The living tree carvings

This is a series of animal carvings I have been commissioned to work on over the last few months during the lovely long hot summer of 2022. The images are carved directly into the bark of living trees, extending either side of a private drive.

This has been an unusual project requiring the carving of living trees.

In some of the carvings I have used the living bark as a feature, taking special care not to completely isolate the bark from the living cambium.

So far, 9 carvings have been completed with a further 7 remaining. It's quite a task!

Before work started, it was decided to take advantage of the sunlight. Each animal has a shaft of sunlight to highlight the sculpture for most of the day, which is almost like an individual spotlight.

The tree features have to be considered before work starts and in many cases voids, burrs and tree knots have to be incorporated into the design features.

The tree species I have been working on are horse chestnut, beech and red oak.

Exposing the living tree after bark removal will encourage oxidisation of the new green wood. Red oaks will soon darken as the evidence of tanin is exposed. In the case of the badger, a dark stripe has appeared from the nose to the ears. This is normally not acheievable unless hand coloured.

As time goes by and the air dries the carvings, natureal cracks will appear, and nature will add a further patina over time.