Carver of the Month: Doug Linker (A.K.A. @dougoutside)

Who are you?

My name is Doug Linker  I am married to Sophie, the father to 5 kids and a Grandpa twice over.  I am a carpenter by trade and have been working as my church caretaker for the past 20 years. I am an avid outdoors-man who loves hiking, canoeing, fishing, and hunting with a great sense of adventure.

What do you mainly carve?

I mainly like to carve and make things that make people smile. If you have seen my Instagram page, or my YouTube channel you would  know I enjoy carving  folk art creations like moving toys, or caricatures, to Santa’s, to bearded hillbillies, to a pig that sits on your fridge and everything in between, and I always add a touch of whimsy.

Where are you from?

I was born and raised in a small town in southern Ontario, Canada and still live within a few kilometers of where I was born and raised. 

When did you start carving?

I started to dabble in carving about 4 years ago now. In the beginning I would carve off and on, but have done more in the last couple of years.

Why did you start carving?  What was your inspiration?

I started carving after randomly catching a video of Gene Messer on you tube. My first small men were carved with a full sized bush-craft knife.

                                                     

Where do you like to carve?

I like to carve outside when I can but have recently set up a carving room inside for the winter months. I do like the flat plane carving techniques the best albeit I don’t always abide by those rules and mix it up most of the time. You can often find me carving with a hot cup of coffee close by.

Carver of the Month: Dan Riggott (A.K.A. @danhero)

Who you are?

I'm Dan, a dad of two young boys, a photo retoucher for the fashion and beauty industry by day and a novice carver of odd little monsters in the wee small hours...

 What do you mainly carve?

I mainly carve strange monsters and cute characters, with a particular penchant for cyclops. These are created either straight from my imagination or from doodles I've made in my sketchbooks, and I like to carve them very small. I've carved these from various woods such as black walnut and mahogany, but because it's so much fun to work with, I mostly use basswood.

Where you are from?

I grew up in a small, remote seaside village called Marcross in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. I later lived in Cheltenham and then Brighton as an adult, but settled back into a small town on the Gower Peninsula some years back. I love to be near the coast.

                                                                                   When did you start carving?

I started carving in June of 2017, prior to this I'd probably only whittled a twig or two with a penknife as a child. I'd enjoyed drawing from a young age, and later making animations and digital art, but the idea of taking up carving never entered my mind until last year.

Why did you start carving? What was your inspiration?

I was inspired by a carving that my grandfather had made 40 years ago, that I'd loved & played with as a young child. It just occurred to me how nice it was that I still had this treasured heirloom 20 years after his passing. I liked the idea of making something tangible that my kids could play with and enjoy, and perhaps pass on to their kids too. I've always enjoyed drawing strange monsters and odd characters and wondered if I could translate these to wood. 

How do you like to carve?

With so little time, I like to carve small so that I can do it anywhere. I can carry a tiny piece of wood in my pocket and whittle anytime I get the opportunity, be it on a beach or on a train. I just love the simplicity of that. I can then finish/paint the carving at a tiny section of desk space in my office. I have quite a few knives, but I've pretty much narrowed it down to using a very portable modified Swiss Army Knife and a Ben Orford 'Big pick knife' (reshaped handle). But I'm desperate for an Oar Carver V2! I've never really followed any tutorials (apart from how to sharpen) or copied any patterns, so don't really have any particularly special carving techniques, but I do find holding the knife like a pen and using my little finger on the carving as support is a great way of obtaining the fine details in my little characters and of course - keeping the knife razor sharp! I don't think I've ever enjoyed a hobby as I much I do carving. It offers a focused relaxation which can result in something tangible and pleasing to the eye at the end of the process. Being able to share this hobby and interact with like-minded people on Instagram this last year has been fantastic.