A SCULPTOR is carving out a name for himself after producing a series of stunning works across Bolton.

Rick Goodwin, of Bowstone Hill, Horwich only took up sculpting four years ago and when he attempted his first sculpture he was in tears laughing at how bad it was.

But his latest work is no laughing matter — Mr Goodwin has produced a 12-foot sculpture of an otter with its babies at Harwood Golf Course.

He has also previously produced some sculptures of children at Queen’s Park and a life-sized version of The Thinker, a legendary statue created by the French sculptor Auguste Rodin.

A builder by trade, Mr Goodwin first became interested in sculpting back when he was a landscape gardener in his 20s.

It was not until 20 years later that Mr Goodwin, aged 40, decided to make full use of his talents and take up sculpting properly.

He said: “I’ve always had an artistic flair — I just make anything out of wood. I get asked how I do it and I don’t even know the answer myself sometimes.

“I like having the image in my mind and getting it out there. The beauty of a sculpture is the scale of it.

“I get phone calls out of the blue from people asking me to make them something. It’s a really enjoyable hobby and it’s good for making some money.”

It has been some journey for Mr Goodwin since his first effort at creating a sculpture.

He said: “It was absolutely hideous — I had tears in my eyes from laughing at it. When people asked me what I made, I just said ‘sawdust’.

“The second sculpture, an Egyptian cat, was a massive improvement and I’ve just gone from there.”

Mr Goodwin uses a blow torch, chainsaw and sanders to make his sculptures.