#765 "Wooded Water"

 

"Wooded Water"
21"H 18"W 13"D
Ed. size 25
4,200 

At daybreak, a female mallard banks sharply, lowers her feet, tilts her body to brake and zeros in for splashdown in the flooded timber.   There, she dabbles for food with a small flock in the shallows and loudly quacks her resentment at any intrusion.  The female is the mouthy one; the male drake makes a soft, raspy sound and lets the hen do all the quacking. 

Many mallards winter in the lower Mississippi valley and when spring arrives, they wing their way north to prairie potholes and small inland lakes to nest and breed. Typically, when they arrive the ground and ponds are still frozen and they feed on grain leftover in the fields until the thaw; often with Canada geese.  The large duck is truly universal and can be found in all of the northern hemisphere as well as Africa, Asia, and Europe. 

   Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish

#753 "Secretary Bird" con't . . .

Head study drawing of Secretary Bird from my sketchbook.

Tanzania, 2013

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish

#752 "Secretary Bird"

      During the Covid-19 virus shut down I find myself studio bound and 

      incarcerated like never before. I'm taking advantage of this time 

        by revisiting startups and works that were set aside for one reason or 

         another in years past and among the many is a head study of one of the 

                 most interesting birds I have ever encountered afield: 

                  The Secretary Bird.

"Secretary Bird"

10"H 10"W 6"D
 Edition Size 50

This head study is a nightmare for a mold maker and foundry to cast.  

                                                   We spent many hours consulting the foundry and relying 

                                                             on their assistance in the production process. 

This study is the result of an unforgettable trip to Tanzania several years ago with a group of artist friends:  Jan Martin McGuire, James Gary Hines,  John Agnew, Julie Askew, Robert Caldwell, Paul Dixon, Tony Pridham, and Dale Weiler. Trish and I were given our own guide and Land Rover,  spent time consuming hours at water holes in search of closeups and details of various species and returned home with over 15,000 digital images.  The Secretary Bird is famous for its long black head plumes, is a raptor closely related to the osprey and can be found stomping snakes in sub-Saharan African grasslands.  Please type in Secretary Bird in the white blog search box for more info on this subject.   

                      Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish

#743 "Bobwhite Quail Bookends"

"Bobwhite Quail Bookends"
8"H 15:W 6"D
Ed. 50
2,400


Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish

#739 "Branching Out", "Simple Pleasure"

"Branching Out"

5"H 10"W 6"D

Edition 100

1200

"Simple Pleasure"

9"H 12"W 7"D

Edition 100

1,200

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish

#738 "Spring Pride", "Carolina Wren"

"Spring Pride

6"H 11"W 8"D

Edition 100

1,200

 "Carolina Wren"

4"H 6"W 4"D

Edition 100

550

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish

#728 "Anasazi Muse"

"Anasazi Muse"

21"H 12"W 8"D
Edition 25
4,200

     The macaw was sacred to the Anasazi Indians.  According to legend, they 
believed the macaw took the sun south to its winter home and returned 
it in the spring. Trading with Mexican tribes supplied macaws to the Anasazi; 
their brilliant feathers provided were sacred objects.  Today, the pueblo people, 
descendants of the Anasazi use the birds in their rituals.

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish

#719 "Messenger of the Northwest"

Raven - "Messenger of the Northwest"

24"H 19"W 10"D

Edition 25

6,600

The Raven is considered to be the messenger between the living and the spirit 

world by many Pacific Northwest Indian tribes.  The Haida believed that Raven, 

creator of the world, brought forth light, life and order and that nothing could 

exist without Raven.  The sacred bird is honored in art and on totem poles 

reflecting the tales and mysticism that have developed around it.  

Some tribes believe that Raven teaches you to understand 

the language of animals and if Raven comes into your life, 

expect magic.  With Raven, human and animal spirits 

intermingle and become as one.  

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish

#718 "Rock of Liberty"

"Rock of Liberty"
33"H 32"W 27"D
Edition 25
18,000

Sandy's majestic eagle sculptures have been placed nationwide in important locations 

such as the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, WY, Hillsdale College in 

Michigan, Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina, The Presidio in San Francisco, The Patriot Folds of Honor Golf Course in Tulsa, OK, and numerous veterans memorials across the Country.  Her eagle monuments can also be 

seen in various colleges, universities, roundabouts, civic and private installations.

Her new bronze sculpture, "Rock of Liberty" was designed as an indoor or outdoor placement.  Sandy comments:  "While creating this work, I attempted to combine uncomplicated shapes and a strong silhouette in an effort to communicate power and victory.  The massive rock that merges with the mass of the bird suggests the solidarity 

and resolve of America.  The iconic eagle is a symbol of our great nation and the 

beautiful bird continues to inspire my sculpture and is a reminder of my love of country."

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish

#715 "Anasazi Splendor"

Anasazi Splendor

25"H 12"D 10"W

Edition 25

4,800

I know these beautiful birds well.  Years ago when lived in El Paso, the birds 

would be seized at the border, the zoo would be called, and on several 

occasions the zoo would call me to care for them.  I wound up caring for

 blue and golds, scarlets, and military macaws and now as well as then,

 love using them for models for my etchings and sculpture.

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish

#712 "Raven Magic Mantlepiece"

"Raven Magic Mantlepiece"

19"H 18"W 11"D
Edition 50
1,800

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish

#710 "Secret Omen"

"Secret Omen"

14 H 22"W 9"D
Edition 35
4,800

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish 

#709 "Eternal Secrets"

"Eternal Secrets"

14”H 28”W 28”D
Edition 25
9,600

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish

#707 "Wake Up Call"

"Wake Up Call"

20"H 28"W 10"D
Edition 35
4,200

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish

#702 "Southwest Express"

"Southwest Express"

17"H 17"W 8"D

Edition 65

This recent sculpture was created for a client of one of the galleries that represents me.  

