Rob Arnberger started carving in 1977 when he served a tour of duty in the Ozark Country of Northern Arkansas as a National Park Ranger. "I fell in love with caricature carving trying to capture a story in a wood figure, using only knives and gauges to free a humorous face and figure out of a block of wood. … Read More
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Hunter
I found an incredible photo of this bird in exactly this pose. Can you imagine the luck of the photographer to capture it at the precise moment the bird came down? Can you imagine the difficulty of trying to capture the photo in wood? The photo gave me a precise opportunity to duplicate the feathers in their exact positions and numbers. The bird has captured a Desert Spiny Lizard trying to blend into the cottonwood bark base…but not well enough as this story is told. [View]
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Wild and Free
These are next to the smallest of the falcons. I wanted to do an open winged active bird to give a sense of motion and action. I wanted the viewer to ask whether the male, which is smaller, is taking off or landing. The larger female is at rest but interested in what is happening. The mesquite base wrapped by an interestingly wrapped vine upon which both sit adds more motion and interest to the setting. This was a hard creation to carve and get right to capture a short moment in time that comes and then is gone. [View]
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Quiet Keeper of the Marsh
This was a project carved with famed wildfowl carver Glenn McMurdo. The Least Bittern is a small, secretive heron, rarely seen as it moves through the pond vegetation. When it senses trouble it freezes in place, often pointing its head upward to blend in with the vegetation. This guy is relaxed but careful as it eyes a possible threat, ready to disappear into the pond cattails, cane and sticks. I wanted the viewer to feel like they were lucky to catch a short glimpse of the Keeper of the Marsh. [View]
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Best of Friends
You kind of get the feeling these two grew old together! If you want, the carving of the old guy can actually be mounted on the back of the horse or standing with one another like in the photo. [View]
