I'll be sharing a stall with my wife, writer Catherine Czerkawska, at an arts and crafts fair in the McCosh Hall, Kirkmichael, Ayrshire, on Saturday 30th November. Why not come along and browse for some unusual Christmas gifts? The image below is Roarin' Fu' and Unco' Happy - Tam o' Shanter and his buddy Souter Johnnie. Coasters and prints are available.

We're delighted to announce that we'll be selling ceramic coasters from Alan's original art in our Etsy Store, the 200 Year Old House, but also from our studio and at a few other venues to be announced. 

I've been working hard on my Last Supper, and this beautiful big 'Ottoman versus Hapsburgs' chess set. Both of them are looking for a new home, along with some of my older woodcarvings, such as my beautiful hand carved Celtic guitar. I've also restored the extraordinary antique statue of a Thai dancer, below, that was badly damaged. I had to replace an arm, carve him some new fingers and sort out all the points on his costume. You'll find all of them in my Etsy Store but don't hesitate to contact me via this site as well. Throughout the coming winter, I'll be working on some new paintings, and restoring a Swedish sailing ship model. At present the ship looks as though she's been through a terrible storm!   

This extraordinary (and huge) artwork was painted a few years ago and has been sitting in the studio ever since. Now, we are desperately seeking a home for it. We just don't have room for it any more and Alan is threatening to chop it up and put it on a bonfire. (Really!) If any church or religious foundation or organisation would like it, please do contact us. As long as you can pick it up from the studio here in the West of Scotland - you would need a van or a biggish car and some help to lift it because it's heavy - you can take it. It is painted in acrylics, it is titled 'The Execution' and the frame is hand made from driftwood. We can't parcel it up and we can't send it. But if you want it, the price will be incredibly, unbelievably low. We just want to find a suitable place for it. The chair in the first picture will give you some idea of the size. 

Just before Christmas, having finished my Last Supper carving, I found myself working on a design for a chess set. With my customised sloping bench, and the ability to sit down to carve small things, I realised that I could go back to my first love - woodcarving. I'm not a great chess player, but I've always been intrigued by the game, and my late father-in-law was a fine player. The ideas are coming thick and fast now, but this first project will be an entirely hand carved set involving the Ottoman, versus the Austro Hungarian army. Some pieces - like the knight - will take longer than others. And since this isn't a regular size, I'll make the board to go with it. If you're interested in this extraordinary, one off chess set, that will be completed later this year, don't hesitate to contact me.

Early on in the Covid 19 lockdown, we decided to seize the opportunity of clearing out our garden sheds and - more importantly - Alan's woodcarving workshop at the bottom of the garden. Because Alan suffers with severe and debilitating forms of arthritis, he had spent some years painting, and had hardly used the workshop at all, except as a place to store tools, and occasionally to cut up a piece of wood for framing. The result was that it had become extremely cluttered. We took our time, and I (Catherine, his wife) did most of the heavy lifting and all of the trundling up and down the garden. Good exercise for me. I don't think we had realised just how miserably neglected the place had become. 

Buried under a large pile of miscellaneous stuff, we found a huge and beautiful block of lime wood. Many years ago, Alan had been asked by an American customer to carve him a depiction of the Last Supper, and Alan had drawn out the design and started to carve it, before the customer decided that he didn't want it after all. So he had shelved it and got on with other things. Back then, he was making sculptural rocking horses, and doing all kinds of huge outdoor carvings so he wasn't short of work. 

Cue forward all these years - it was early summer, and we gazed at the solid piece of wood - some 30 by 15 inches by 4 inches deep. 'Why don't you finish it?' I asked. So he did. 

It has taken him many months but yesterday, he completed it. It was very difficult, because the arthritis affects his hands too, so he could only work for a limited time each day. The other problem is that he can't stand for more than a few moments at a time, so he had to find a way of working that meant he could sit down to do it. Fortunately, our clear-out had also uncovered a useful folding workbench, with a tilting facility, that was exactly the right size for the carving, and that could be set at the right angle. This meant that he could sit in his comfortable lightweight folding wheelchair, and work away, getting a little fresh air as he did so. 

The year and the carving moved on. It took a whole lot longer than he thought it would. This is a highly detailed relief carving. 

Autumn came and with it the usual, west of Scotland wet, chilly weather. I suggested that he move indoors, so he commandeered the conservatory, where he could work in warmth and light. And now, in early November, he has just sealed and finished it with some layers of good shellac. 

It is a thing of great beauty. The disciples look as though they are having quite a good time! People keep asking us what we are going to do with it next. Of course, we are hoping to sell it - we need the money - but the price will have to be right. No crafter is ever fully reimbursed for the hours spent on a piece of work, but I'd rather keep this than let it go without Alan being suitably rewarded, especially given his health challenges. And if I'm honest, perhaps because of the subject matter, I for one would rather it went to somewhere like a church, or a museum or a collection where it could be appreciated by lots of people for the minor miracle of craftsmanship that it so obviously is. A friend suggested that it would be good to find an Italian home for it, and I can see what she means. They love and appreciate woodcarving in Italy as perhaps it's never quite valued here.

Meanwhile, we're enjoying it. But all suggestions for its future home, as well as for a woodcarving aficionado with reasonably deep pockets  gratefully received!

During lockdown, we took the opportunity to clear out my old workshop that had become very cluttered with old projects and other things - mainly because health problems had dictated that I work indoors for a large part of the year. Among large amounts of rubbish - all kinds of things kept because they might come in useful one day - I discovered the above carving - or at least the large piece of lime that I had blocked out and sketched out, with the intention of carving a large Last Supper. 

It was started many years ago, because a client from the US had expressed an interest in such a carving. A little while later, he decided that he didn't want it (it hadn't been a firm commission) so I shelved it and got on with other things. There it was, drawn out and blocked out and just asking to be worked on. 

I've been working on it, slowly but surely, for some weeks now, right through my 'shielding' time. But there is quite a lot more work to be done on it. I had to rig up a sloping carving station so that I can work on it from my wheelchair, and I'm really hoping to get it to a stage where I can work on it indoors before winter returns, when it will be too cold for me to work at the bottom of the garden. 

It's quite a long time since I did any carving at all, even though that used to be my main occupation. I can't begin to tell you how much I'm enjoying working on this! 

I'd like to find a good home for it when it's finished - perhaps a church or religious foundation. I'll send it anywhere in the world. Don't hesitate to enquire about measurements, price etc. 

As 2020 gets under way, here in Scotland, we're making a determined effort to consolidate and simplify our online presence, all with the aim of getting more and better information to potential customers, as well as those who are just interested in finding out more about what we do. 

​This means that most of Alan's work will be for sale on two sites: the 200 Year Old House on Etsy and on eBay as well. If you're interested in buying, click on these links to go direct to those stores.

This also means that we'll be seeking to refresh the images on this website more often, including new work whenever possible - but also that this page has become a 'news' rather than a blog page. Most of our blogging about Alan's work, about Scotland and other interesting topics, will be concentrated on our 200 Year Old House blog. If you click on the link it should take you to our sister site where you can read more about where we live and what we do, including Alan's unique painting style. 

Happy New Year to all our customers, past, present and to come. Don't hesitate to contact us through the contact page on this site, through our sales channels, or through the 200 Year Old House blog if you prefer. 

Alan's beautifully hand painted folk