Greg Gillespie is a world-class fine art wood artist who has been carving decorative birds and paddles for the past 40 years. During this time, he has won numerous awards at major wildfowl carving shows, including the Ward World Championship in the United States and the Canadian National Championship in Kitchener-Waterloo.

While Greg's specialty is finely detailed and realistically carved and painted songbirds, he has broadened his carving style to include the creation of interpretive sculpture. In 2016, Greg became a “Master Carver” by placing third in the World Interpretive Wildfowl Wood Sculpture division at the Ward Championship with his carving Startled. In 2015, he won Second in Show for the People’s Choice Award at this same event with his first World-level interpretive entry Out for a Paddle.

In 2023, Greg was awarded a Juror’s Choice Award for an interpretive sculpture entry in the Kawartha Art Gallery’s juried exhibition Radical Feathers.

In 2024, he was awarded the Society of Canadian Artists’ Creative Innovation Award for an interpretive sculpture entry in their 56th juried online exhibition.

Greg has a degree in Forestry from the University of Toronto and is retired from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources after a 30-year career.

His love of camping and other recreational pursuits in the natural environment is the inspiration for his art. His work can be found in private collections in North America and Europe.

To see more of Greg's work, visit facebook.com/NorthwindPaddle.