Arts & Crafts
Gervais Tardif - Birds wood carving

SITE # ?
2530 ch du Parc (Mairie), Canton d'Orford, Québec
phone : 450-532-4024
email : mattar@cooptel.qc.ca

Visit the artist's web site

Second child of a family of twelve , Gervais Tardif was born on October 5, 1946 in St-Méthode. From his childhood spent on a farm, he carries a love for nature and quietness. In 1998, he takes an early retirement, leaves Montréal and establishes near a lake in Canton d’Orford. His new spare time and his affinity for arts lead him to explore various artistic avenues including sculpture. He then meets with a bird carver and takes carving courses that will give him the basic knowledge for carving and painting birds. This new activity rapidly becomes a passion still well alive.

His realistic birds are carved from bass wood using power carving tools and cutters. He then completes the work with wood burning pens to enhance the feather effect. Birds are finally painted with acrylic paint.

In order to add some freedom to his art, he now carves look alike birds, creates more feather effect with the wood burning pen but does not paint them to leave a more natural look. His carvings are mounted on natural branches from the nearby forest to present them in a natural like habitat. These pieces could either be hanged on walls or displayed on tables.