Paint Carvings

My paint carvings are designs carved into as many as 100 layers of paint on birch wood, with my own creative elements added along the way. The first four pieces below are new, created for an upcoming exhibit with Silicon Valley Open Studios. The show takes place during the first three weekends in May 2025. I exhibited the other carvings in several shows in 2022-2024.

I had the idea of using many layers of paint to create a surface hard and thick enough to carve. The color of each layer is arbitrary—dark, light, fluorescent, vibrant, you name it. As a result, I can play with all kinds of colors and designs, and I never know what color variations I’ll find until I start carving. When you look closely at each piece you’ll see the extraordinary colors coming through. And the texture of the carved grooves is just amazing to touch.

I use the acrylic shavings from these pieces to create large new carvings and unique, one-of-a-kind cards—placing the tiny shavings into designs, then sealing them with resin. (Check out the cards on the “Paint Carvings—Cards” page.)