#716 "Cat Goddess"

"Cat Goddess"

18"H 6"W 9"D

Edition 35

3,000

Trish and I have a cat named Ziggy.  She is a stray Jellico who appeared 

17 years ago on a snowy winter’s night at the studio in Wyoming.

Cats are similar in anatomy to all quadrupeds and vertebrates but have extreme 

flexibility and mobility. The cat’s forelimbs are attached to the shoulder in such 

a way that they can pass through any space into which they can fit their head.  

Interestingly unlike most mammals cats walk with a “pacing” gait.; they move two

 legs on one side of the body before the legs on the other.   When they speed up to a 

trot their gait changes to a diagonal gait similar to most other mammals.

When we get another cat, we’ll name her Pacer. 

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

#507 Throw on another log . . . whisper

There really are no hard, fast rules or principles of design, 
but simplicity, harmony, and subtlety can be a guide.  
Sculpture does not have to shout - it can whisper.

It's possible to put as much, if not more, 
vitality into a sculpture of an animal in a tranquil pose as in 
one depicting violent action.  The viewer can tire of the latter.  

A work of art combines composition, proportion,
and the arrangement of shapes and form to lead
the view to an artistic conclusion.

The greatest expression is communicated through the largest shapes.
The sculptor must say as much as possible with the large forms before being concerned with detail.

There's no technique or trick that can be taught to explain how to create a good, strong shape.

The theory must be felt or sensed to be understood by both the viewer and the artist.

Just as a whisper makes one listen more closely, one looks with greater understanding at uncomplicated
sculptural statements.  Power is gained through simplicity and simple shapes tell greater truths.

Below, are sculptures of quiet poses, modeled from life . . . the style,

sentiment, and spirit was derived from the subject.

Preening Cat

Solitude

Sleepy Fox

Cougar at Ease

Eclipse

To learn more about the subjects in this blog go to the links below.  
For a complete list of the blog index go to the Index Page and 
type the subject in the Search This Blog link on the right.

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

#448 In the studio: Nature's one pattern

Nature has designed just one pattern for vertebrate mammals.
Variation in the length and shape of the bones indicate how and where an animal lives, feeds, runs,
crawls, hops, and exists on this planet.  All of the approximately 4,500 known living species of mammals
fall into one or another of 18 orders and all species can be compared to and realized by knowing one pattern.

The artist must understand the skeletal structure of animals and 

know how to use the one pattern inherent to all mammals.

Below is an image of two mammals; a human 

and a quadruped. . . showing nature's one pattern for vertebrate mammals.

Above concept, after Eliot Goldfinger.  See reference page.

Typically, the first animal figure that the art student uses as a model is the horse.
Much can be learned by understanding and using comparative anatomy to establish
correct proportion while modeling any animal.

Domestic cats can give insight into lions, cheetahs, tigers, cougars, etc.

Cats move with grace and agility, have a very flexible spine, and an excellent sense of balance.

Below, is a clay model of a cougar sculpture in progress . . . the animal uses it's long, heavy tail for balance.

Unlike most quadrupeds, a cat's shoulder blades or scapula are so loosely attached
to the ribs that they can push up above the spine when the animal crouches.


Cat in the Creamery
8"H 16"L 7"D

#391 At the foundry: Patina . . . The power of color

Ancient bronzes emerged from the earth and sea with beautiful blue and green patinas due to the copper content of the bronze . . . the color was acquired through age.  Today, sculptors "age" their bronze sculptures by applying chemicals to the bronze and different chemicals produce different colors.

Author, friend, and fellow sculptor, Tuck Langland comments in his book From Clay to Bronze: "You make the sculpture for critics, and the patina for sales.  While it is certainly true that a bad patina can make a good sculpture look bad,  and a good patina can help a bad sculpture look better - don't skimp on this final but crucial step."  

The use of patinas and the color of a bronze has a profound effect on the sculpture's final appearance and the impression it makes on the viewer . . . color is more powerful than form.

Below, is my sculpture of a cat with three different patinas.

Preening Cat 

13"H 9" W 9" D, Copyright Sandy Scott

#351 Living with art

Everyone in the art world knows Nancy Guzik and Richard Schmid.  I have the great pleasure of calling these two fine artists friends.    One of my most memorable experiences was in the early 1990s when Trish and I spent 2 weeks with them in Alaska . . .  I was able to witness two masters working in the field.

I have several  paintings by both of them which I cherish.  The Guzik painting shown below is of her cat;  painted when her studio was not far from mine in Ft. Collins, Colorado . . . twenty years ago.  My sculpture, "Hummingbird and Rose" sets under it.

#249 Living with art: "Preening Cat"

Morning light falls on a Couse painting and Preening Cat.  A quiet pose is easy to live with.

Preening Cat

13"H 9' Dia