Steve Kestrel

Perhaps a good way to describe Steve Kestrel and his artwork would be “down to earth.” This stone carver and sculptor uses the “direct carving” method as opposed to the stricter academic method known as “pointing up.” Direct carving, in its purest form, is simply choosing a stone, deciding how a mental image will fit the stone and finally carving the stone. He says, “It's important to allow for the wonderful opportunities that present themselves such as dry cracks, texture changes, and other variables during the carving process to change, evolve and solve aesthetic or practical problems.” As Kestrel points out, “the trick is to be sensitive to these possibilities and use them to enhance the final carving.”

The focus of Kestrel's works is animals ranging from birds to bison. In a magazine interview, when asked why he chose animals over humans as subject matter, Kestrel thoughtfully answered that “we humans exhibit little or no respect for the other species we share this planet with. Since the human species sometimes overrates itself, perhaps I simply want to give animals their fair share of air time.”

Kestrel is a member of the National Sculpture Society and Society of Animal Artists and is part of the permanent collections of several museums. His work is exhibited in museums and galleries all over the United States as well as in many publications and periodicals. Kestrel developed his respect for other species at a young age as he grew up raising quarter horses with his family and working cattle on many ranches through college. Today, he and his wife, Cindi, reside on a 43-acre wildlife preserve in Colorado's Redstone Canyon, where they designed their home.

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