I am a proud member of the Wood Carvers of Etsy, please visit the many great carvers here: https://www.etsy.com/pages/the-wood-carvers-of-etsy

I started carving over forty years ago. The first carving I ever did was a shallow relief carving of a boquet of flowers. I carved them on the headboard and footboard of a queen size bed I made for my wife and I. The plan for the bed was in Wood magazine and they had a series of articles and carvings by Harold Enlow a fantastic caricature carver. I made one of the carvings and was completely hooked.
Since then my carving journey has taken me in several directions. I have carved realistic human, caricatures, Santas, stylized and realistic animals.
Animals are my favorite subject, with bears at the top of the list. I try to depict them as realistic as possible with some in a natural setting. Each animal carving is unique, although they may be similar in some aspects, each is different either in pose, size or color. All my animal carvings are done using power carvers and have glass eyes inserted to add to the realism. The carvings are airbrush painted to get the desired color. I have recently started carving realistic fish to add another subject to my carving repertoire.
I strive to bring as much realism and life into the carving of animals and fish as possible. Research and the development of patterns is critical to this. Many hours are spent researching pictures and facts to make the carving as realistic as possible.
Santa Claus is another favorite subject. All the Santa carvings, other Christmas carvings and caricatures are carved using traditional carving tools and are hand painted.
I have been asked many times how I came by the name Old Bear Woodcarving. Some may think it's because bears are one of my favortie subjects to carve, but that is not the case. My wonderful wife gets the credit for it. One day she had a honey do list that was unbelievably long. As I was attempting to complete it I was also complaining about the fact I had a carving in the works and would never get to it. After listening to me whine long enough she finally said "well then just go carve you old bear". So that is officially how the name Old Bear Woodcarving came about.
I am the president of our local woodcarving club, The Waupaca Area Wood Carvers and am also a member of the Wisconsin River Woodcarvers club. I compete at carving shows each year at the open level. I also teach a woodcarving class at our local senior center. Woodcarving occupies a lot of my time as you can see.
I hope you enjoy your time here and come back often as new carvings are added frequently. If you would like to contact me with any questions you can call me at 715-281-4923.

To go to my shop please click here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/OldBearWoodcarving