The wooden relief sculpture wall art of Philip Roberts looks suspiciously similar to Indian woodblock art. However, the similarity ends there, since the Indian wood blocks are not only smaller, but are used solely for printing on fabric, whereas Robert’s wooden relief sculptures are incredible works of art in themselves.
This artist from New Jersey, USA, always had a natural affinity towards woods of all kinds, since his childhood, borne out of long traditions of woodworking. He also loved technology. So, it wasn’t surprising that he decided to amalgamate the two to create his wood relief sculpture wall art.
For this, Roberts converted a part of his house into a workshop and fitted it with his own laser and other equipment. He felt that outsourcing these may lead to compromises that he wasn’t prepared for. For designing artwork, he hooked a Drawing Tablet into his computer. This enabled him to design in a vector format prior to cutting.
Roberts digitally designs 12 individual layers to create 12 individual ‘programs’ for the laser cutter. The laser cutter then cuts all the individual parts. This done, he gives the finishing touches by sanding, staining, gluing, and coating with a clear coat twice. He then photographs and places his finished product online.
Roberts uses a variety of woods for his artworks, which are a mix of super-thin Mahogany, White Birch, and Red Oak Plywood. His wood art is not easy. It takes him over 100 hours to finish four-feet wide pieces and months for eight-feet wide pieces. Of course, time taken varies from piece to piece depending upon the kind of intricate work involved.
One thing that’s for sure is Roberts designs each piece in limited editions and creates and sells multiple versions of the same design, all made by hand. However, he never repeats a design, but always focuses on creating something new. He considers each piece unique, since “wood has its own wonderful personality.”
His mantra is “Art should bring life to a living space and wood should bring the warmth”. Little wonder his masterful works sell like hotcakes online.
Philip Roberts
All Images Are Used With Permission & Via Philip Roberts Instagram
