Watch Court of Hippie North Burn LIVE

I am a self-taught Canadian woodburning artist with a specialization in realism. I am always looking forward to the time of day when I can make a cup of coffee and turn my tool on. Woodburning is my creative outlet. It's where I get to pour my entire self into an earthy piece of wood for hours and relax. Most of my original woodburning art includes wildlife and plants whereas my commissioned artwork consists mostly of pet and people portraits. My favourite wood to burn on is cherry wood. I've been sourcing cherry wood slabs locally since I began woodburning and I've taught myself how to take a rough cut of lumber and transform it into an elegant live-edge wood canvas ready for burning. One of my proudest accomplishments is recently publishing a woodburning book for beginners called Woodburning Workshop. My mission is to share the therapeutic benefits of woodburning to inspire others to pick up a woodburning tool and discover the power pyrography has on your mind, body, and soul.

1. How long have you been burning for and how did you discover pyrography/what got you started?

I have been burning since 2016 and I discovered pyrography when I needed a quick and inexpensive way to engrave initials intoa canoe paddle I purchased as a gift for someone. After those initials were engraved my woodburning journey snowballed into burning artwork on a variety of wood surfaces. I was hooked by the entire experience of burning -the campfire smell, the warmth from the tool, the feeling of the hot nib burning through the wood grain, and the slow-paced creative flow.

2. Describe your style in three words 

Earthy, Bold, Intricate

3. What are your favorite tools to use when wood burning (machines, nibs, wood, other odd tools etc...)?

I use my Creative Versa tool by Walnut Hollow with the universal nib for my base layer work in each art piece. This includes mapping out composition, outlines and all depths of shading. I use my SSD10 dual system by Razertip for all my intricate detailed work and burning in textures. My pens of choice for my Razertip system are the Pen 1L, Pen 7L, Pen 99.020 and Pen 99.004.

4. Do you make any other kind of art? What kinds of other mediums do you like to work with?

Currently I only practice woodburning. I would love to pick up a paintbrush again as it was the medium I worked with prior to woodburning. I loved experimenting with acrylics and watercolour paints.

5. What would people be surprised to learn about you?

My educational background is in science. I graduated with a Bio-Medical degree from the University of Guelph. Art came into my life during university as a way to unwind and switch off from my science and math focused studies. My days felt balancedwhen I was able to include creative freedom. However, I never once thought I would pursue a career in art. Looking back, I've learned to let go of where you think you are supposed tobe in life and embrace where life wants to take you.

Win a signed copy of Court’s book (Open Worldwide):