A lifelong bird and nature lover, Spencer Tinkham creates meticulously detailed and expressive wildlife sculptures with contemporary colors, forms and textures.
As others have said: There is nothing “wooden” about the Virginia sculptor’s work.
Artist: A Virginia native, Tinkham grew up in Norfolk and graduated with a BS in economics from Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
Though he has been a full-time artist since January 2016, Tinkham has no formal art training.
Company/studio: Spencer Tinkham is based in Norfolk, where the self-taught wood carver has a short commute from his house to his backyard studio.
In the beginning: At age eight, his grandfather gave the nature-loving kid a simple pocketknife. Tinkham, who loved watching the ducks fly by in his childhood neighborhood, began trying to sculpt the waterfowl, using household materials, like soap bars and wood scraps.
Before he graduated high school, Tinkham had twice-won the Danner Frazer Youth Decorative Wildfowl World Championship.
Art & materials: Nature-based sculptures made of wood and painted in oils that he mixes. Works often include reclaimed wood, metal, glass eyes and shell.
What’s popular: Contemporary wildlife sculptures ($650 and up).
Other favorites: Macro sculptures for the wall ($4,000 and up), which balance science with art and abstraction with realism, said Tinkham.
Favorite tools: A box cutter. Primarily uses hand tools, such as rasps, chisels and gouges, frequently found in a home toolbox or junk drawer.
“If a sculpture requires a uniquely shaped tool, I will create it out of wood and/or metal,” said Tinkham.
Inspirations: Nature, primarily. But specifically:
- Days spent paddling in a canoe, fishing, birdwatching, or searching for materials.
- “They are near and dear to my heart,” said Tinkham. “I am mesmerized by their sounds, migrations, anatomies and colors.”
Fun or unusual commissions:
- Large bird sculptures made from reclaimed broken skateboards for the Virginia-based Dollar Tree corporate art collection.
- A series of cats and dogs made from tree branches, which came down in a hurricane. The commission was for a prominent Pennsylvania folk/outsider art collector.
Recent awards/honors:
- Finalist in the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation’s Wildlife Artist of the Year 2023.
- Included in the Boston-based Barr Foundation art collection.
- Included in the collection of the Elizabeth River Project, a non-profit working to restore the health of Virginia river.
- Included in the collection at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, WI. The museum is known for its internationally renowned “Birds in Art” exhibition each fall.
Recent exhibit: A solo exhibit, “Spencer Tinkham: Let There Be Flight,” at the Rockport (Texas) Center for the Arts.
There were nine sculptures (four macro sculptures and five free-standing) in the exhibit. One of Tinkham’s favorite sculptures was “Hit the Deck,” a Green heron and a baby alligator.
He used 23 broken skateboards to create the mangrove and water component. The heron is hollowed, and there is a secret message written on the inside.
Recent project: A macro sculpture of Sturnus vulgaris (European starling). The sculpture, made of basswood, holly and oils, is 20 inches by 24 inches by 4 inches.
Tinkham created the sculpture for his next solo exhibition, opening in February. The reference for his sculpture came from a specimen in the American Museum of Natural History collection, the only known female in a museum collection from the original flock that was released in Central Park in 1890.
Note: Starlings are considered an invasive species.
Next: “Spencer Tinkham: Witness,” a solo exhibition at Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, VA. Feb. 8-June 9.
Social:
- Instagram:@spencer.tinkham.art
- Facebook: SpencerTinkhamArt
