Carl McKenzie (folk artist)

Carl McKenzie was born on June 4, 1905 near Pine Ridge in Wolfe County Kentucky. He is a well known wood carver. Carving was McKenzie's full time occupation. At the age of ten he learned to whittle from his grandfather. He brought his early work to the Daniel Boone Trading Post, a tourist stop near Natural Bridge State Park, and soon it was selling so well that he could not keep up with demand. Carl carved whatever his fancy dictated, from the Statue of Liberty, waitresses, barnyard animals, biblical scenes and families of devils. He preferred white pine or birch for carving and favored color. He made his own brushes from split twigs and then covered his carvings with thick layers of bright paint applied in polka dots or splotches of red, green, yellow and black. Carl was a prolific carver and his work is much sought after. After suffering a stroke in 1992 he spent his last years in a nursing home before passing in 1998.