Chainsaw Ray Murphy

One of the best things about being a photographer is you have an excuse to talk to anyone. You see someone or something that piques your interest, you piece together a skeleton of a plan, and you talk your way through the door.

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Last week we were visiting my family in Maine and on the way to the back from Schoodic Point (post coming soon!) we happened upon a glorious sight–a 15’ tall wooden lobster presiding over the entrance to the ‘Chainsaw Sawyer Artist Live Show’ on Route 1 in Hancock. (that’s downeast, ayuh!) )

‘Well,’ I thought, rubbernecking, ‘That’s someplace I need to be.’

My wife did a quick google search from the passenger seat and soon enough I was on the phone with 77 years young Ray Murphy. Ray is an elder of the chainsaw arts, having founded the discipline in 1952. A former lumberjack and saw mill worker, (the latter claiming two fingers on his right hand) Ray has been creating sculptures from blocks of wood for almost 7 decades. A sawyer is different than a carver, he explains. He uses only a chainsaw from start to finish, including the detail work, never resorting to a knife or sandpaper. He takes pride in the purity of his art and has been featured several times in the Ripley’s Believe it or Not franchise for, among other things, carving the alphabet on a pencil. He’s even the subject of a question in the Ripley’s trivia game. (Hint: the answer is “c: chainsaw”.)

We met on a Thursday afternoon and after a long meandering conversation that guided us from ranching lands in Wyoming to the coast of Maine, with stops in Alaska, Wisconsin, South Africa and Central America, we eventually got to work. Well, he got to work. I just got to making pictures. Today’s subject, which materialized quickly from a block of white pine, was a squirrel. (Which is surprisingly his biggest seller.)

Ray has lost a step or two since a 2016 heart attack finally broke his body. He decided to close the live show in 2019 but is still at it, usually six days a week. His mind is sharp and he still has a fierceness in his eyes that make you take notice. It doesn’t suggest a mean streak, but rather a ferocity with which he attacks life and art.

With Ray, what you see is what you get. Here’s what I saw, pun intended.

Portrait of Ray Murphy , "The Chainsaw Sawyer Artist" and "The Founder of Chainsaw Art" at his shop in Hancock, Maine. Image © Matthew Rakola

Portrait of Ray Murphy , "The Chainsaw Sawyer Artist" and "The Founder of Chainsaw Art" at his shop in Hancock, Maine. Image © Matthew Rakola

Portrait of Ray Murphy , "The Chainsaw Sawyer Artist" and "The Founder of Chainsaw Art" at his shop in Hancock, Maine. Image © Matthew Rakola

Portrait of Ray Murphy , "The Chainsaw Sawyer Artist" and "The Founder of Chainsaw Art" at his shop in Hancock, Maine. Image © Matthew Rakola

Portrait of Ray Murphy , "The Chainsaw Sawyer Artist" and "The Founder of Chainsaw Art" at his shop in Hancock, Maine. Image © Matthew Rakola

Portrait of Ray Murphy , "The Chainsaw Sawyer Artist" and "The Founder of Chainsaw Art" at his shop in Hancock, Maine. Image © Matthew Rakola

Portrait of Ray Murphy , "The Chainsaw Sawyer Artist" and "The Founder of Chainsaw Art" at his shop in Hancock, Maine. Image © Matthew Rakola

Portrait of Ray Murphy , "The Chainsaw Sawyer Artist" and "The Founder of Chainsaw Art" at his shop in Hancock, Maine. Image © Matthew Rakola

Portrait of Ray Murphy , "The Chainsaw Sawyer Artist" and "The Founder of Chainsaw Art" at his shop in Hancock, Maine. Image © Matthew Rakola

Portrait of Ray Murphy , "The Chainsaw Sawyer Artist" and "The Founder of Chainsaw Art" at his shop in Hancock, Maine. Image © Matthew Rakola

Portrait of Ray Murphy , "The Chainsaw Sawyer Artist" and "The Founder of Chainsaw Art" at his shop in Hancock, Maine. Image © Matthew Rakola

More about Ray

The Economist, 2010 (paywall)

Roadside America

Ellsworth American, 2019

CBS News 2011 (video)