Wildlife Sculpting

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Wildlife Sculpting Fine art sculptures hand crafted in Vermont from wood and bronze. One of a kind and custom made home decorations for bird and animal lovers.

Two pictures that illustrate the mystery of judging or carving birds. The carved and painted female Green wing Teal loo...
09/21/2026

Two pictures that illustrate the mystery of judging or carving birds. The carved and painted female Green wing Teal looks very nice. I wasn't distracted by "fish scale" patterning, feathers being all painted the exact same way, and variation of colors. The picture of the real bird shows less variation of colors, the ends of the tertials are more pointed, the primaries seem to be more narrow, the upper tail coverts are smaller and the individual feathers don't stand out. The the secondary wing coverts and the secondary (green) coverts on the real bird have far less defined edges. if any. These observations really show the difficulty of judging carved birds or animals. The carved green wing is decorative than representing the real bird. (Yet there are not any "real bird" categories at competitions) Gunning birds seem to exemplify key characteristics of their subject - perhaps for making them more less camouflaged in a natural environment.

I guess it comes down to artistry versus realism. I remember comparing two master level carvings at the Ward World Carving Competition. One of the owls was very realistic and the correct size. The other was way over sized and the painting seemed to be more sloppy. In addition the larger carving had colors that were not ever seen on a real bird of that species. To my surprise the oversized and unusual colors was given the ribbon.

What is on the work bench? I have a commission for a Bluebird. So, you can see my clay model and four carvings tha...
09/13/2026

What is on the work bench? I have a commission for a Bluebird. So, you can see my clay model and four carvings that are starting to take shape.

The Winter Wrens are now finished. I really enjoyed carving these birds because of their unique personality. Carved fr...
07/29/2026

The Winter Wrens are now finished. I really enjoyed carving these birds because of their unique personality. Carved from Tupelo wood and painted with oils. They are all sold and I will probably make some more when I get some of the other projects off my list of "to dos.

If you were wondering about what birds I plan to add to the previously shared natural wood bases, here they are. Winte...
07/18/2026

If you were wondering about what birds I plan to add to the previously shared natural wood bases, here they are. Winter Wrens primed and ready for painting.

The value of experimentation! Our artwork is a life long journey of learning. We look at reference photos, read books...
07/18/2026

The value of experimentation!

Our artwork is a life long journey of learning. We look at reference photos, read books, take classes and yet many people are hesitant to trust their instinct and create their own path.

My fist advise is to create artwork that pleases you rather than catering to ideas from other people.

As an example, consider carving competitions. On the top level, the artist has to make everything (the bird or animal, branches, rocks, leaves......). That is a daunting task that can be frustrating.

So take small steps to ramping up to that level.
Find a piece of drift wood or an fallen branch that has some character. Often they are dull, weather warn, and somewhat monochromatic. You can use these little treasures to experiment with. You can modify them to accentuate some features and you can paint them. Those two steps offer an excellent way to build confidence without too much trouble.

The one picture shows both raw naturally aged drift wood or character wood found in the woods. The other picture is an example of the same kind of wood that has been sealed and painted, slightly modified and had some moss added. Moss texture is difficult to carve from wood. I've played around with that process and was not really satisfied with the results. That was because I had not rally studied the various textures before.

So I did some experimentation. I found real moss, let it dry, and then epoxied it to the drift wood. I then saturated it with Deft Sanding Sealer. After it fully dried, I studied the moss colors and painted it with oil paints. It's certainly not something to enter into a competition with, but great for non competition artwork.

The painting process will help you study the textures of the wood that you can later copy on a carved piece of wood. I recommend starting out by only focusing on the driftwood without any thought about the bird or animal you would place on the wood. That will help you to explore all t

Presently on the work bench. Winter Wrens that will be followed by Carolina Wrens.
06/22/2026

Presently on the work bench. Winter Wrens that will be followed by Carolina Wrens.

Here is a picture of some newly finished black Capped Chickadees and golden crowned kinglets. I will be starting som...
05/10/2026

Here is a picture of some newly finished black Capped Chickadees and golden crowned kinglets. I will be starting some carolina and winter wren this week.

With the loons project finished, it is time to start something new. Today I roughed out the clay models for a Carolina...
05/07/2026

With the loons project finished, it is time to start something new. Today I roughed out the clay models for a Carolina and a Winter Wren.

Last year at the New Brunswick Carving show in St. Andrews CA, a friend of mine brought a life size loon sculpture. I ...
05/02/2026

Last year at the New Brunswick Carving show in St. Andrews CA, a friend of mine brought a life size loon sculpture. I was impressed and intrigued. Common loons are pretty interesting birds. So I decided to carve some miniature loons. Each bird is only 7.5 inches long. They are carved from tupelo and painted with oils. The base (the carved water and the molded edge) is made from a beautiful slab of black walnut. At this point the birds have to dry for a month before the final application of a satin protective spray. And the glass eyes (5mm diameter) have not been cleaned yet. I carved these birds to help support the Loon conservation efforts in Greensboro, Vermont.

This month I've taken a break from the pair of Loons Sculpture and focused on some Golden Crowned Kinglets. I finishe...
03/27/2026

This month I've taken a break from the pair of Loons Sculpture and focused on some Golden Crowned Kinglets. I finished five of them this afternoon. They are carved from tupelo and painted with acrylics. All of the bases are things I have found during my walks in the woods. Low stress carving without worrying about being judged.

Address

322 Center Hill Rd
Albany, VT
05820

Telephone

+18027559043

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