Peninsula Gallery

 Douglas Fisher has been a full-time (self taught) woodturning artist since 1977. Prior to becoming an artist, he was an ironworker and an underground miner. Doug has led a very eclectic and interesting life including delivering sailboats around the Pacific Northwest, the Caribbean and across the Atlantic. Acting is a passion and he usually performs in two or three plays a year.

The greatest influence on his work has come from the Canadian photographer, Freeman Patterson, who taught him to see extraordinary things in the ordinary. Woods of choice are Big Leaf Maple and Yellow Cedar from Vancouver Island. Using hand held gouges, the wood is cut as it spins on a lathe. After the basic form is made a number of techniques are incorporated to achieve the final results. Some of these techniques include carving, dyeing, ebonizing, texturizing, painting, bleaching and applying real gold leaf. The final step is applying a suitable finish onto each piece, allowing it to dry the sanding lightly and applying again. This is done 4 to 10 times depending on the finish he is trying to achieve. Each piece is one of a kind and the only care required is an occasional dusting.

His work has taken many directions over the years, each stage laying the foundation for the path that he is now on. That path, Douglas believes, is to provoke thought in the observer. He has always been drawn to the inherent power exuding from the art of indigenous cultures from around the world. Simple and complex at the same time. Douglas has also incorporated this aspect into the turned part of his work. Simple bowls and platters which upon closer observation are complex.

With the development of exclusive techniques, the meshing of native imagery and a distinctive approach to the use of wood as a contemporary medium, the results, he hopes, are incomparable.