Featured Artist Terry Everitt

Artsy Shark is pleased to present the woodcarvings of English wildlife artist Terry Everitt. See more of his work by visiting his website.

 

 

I’ve been interested in art since I was a little boy. It was my favourite subject at school. In the past I’ve tried out pencil drawings, point and line, which is a pen and ink technique, and I also spent a while painting detailed watercolours of birds of prey in the early nineties.

 

 

I made the decision in the mid-nineties to swap paints and paper for knives and wood, due to the high amount of artists vying for sales in the East of England. It was a decision that completely changed my love of art, working in three dimensions.

 

 

In my early days I carved miniature birds, which were mounted in glass cases with natural fauna. The twist I put into them was internal lighting, which made them visible during the darkness of evening time. These I called my “Nature Box”. During this period I was lucky enough to have an article about them published in “Wood Carving” magazine and a book called “Understanding Wood Carving in the Round”.

 

 

Producing these boxes entailed having to get glass and wood materials cut by suppliers, and quite a lot of time spent installing the electric lighting, so I decided in the late nineties to concentrate more on the actual carvings themselves and put the “Nature Box” to one side.

 

 

One thing I fell in love with early on was the feeling of a piece of wood in my hand whilst working. That’s the reason that the “Kestrel with Prey” is my only carving using chisels. It was only because of the size of the bird, every other piece is worked in hand.

 

 

The advantage of a painting background is that it’s vital to the authentic look of the finished bird. A great carving painted badly doesn’t portray the desired look, so those days painting really have given me that edge. I started carving full-time in October 2012. My aim is to create a good stock of work to exhibit this year.  I have been slightly sidetracked writing an E-Book “A Bird in the Hand…” and a carving manual called “Secrets of the Bird Carver”, which is a manual for beginner carvers. All details for these can be found on my website.

 

 

As I continue working on new pieces I’m also spending time promoting and marketing my work, and preparing to exhibit around the UK during 2013. I’d rather spend all my time carving, but these days getting your work seen is part of the grand scheme. If no one sees your work you don’t make sales. With all the media sites available nowadays it’s far easier than in the past. It’s all at your fingertips! So I intend to make the most of it.