In conversations with Doug Eck, philosophy is so much mixed up with narrative, and commentary with chit chat, that you’re tempted to stand ready with a pen a paper to capture his spontaneous bursts of insight. It all comes fast, though, so even jotting may not be an option – two or three words into your note, and he’s on to something else even more vital to your collection of words to live by.
His sculptures have a similar sense of discovery, of pages turning, of understandings and ideas coming one after another. Fortunately, the timeless bronze art form allows ample time for reflection and careful scrutiny, for recognizing what might be there that wasn’t instantly apparent.

And yet the temptation to skip from one of his works to the next and the next is almost irresistible when you’ve got a number of his bronzes all in one place – each piece is dramatic and the works as a whole so dynamic that, like a good book, each draws you further along, and you can’t wait to see it all.

Doug’s own life story sweeps along like that, too. In fact, he’ll give a rapid-fire overview that includes many diverse jobs and situations – working a trapping line, framing houses, breaking horses, finishing concrete, working heavy construction on bridges and skyscrapers, successful stints in travel writing and radio, even sales jobs and management of sporting goods stores.

Yet the real constant in his life has always been his passion for wildlife and the outdoors. Even while carrying off his (often quite literally) heavy work load, Doug also learned and