ABOUT
David Robinson | BA Hons
Figurative Woodcarver & Furniture Maker
My journey to becoming a professional woodcarver has been long and gradual – but I've had a passion for woodwork and the making of things since childhood.
I originally trained and practised as a landscape architect for many years, specialising in construction – bridges, structures, furniture – and satisfied my 'hands on' urges by designing and converting the bones of an 18th century farmsteading into a home for my growing family. That experience led to design & build projects for others, both close to home and further afield in the Borders, the Highlands and the Hebrides.
I loved building big things (still do), but it was the details that really gripped me. In time I began to make more and more of the fittings and furniture for these projects, and increasingly introduced carved lettering and images. The carving has grown organically over the years to become the focus of many pieces, often allowing me to bring a client's favourite scenes to life and to truly personalise the work.
I carve principally in Scottish hardwoods – finding extra dimensions for expression amongst its dramatic grain feature - and often incorporate my sculptural work into pieces of furniture that I build in my East Lothian workshop. Most of my carving is of wildlife, but I have also created landscapes, flowers and plants, street scenes, even boats and cars.
As well as private commissions, I have exhibited locally, in Edinburgh and at both the Royal Scottish Academy and at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. I have also demonstrated my carving, live, at London Craft Week. For 10 years my son Callum learned his trade working alongside me in my workshop; he now runs Method Studio in Linlithgow and we often collaborate, showcasing my carving on his trunks and feature pieces which have travelled as far as Amsterdam, London and Shanghai.
When I'm not working I like to walk the hills and fish the shores and lochs of the Highlands and Islands. I am inspired by the wild. The still of a pool. The flight of birds. The wildlife around me.
