During our first Oglebay Woodcarvers Show Matt had on display two of his award-winning eagles. One was a stylized eagle and the other was a recreation of a Bellamy eagle. One of the visitors approached him about a commission on creating an eagle that was a combination of the styles to hang above a door in his home. He wanted the eagle to have a wingspan of six feet and appear to be in motion. Matt could not resist and said he would love to give it a shot.
Research Began
He had completed many eagle reliefs, but this would truly be a new challenge for him. He would have to create motion and make it almost 3D, which is called carving in the round. Plus, the size was much larger than what he had completed in the past. As soon as he got home his research began.
Searches on the internet of eagles in nature flying down to grab a fish or landing was the look he was going for. Going to museums and galleries looking at eagle sculptures, finding them in our travels and studying them all lead to him being able to create an eagle that was what the customer wanted.
First Step: Prepare the Wood
The first step was to get slabs and blocks of Basswood cut and dried in our kiln. This process took a couple months, which allowed him to continue to study eagle characteristics. Next, the pieces needed to be glued together to build up the depth needed to get the curves of the wings and head.
Carving Time
Now it was time to start carving. While some steps came naturally there were areas that made him a little perplexed. When this happened, he would go to studying the pictures and other sculptures he could find. Eventually he reached out to one of his mentors, master carver Joe Leonard, who helped guide him through this process.
The claws were carved separate for a couple reasons. They were made from Poplar which is a harder and sturdier option. To be cautious for installation and transportation purposes, the ability to remove them was important.
Painting Process
Finally, the eagle is carved. Now comes the process of painting. This would also be a first for Matt. He had dabbled in small oil based painted carvings, but never something to this scale. So now his research and learning switched from how to carve to how to blend colors to paint a realistic eagle. Again, he started by studying his reference pictures, but found a book specifically on how to paint eagles. It provided the color combination ratios for the different colors. With this reference, his research, and opinions of a couple others (his wife always has one) he went for it. And we agree it was a success.
The Eagle has Landed: Customer Delivery
Last step was to deliver to the customer and install it for him. As we arrived the wife commented that the eagle has landed, so of course I grabbed that for our blog! How fitting of a comment. This project in total was a 13-month endeavor. He has grown so much as an artist during this process.
When Matt first stated that he was going to start wood carving years ago I chuckled and said OK. I never knew he had such a talent, and this piece of art displays his potential.
Current Commissioned Project
He is now working on two large mahogany gargoyles that will sit on top of a pergola for another customer we met at The Wilderness Center Woodcarvers Show in Wilmot, Ohio. They saw his small gargoyle and that lead to this project. They will make their debut next spring so make sure to check back to see them. I have been watching the work in process on those and they are already looking fabulous!
References
For more information on Bellamy Eagles and Joe Leonard
Bellamy Eagles:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Haley_Bellamy
Joe Leonard:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063750122365
Meet the master craftsman quietly carving world-renowned art from his Garrettsville shop
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