One of Carl Barks' little known hobbies was
as an amateur carpenter! Especially in his retirement years he
was very fond of working with wood when he was not painting, and
at one point he stated that he would have liked to be a restorer
of antique furniture if all else had failed. In Barks' younger
days he took a broad variety of odd jobs in an attempt to earn a
living, and one of the jobs was as a carpenter's assistant
repairing woodwork on train cars. But, at the time, Barks was not
especially interested in working with wood, nor was he especially
good at it. In a later interview he stated that 'I
was a fizzle as a cowboy, a logger, a printing press feeder, a
steelworker, a carpenter, an animator, a chicken grower, and a
barfly'.
But in his golden years Barks incorporated
woodwork as one of his hobbies, and he had lots of ideas. This
page gives examples of Barks' little known hobby as an amateur
carpenter.
As an amateur carpenter it was only natural that Barks consulted a few books on the subject. The two books seen here were actually owned by Barks and they both show the wear and tear that makes it obvious that they were used regularly. |
At one time Barks had plans for constructing a small gazebo in the back garden. For that purpose he made 12 sketches some of which are shown here. |
When Barks was performing his greatest hobby - artistry painting - he would use two easels. The primary one had a large, white surface, where he could place his canvases or Masonite boards, while the secondary one was mostly used for some of his painting tools or for showing off finished paintings.
... and, of course, the old master would occasionally jot down a few carpentry suggestions to improve on the easels ... |
Already in 1951 Barks proved his craftsmanship;
his second wife, Clara, had her leg amputated at the knee,
and he constructing a wooden leg for her. |
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| http://www.cbarks.dk/THECARPENTER.htm | Date 2008-01-28 |
