Thomas Tittl has dedicated his life to honoring the beauty of nature. A lifelong sportsman, he is committed to protecting the great outdoors, and does so by bringing nature's creatures to life in his artwork. For over twenty years, he has spent countless hours honoring Mother Nature with intricate and uncannily life-like depictions of the natural world. His dedication is so great, that if not for his wife Julie, his passion for natural beauty would have surely propelled him into a solitary life communing with the wilderness, Like Henri David Thoreau.

    Tittl began studying painting seriously in the 1980's. He experienced his epiphany in 1984 at an art exhibit at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Museum in Wausau. The exhibit, entitled "Birds in Art", was unlike any he'd seen before. The woodcarvings were so precisely and carefully executed that on first glance, he was convinced that the birds were alive, resting in mid-flight at the exhibit. He left the museum believing that he had discovered his true calling and resolved to become a Master Wood Sculptor. With no art degree and no formal training, armed with only his passion for nature, his artist's eye and his resolve, he began carving with an exacto knife and block of wood. The rest as they say is history. After years of hard work and struggle, his "hobby" has become his career- since 1988, Tittl has been a full-time artist.

    Each piece is a one-of-a-kind work of art. There are no conveyor belts, casting moulds, or shrink wrap in his studio. Every piece is hand carved or painted, like no other he has ever created and produced specifically for each individual client. In fact, he spends almost as much time and energy on the planning of the art work as he does in it's execution. Before beginning a piece, Tittl learns as much as he can about the client's interests and motiviation for commissioning a piece of art. Then, with a sense of the client firmly in his mind, he spends hours researching and sketching his subject. In order to create these unbelievably authentic works, he must refine his sketches to include even the smallest nuances of anatomy and details of posture. Finally the work begins.

    On the painstaking task of woodcarving, Tom says, "I must have disipline. I must always pay attention to detail...you see, once the wood has been carved away, it can never be put back. In the art of woodcarving, you only get one chance."  Not surprisingly, after extensive planning and carving, the final product is breathtaking. In fact, the child of one client was so sure that a carving was really a bird about to take flight, that she was afraid to touch it!! For Tittl, this is his greatest compliment. "The time and effort invested in each piece is well worth it. When I see that my client is happy and satisfied, I know that I have done Mother Nature justice."