Illustration Thurowback: Woodcarvers!

After I published The Mad Art of Caricature in 2011 I discovered an interesting subset of creators in the world of caricature… woodcarvers.

Woodcarving is a popular art in the U.S., and woodcarvers have their own organizations, conventions, and stores dedicated to the tools and resources for carving. Carving caricatures is also a big thing in that world. There are books on that specific subject, and carvers that are known for their caricature work.

I found out about this aspect of woodcarving when I was contacted by several different woodcarving stores who wanted to buy wholesale copies of the book for sale in their stores. One retailer also hired me to design a few t-shirts to offer their customers. This illustration is one a did a few years ago.

I often had at least one woodcarver as a student in a given workshops. I was even scheduled to be a guest at one of their conventions once but that all fell through for some reason I don’t quite recall. Some of the caricature sculptures I’ve seen are terrific.