Ernie Barker, artist and author
This series, carved in relief from pine, is kind of a folk-art happening. The images of common birds are enhanced by the grain of the wood and the tool marks from carving. Washes of acrylic paint help define the image and setting. All are framed in simple rustic type framing, wired to hang on your wall. Sizes vary from eight to eighteen inches wide by twelve to twenty long.
Ernie Barker's primary love is working with wood; its texture, color, and grain. He enjoys working the wood in such a way as to allow the natural grain and colors to best define the human form contained within the log or block selected. Each kind of wood has its own particular charm hidden within.
  Trees show principles of growth and strength of joints, with easy passing of one section into the next. They give the idea for the wood sculpture. By understanding and being in sympathy with this material, so as not to force it beyond its natural constructive build; producing weakness; to know that sculpture in wood should look honestly like wood remains Barker's challenge.
To borrow the words of Henry Moore; whose body of work has been a great influence; "Sensitivity to sculpture is the appreciation of masses in their relation to one another. Ability in sculpture is the definition of these masses by means of planes." I hope I have done some justice in this realm of artistic effort.
he female form, its vitality, organic richness of forms and masses, and life-giving potential has been my focus. The three-dimensional form, linking front to back, one influencing the other, creates special challenges not necessarily found in other art forms other then sculpture. The masses of the human figure, supporting weight, and growing richly in organic forms give the impression of having been created by pressures from within.

all images are the copyright of Ernie Barker