Artist creates Conor McGregor out of solid wood

Athletes often inspire. They inspire fans to watch them and sometimes they can inspire artists to create. One artist was inspired by Conor McGregor:

Artist James O’Neil created this statue of McGregor from one solid piece of maple:

The entire piece is 6’8″ tall. McGregor is life size at 5’9″ plus the height of the pedestal he is standing on. It is all one piece of wood, nothing added. It weighs 230 pounds.

James O’Neil is a 57 years old artist and starting carving wood eight years ago when he was cutting up a fallen tree. O’Neil is self taught and has carved many animals, but this was his first attempt a human figure. The artist was always interested in Greek and Roman sculptures and was a big fan of mixed martial arts. When a friend offered him a giant maple tree, he knew it was perfect for this project.

O’Neil first started by cutting the rough shape with a chainsaw, but is not a chainsaw artist. He spent six months creating the sculpture with a mallet and chisel, then need to fill and sand for some of the details. When finished, he coated the sculpture in polyurethane to protect the wood.

Later this month the piece will be shown at the Paradise City Art Festival in Northampton, Mass.