The client was not sure of the pose she wanted so I presented several drawings for 

her to choose from.

I loved working with the Roadrunner as a subject.  There are so any species that I 

want to add to my portfolio that pleasing someone with a drawing before actualizing 

the sculpture is a great tool of the trade.  There are over 10,000 species of birds 

alone . . . I’m afraid I won’t get to all of them!

  

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish

#683 Florida . . . birds, alligators, fish, and art

Earlier this month Trish and I were in Florida attending the opening of my Retrospective 

at the Bonita Springs Center for the Arts.  For more info, go to blog #680, posted Oct. 5.

While in South Florida we spent time in the Everglades and went fishing in the Florida Keys.
As usual, when we can enjoy free time, we stay as far away from urban areas as we can.
Below, are images, notes, and memories of a great week spent in beautiful  South Florida.
You will notice only one image of the fishing adventure . . . we were too busy catching fish to take pictures!

Below, while photographing birds in the Everglades, this big guy appeared!

Above,  Trish enjoys a cold one at a beach bar on the Gulf Coast in sunny Florida.
Below, I'm taking my morning coffee and photographing birds outside our cabin door at the fish camp in the Florida Keys.

Go to the BLOG INDEX and Reference Page for more information.  

See post #616

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish

#609 In the studio: Flexible molds

A flexible mold is the term commonly used for a rubber mold and is the type of mold used by most sculptors today.  

For an in-depth discussion about flexible molds, please go to blog #572,
posted October 8, 2014 and blog #574, posted October 15, 2014.

Blog #572              Blog #574

Flexible molds have a varied longevity or "shelf life" which refers to how long the completed mold will last in years.  

Note: Some sculptors refer to shelf life as "library life" or time in storage.  My molds have been made in the studio by 

Trish for over 25 years and during that time, while using Black-Tuffy, Smooth-on, and other products, we've experienced numerous mold failures or loss of mold usage due to the rubber liquifying and turning to an unusable goo.   

Keep in mind, the possible short shelf life of these products is printed on their labels and after losing

some of our older molds before the edition was cast, we've changed to a newer, more stable product. 

Inexplicably, we have 20 year old molds made from Smooth-on that are still good while some have failed after less than 4 years of use!  Most of the old ones, however have failed.  For the past six years, we've been using a product called Polytek
(see blogs #572 and #574) and so far, have experienced no mold failures.

       http://www.polytek.com

The sculpture shown below, entitled Takers of the Anasazi Sun was introduced and sold at
 Prix de West in 1994 and another one was cast and consigned to Knox Gallery in Colorado.

The sculpture is listed in the book about my work - Spirit of the Wild Things - The Art of Sandy Scott -
as an edition of 35 but only two were cast before the Smooth-on mold failed after less than 3 years.
The clay model of the work does not exist nor is there a wax replica of the piece in existence.

http://Spirit of the Wild Things

While works such as the sculpture show above will never be cast again, another older work has been given new life.
In 1999, I created a sculpture entitled, Promising Pup.  After only a few castings, the mold failed but a wax replica
of the clay model was retained before the mold had to be discarded.  Last summer, I totally remodeled and
reworked the wax and Trish molded it into a similar but new sculpture entitled, First Season Promise.

Shown below, is First Season Promise in clay and Trish starting the mold.
More about flexible molds in next Wednesday's blog.

Shown below is view #1 of the new bronze, First Season Promise which will be introduced at two upcoming shows:
The Briscoe Museums's Night of the Artists on March 28, 2015 and
The Cheryl Newby Gallery's The Power of Three show which opens April 25, 2015.

More about both shows in upcoming blogs.

http://Night of the Artists

http://Cheryl Newby Gallery.com

First Season Promise
11"H 15"W 9"D



Go to the BLOG INDEX on the right for more information.

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish

#608 In the foundry: Patina, con't . . .

Please see the previous post and for a more in-depth discussion about patina application and 

patina recipes, go to blog #391, posted Feb.13, 2013 through blog #401, posted March 3, 2013.

The color of a bronze sculpture is called a patina and the artist's color choice can

 greatly enhance the overall emotional effect and presence of the work.

Below, are two totally different patinas used on a recent head study of an owl which demonstrates the power of color:

The cool cupric nitrate blue-green used on the first image suggests the nocturnal nature of the species while 

the warm ferric nitrate chemical used on the second image implies the bird's natural color. . .

 each one delivers a different sentiment yet the sculpture is the same!

Shown below, is the owl head sculpture being heated with a propane torch in the foundry.

The patina technician then applies ferric nitrate to the hot surface.  The more heat and chemical that is applied, 

the darker and richer the color. . . from a pale yellow to a rich orange-brown to a very dark blackish-brown.
Note:  The darks in the negatives are achieved by first applying liver of sulfur, then scrubbing the surface
with a Scotch-brite pad . . . the highlighted positives are then heated and ferric is applied.

Below, is a photo taken last year at Brookgreen Gardens in Murrell's Inlet, South Carolina, and the clay study
 of a Great-horned Owl which was modeled while teaching a bird sculpture workshop in the museum's aviary.
Note:  Brookgreen Gardens boasts the largest and most important collection of American sculpture in existence.
http://www.brookgreen.org

Go to the BLOG INDEX on the right for more information.

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish