Decoys
These beautiful birds are custom carved for me and are available in four sizes, from 4.5 inches long up to life size.
Antlers & Skulls
These dramatic pieces are each unique even before I do my work on them. I sand the surface before I work on it and then seal the piece with a coating of clear shellac.
Fantasy
The word fantasy covers the whole spectrum of all my work , including many of the 3 dimensional pieces. It covers legends, myths, poems, song lyrics and all the inspirational material that fires off a visual idea in my mind. The mythical drawings of childrens fairy stories and the Arthurian legend were where I started…its been a long and winding road for me since those early days with many a wind, twist, bump and detour of reading, watching and listening to all the wonderful, inspirational material that fires up my imagination to produce my work. This area of what I do really is my favorite, so I hope you enjoy it to.
