Boat modellers typically create scaled-down replicas. Mark Wilkinson of Vancouver, Canada, takes a different and more imaginative route. He accentuates certain lines and shapes whilst preserving the likeness of a tugboat or trawler. The result: models that are blithesome and even frisky. Looking at them is a joy to experience.

The pieces are unique for another reason. They are made from materials resurrected from the scrapheap. Red cedar fence posts become a boat’s hull. Bicycle tires and fan belts metamorphose into boat fenders. This scavenger-artist has also used umbrella parts, plumbing pipes and even rusty nails. The only limit is his imagination.

With band saw and sander as his main tools, Mr Wilkinson has perfected his technique of achieving a well-worn and been-to-sea look. ‘The work to me represents,’ he says, ‘a step back in time to an earlier age when boats had more character.’ It’s painstaking labour even for someone like Mr Wilkinson who has had some formal training in classical animation and life drawing. A single piece can take hours or months to complete. ‘I do work from drawings at times.’ he confides, ‘but only on custom commission work.’

Mark Wilkinson

Much of the inpiration for Mr Wilkinson’s art comes from his surroundings in Vancouver, where he grew up and fell in love with the boats that populated the harbour. His models reflect a strong connection with the environment. Playful and lighthearted, they enthrall and transport us back to our own carefree childhood. Therein lie their ultimate charm and magic.

See more of Mark Wilkinson’s creations in his website, Plunger Cove Studio.

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