jeff birchill
Mediums Used
In May, 2013 Jeff was accepted as a Signature (artist) member of the prestigious international Society of Animal Artist, a small group of artist who have reached the standard of excellence in the medium they choose to create their art. Jeff`s love of the natural kingdom becomes apparent when you spend a moment with his sculpture. You will find him, when not carving stone, walking through the forest with the wild creatures he calls his friends. He has a deep sense of humanity as part of the greater kingdom of living creatures.
Being surrounded by the beauty of Flora and Fauna is what inspires him to spend hours letting others know there is a world of natural beauty beyond asphalt, malls and computers. Jeff also had the privilege of living in an Indian village for several months. There, the spirit world and the world of living creatures live as one. It`s part of what gives Jeff such a unique connection and insight into the natural world.
To this artist, stone carving is a slow, spiritual process. He still prefers to use a hammer and tempered chisels using the direct carving method like the carvers of centuries ago, rather than power tools. An intimate bond develops between the carver and the stone. As the stone speaks to the carver, hours turn into weeks and then into months. Jeff does not allow the first stone chip to fly off a piece of stone until he sees the image within. That is the work. According to him, the rest is merely the creative process of removing chips of stone until the image within emerges and seems to come to life. After hundreds of hours chipping away on a single stone, he stands even longer smoothing away those chisel marks and, longer still, sanding the artwork to a flawlessly smooth glow. When he is not carving the natural world he loves, he can be found carving commissioned pieces. Jeff`s work is prominent in many private international art collections.
While a member of he fine art painting community during the 1960`s, a mentor told Jeff Birchill, “A white canvas is beautiful and if you cannot not improve it, do not touch it.” The same guiding principle has been his guide and hallmark for his stone carvings. With his direct method of removing stone, when finished carving should still look like stone, be able to roll down a hill without breaking, and be so visually sensuous with flowing lines that observers have to reach out and touch it. A finish carving is when a block of stone seems to come to life.
For those not involved in the creation of sculpture regardless of the media, the following is a quote which might help those outside the sculpture field understand the mind of an artist. “There are people who are just plain supposed to be writing – or painting or sculpting or dancing or… This isn`t optional, and often isn`t even fun – it`s as important as breathing.” – Darylynn Starr Rank
Sculptures by jeff birchill
Credentials
Exhibitions
yes
Awards
Between Jeff`s fine art years, for almost four decades he produced creative marketing and advertising art, winning several international award for excellence in design.
May, 2013 accepted as a Signature (artist) Member of the Society of Animal Artist. Signature Artist, American Society of Marine Atrist (Summer, 2015), Elected Sculptor Member of The National Sculpture Society, (Fall, 2015).
Publications
Jeff`s stone carvings and mural size wild life paintings have been noted in several newspapers including the Augusta Chronicle, August 12, 2002, Metro Spirit, May 2009 and the Verge, October 2009. His stone carvings were also mentioned in Southern Living, December 2003.,Jeff`s stone carvings and mural size wild life paintings have been noted in several newspapers including the Augusta Chronicle, August 12, 2002, Metro Spirit, May 2009 and the Verge, October 2009. His stone carvings were also mentioned in Southern Living, December 2003.
While competing in juried fine art painting exhibitions during the late 1960`s, Jeff took a stone carving class, and since then the paint brushes seldom come out of a box. There was an immediate love for revealing stone that no one else had ever seen as each piece of stone flew off the block. Then when others just had to touch the stone, there was no turning back, almost. For daily income, he became a commercial artist, and that was the hat he wore for the next 30 plus years, winning several International Awards of Excellence for Design and Production. This attention to detail is the same way he carves and finishes his stone carvings. About 12 years ago he pulled his stone tools out of a box and have been used almost daily from that re-introduction to the art world he loves
Contemporary stone carvers of note during the last 100 years that have influenced Jeff Birchill are Henry Moore, Cleo Hartwig, Vincent Glinsky and William Zorak. However, great visual art regardless of the medium will have an effect on other artist, and spending time in the Brookgreen Sculpture Gardens, acknowledged as one of the world`s largest collections of contemporary classical sculpture, started by Anna and Archer Hyatt Huntington should have an strong influence on any sculptor. If by the time of his last breath if Jeff can combine the sensitivity of the bronze figure work of Gwen Marcus with the stone carving quality and approach of Vincent Glinsky, then he will have reached an artistic plateau that is his goal.
In today`s social media, viewing the works of stone carvers around the world on a daily basis is constantly providing inspiration and encouragement for all of those involved with the arts. A statement by Andy Warhol, seem to sum up the driving mandate of artist, "Don`t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it`s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art."
The real awards to this stone carver is to watch young children run up to one of his stone animal friends and watch then hug the stone and kiss the animal on its cheek. Or, cancer patients when they come into the gallery just to caress and touch the smoothness of his stone work, and reply, "it`s my weekly touch therapy." Often in galleries there is a no touching policy, so when Jeff sees adults reaching out to touch to touch his work and then quickly pulling back, he softly tells these adults "They are trained not to bite, and love to be petted." The award comes when smiles go from ear to ear when those hands finally touch this once block of stone which has been carved to almost become alive.
