"The African Lion" - Santa Barbara Zoo Series

Private Commission

Birch and Zebrawood - 5 layers - 130 Pieces

24” x 24”

The African Lion was a huge challenge to create. Getting a front view of such a detailed mane and face took a lot of careful planning and no short amount of patience. Due to the symmetrical look of the lion and the complex color scheme I really had my work cut out for me on this one.

After hand drawing, cutting, and sanding the pieces for this project I ended up with the raw view of the lion seen to the right. Over 130 individual pieces of 1/4” birch came together over 5 layers to create the 3D frontal view of the lion. The spacing and symmetry of these carefully designed layers added to the overall realistic look of the design.

The final steps in the creation of this lion came by adding color and a beautiful Zebrawood frame. The mane of the lion contains 5 different shades of stain and the face has 6. These 11 colors working together really brought life to the lion and gave it great intensity and vibrancy. The African Zebrawood frame making it’s way from the lion’s country of origin really tied the project together and put the lion in its element!