Old Man Hobbies

One important part of being an adult is having some seemingly excruciatingly boring hobbies. Being that I work with computers, I have always had these boring hobbies, so I had to take it up a notch this year. No, it’s not doing 10,000 piece puzzles. It’s not model train building. It’s not stamp, coin or dust collecting. It is none other than whittlin’ wood.

One of my New Years resolutions was to get back into artwork. I have done a couple relief carvings in the past, and I’ve enjoyed doing them. I wanted something unique though. I decided to go with a surrealistic theme. Given that most relief carvings are of still lifes, this gives me a chance to do something unique. With art, it’s next to impossible to find a style that hasn’t already been done. I’m sure this has too, but I haven’t seen it, so it’s unique to me.

The problem with relief carving is that it takes forever. I probably won’t be done a year from now, but I will keep at it for at least a couple hours per week. I added that new section to the right, so you can keep up with progress as you check back on this site from time to time.

The picture is of a bull entangled in a tree that grows wider as it grows out. It’s a new rendition of a picture that I drew in high-school. It was a simple one that was always one of my favorites. I’m carving into birch (10”x10”x3/4”) using Flexcut tools.