Carving out a niche

When Tim Richards retired in 2006, he was looking for a hobby to fill his time. He had been collecting duck decoys since the 1980s, and because they were getting more and more expensive, Richards thought he would try his hand at carving them. It started a whole new career.

“I’m self-taught,” said Richards, 65, who lives part time in Encinitas. He learned his craft online and through books by Bob Berry, an El Cajon resident who is well known for his fish and bird carvings.

Richards started selling some of his work at the Artisan Gallery in Cedar City, Utah, where he and his wife, Denise, have another home. From then on, it didn’t take long for his hobby to snowball into a job far different from the 25 years he spent in sales and management at Frazee Paints.

“I’ve always liked art. I used to do drawings,” Richards said.

In the past 10 years, he has become a well-known carver in his own right. His work has won several awards, including 2014 “Novice Carver of the Year” from the International Wildfowl Carvers Association.

His carvings went in a new direction when he responded to a query from Encinitas arts administrator Jim Gilliam asking local artists for their input on what to do with an 80-year-old Torrey pine at Swami’s State Beach that was killed by bark beetles. His pitch for turning the dead tree into an Easter Island head, known as a moai, was approved by the City Council, and in March 2011 Richards was ready to create his first piece of public art.

But before he could start, he had to stop at Home Depot to buy a chainsaw. That tiki was the first time Richards had ever carved anything that big — and the first time he used a chainsaw to carve anything.

“I always liked big carvings, and I always thought I’d like to do one one day,” said Richards, a Michigan native who moved to the San Diego area in 1976. He also thought Swami’s would be great exposure for his work.

Since then, Richards has carved 86 tikis in private residences and public spaces, mainly in North County. Most are carved in the trunks of trees that needed to be cut down.

It takes Tim Richards 10 to 12 hours to carve an Easter Island head.

(Eduardo Contreras / U-T)

Two and a half years ago, Shawn Rogers had a Mexican fan palm that was growing too close to power lines at his Escondido property. Instead of removing the entire palm, he left the trunk standing and commissioned Richards to carve a tiki that included a pineapple motif.

“It’s the first impression and a good feel for the property,” said Rogers of the statue. “It’s really fun. The neighbors love it.” He has more than 40 palms on his property, so the tiki fits right in. Rogers, who owns Land Doctor Landscaping, now provides Richards with tree trunks for movable tikis whenever he needs to cut down a palm.

But most of Richards’ tiki carvings are in tree trunks that are still in the ground. He works mainly with palms but has also carved from pine and liquidambar trees. The requirement is that the stumps are at least 3 to 4 feet — but no more than 8 feet — tall and 12 inches across. Richards said he has never worked on a live tree because he is afraid that the carving could kill the tree.

The process, which takes about eight to 10 hours for an Easter Island head and 12 hours for a traditional tiki, starts with stripping the bark. Then he measures and marks where he will make the cuts with the chainsaw.

Richards uses the chainsaw for the deepest parts of the sculpture, such as under the eyes and the nose. He then switches to a powered angle grinder to remove the wood around objects that are in relief. Details are done with chisels and gauges.

“The chainsaw is the hardest part. It’s heavy, and you have to twist and turn,” Richards said. “You have you be careful you don’t cut off more than you want. I usually take my time.”

To finish a project, he burns off any fuzzy fibers with a propane torch and paints the recesses black to make the design pop. Finally, everything is sealed with water-based wood sealer.

“He’s an amazing artist,” Jaquelin Pearson said. “He’s very creative.” Richards recently completed a second tiki on Pearson’s Encinitas property. She said she will call him every time a palm tree needs to be cut down.

Richards creates templates for the different elements in a tiki, which he saves so pieces can be easily mixed and matched to customize a project. Richards has also gotten some special requests.

He has carved a crawling lizard into a fan palm in Encinitas and a Chihuahua head onto a tiki top from a pine in Fairbanks Ranch. His latest project is a howling coyote carved out of a dead liquidambar tree in Carlsbad.

Paul Marr wanted to customize his tiki with a nod to the Navy. The former lieutenant requested the Navy’s emblem with an anchor and the words USN for the stump of a king palm in his Carlsbad backyard. Marr needed to cut down the palm to make way for a patio cover.

“It’s a big talking point,” said Marr of the project, which was completed last November.

Richards’ work is also publicly displayed in Del Mar. Another Torrey pine killed by bark beetles was transformed into a narrow bench with a large red-tailed hawk on one side. It was designed by Del Mar resident David Arnold, a retired graphic designer and illustrator, who asked Richards to do the carving.

The bench, which was completed in March 2015 and is known as the Sunset Seat, overlooks the Pacific at the bluffs along South Camino Del Mar, just north of Carmel Valley Road.

“I’ve just kind of stumbled into this,” Richards said of his new business, which keeps on growing. “But it’s been really fun.”

Tim Richards’ Facebook page is facebook.com/timrichardswoodcarving.

Schimitschek is a San Diego freelance writer.