Wings of Eagles
Fine Art

Phil Merna - Artist

Phil Merna hails from the Big-Sky Country of Montana. He has made his living as a working cowboy as well as a horse packer and back-country guide in the remote wilderness areas of Montana, Wyoming, Arizona, Texas and even the Big Island of Hawaii. The wilderness has been his office; an A-fork saddle for a desk.
He has always had a great love for the quiet isolated places - places few people ever see. It is his love and admiration for the way this world was created
- untouched and unspoiled - that comes through so vividly and makes his work appealing to so many people. Phil is a very versatile artist. He does carving, scrimshaw, sculpture, pen and ink, watercolor, and oils. Oil painting and making and embellishing knives being what he enjoys most.
"We usta make knives for our own use years ago. They weren't much for looks but they worked pretty good for hunting and fishing and such. Till one winter when I had a little spare time. The ranch I was working for had an old coal forge in the shop, so I found a leafspring off an old truck and went to hammerin' on it. Well when the noise died down and the smoke cleared it had turned into a purty-fair looking Bowie knife. Well that did it. I was hooked. That was a lotta years ago now and I've been making them ever since. It gives me real pleasure to see that folks get as much enjoyment out of owning some of my work as I get in doing them."

Through studying the techniques of the Old Masters as well as the American Masters (men like Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran and Charley Russell); by learning from other artists and adding a few new wrinkles of his own he has fine-tuned his techniques to truly bring out the regal grandeur of God's creations. Always full of adventure, he has traveled extensively to find new vistas to hone his skills on. His art has graced the walls of galleries internationally - from Montana to Tahiti. He considers it a form of praise and thanksgiving to portray the glory and majestic beauty God has built into this world for us to enjoy. He hopes that, as people view his work, they will also recognize the great love God has for each and everyone of us, and who it is that is the - real artist!

Here are some examples of Phil's work.    Carvings, scrimshaw and sculptures are available in any size in a variety of materials (exotic woods, antler, stone, ivory, bronze and precious metals).  Most of the carvings represented here are very small - 1" to 1-1/2".  Note the fine detail in such small work.  You will get an idea of what he's capable of in much larger works.
E-mail for a price quote.

Western Trio	American Buffalo
Mustang	Horse
People of the Plains
Brave	Maiden
Long Horn Steer	Women & Rose
Rose	Tahitian Wahini
African Pair	Cape Buffalo
Rhinoceros	Group
Eagle Bowie (sterling silver guard)	Bear Hunter (scrimshaw)
Sara's Knife (Phil's daughter)
Eagle Carving	Moose Horn Carving of Eagle
Bugle at Dawn (moose antler)	Wings of Eagles - pen & ink drawing

Phil also has many paintings available here.

© Wings of Eagles 1998 - 2003