At the age of eight, Spencer Tinkham (b. 1992) discovered the exhilaration that few people achieve in a lifetime. A simple pocketknife, given to him by his grandfather, launched both his passion for creating and his future as an artist. Enthralled by the rich biodiversity that inhabited the water’s edge in Norfolk, Virginia, Spencer’s love for nature was also sparked early on. He realized that through sculpture, he could create lasting mementos of fleeting encounters. Spencer sculpted many readily available household materials- mostly soap bars and wood scraps. His tools were limited and primitive- a pocketknife, a hacksaw, and a pencil. Before Spencer graduated high school, he had already twice-won the Danner Frazer Youth Decorative Wildfowl World Championship.

Spencer has no formal art training and is entirely self-taught. He continues to use primitive tools and mixes his oil paints from pigment powders. Most of his sculptures are still made from found materials and are nature based. The artist's inspiration often stems from sightings while searching for his materials.

Most recently, Spencer was inducted into the National Sculpture Society as an Associate Member. “Colaptes auratus auratus” was juried into the prestigious Leigh Yawkey Woodson “Birds in Art 2022” museum exhibition and acquired for the museum collection. He has work in the Dollar Tree, Inc. corporate art collection, and has sent his sculptures to many private art collections worldwide.