There's this great little shop on Granville Island that has work from a bunch of different artisans that I try to check out every time I'm there, and last weekend I was so glad I did because I came across these:
These carved fish crafted by Ed Brown are so true to life it's almost like he caught them, flash froze them alive and then finished them with some sortof varnish.
But they're actually carved out of wood then painted, and they're ridiculous. The $500 price tag on them is also ridiculous, as I personally view them as being worth about 4 times that. I think of all the man hours that go into making one of these, if the dude takes like 50 hours making one of them (which he probably takes way more than), once he sells it to the store for his wholesale price he's making like $5 an hour, and that's ridiculous.
So go buy one from Circle Craft! My birthday is coming up in August and I love the Rainbow Trout one pictured here. Thanks in advance.
Ed Brown's Bio:
My earliest memories as a child are of fishing and hunting with my grandfather and friends. We would inspect and dissect just about anything we could catch. At the age of fourteen or so, I began carving three dimensional animals. From a young age, I have been influenced by numerous carvers and artisans who worked with various types of woods. Though I did not know then, my grandfather was also a carver. After a stint in the military, I gravitated towards commercial fishing participating over the years in offshore and inshore fishing as well as commercial diving. For much of this time, I maintained a salt water aquarium with frequent additions from local specimens collected by myself and fellow fishermen. Early duck decoys I fashioned for duck hunting forays led to commissioned decorative decoy work.
For more than two decades now I have fished and carved in exotic locales such as Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica and the Queen Charlotte Islands. My carving work during the 70s and 80s focused mainly on jungle creatures, fish and whales. Since then, I have continued carving large scale fish pieces while experimenting with size, style and finish. My carvings are one of a kind signed pieces that reflect my passion for the lines and forms within nature. Pieces range in length from 16" to 39" and are made from local woods.
