#760 "The Strut"

     

"The Strut"  -   clay model in progress  -   40" highThe current covid quarantine has caused an unplanned and productive block of creative studio time.   Typically, I'm traveling to shows, enjoying my seasonal cabin on Lake of the Woods in Ontario and spending museum time in Europe . . . this year, planned trips to Spain and France had to be canceled.  Many of these works are workshop demos and startups that were abandoned for one reason or another. Lots of time has resulted in a return to the sculpture stand to pursue their worthiness for casting. Among over twenty new sculptures in progress is "The Strut".
                          Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish

#687 Wild Turkey Review

This week's blog celebrates the Wild Turkey.

Below, are images of drawings, etchings, sculpture, and photos depicting America's Wild Turkey.

.

 Tom

 Jake

Turkey Bookends

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

See post #616

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

#508 Ex Libris

I love books and I love to read.

I collect books - new books, old books, and rare books . . .
about many different subjects.  My focus, however, is on art,
animals, and history.  I have a real library filled floor to
ceiling with books arranged in a peculiar system that only
I know but cannot explain.  When I shuttle a book
between the library and studio, I always return it to the
same place.  Typically, I can lay my hands on any
book at any given time and I have an uncanny way
of knowing if a book is missing or is out of place. 

 I love the feel, the weight, the smell - everything - about books. 

I love ripping cellophane off of new books and the sound of a book
being opened for the first time.  I love the pictures, illustrations,
and maps in books.  I love the bindings, marbling, bookplates,
and pressed flowers that I find in old books.

My library is a baronial-sized room that is my sanctuary,
and when I enter it, adventure is imminent.
I love the reassurance of having a book nearby,
and I'm uncomfortable in a room where there are no books. 

   Although the internet has opened a wealth of access and knowledge to "information  junkies" like me . . .
nothing will ever replace a book.
While a computer can answer specific questions
and epitomizes the ultimate reference source. . .
a book offers the surprise of discovery and may present information that one, perhaps, had not thought to ask about! 

Below, are images of my library and various studio bookcases and shelves.

What are books without bookends?  I love bookends and over the years have created over
30 different designs . . . below are samples.

Quail Gamebird Bokends

 Remembering Will James Bookends

 Reflection and Resolve Bookends

 Rooster Head Bookends

Turkey Bookends

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

Addendum: Happy Thanksgiving 2013

Happy Thanksgiving 2013!

Original etching - watercolor tint
© Sandy Scott 1979

#476 In the studio: Etching, the process, con't . . .

Start this series with Post # 470, October 16, 2013.

Below, while some etchings are tinted with transparent watercolor, some editions are not.  

When the printing process has been completed, each print is signed and numbered, always in pencil.

My editions are limited to 100 or less, not including artist's proofs.

   

Below, the finished etching. . . entitled,  "Wild Turkeys".

After the first proof has been pulled, I sometimes go back and repeat any of the preceding steps in to improve the work.  Once I arrive at a proof which feels "right", I designate it as the bon a tirer, which is French for "good to try". . .
this serves as a guide to the entire edition.

The concept of an etching as an original work of art is justified by the ability, in fact the necessity,
of the artist to determine the artistic essence of each individual print.
It is important that the etching process should not be confused with modern photographic printing methods.

Drawing is, of course, the first and main ingredient of an etching, and it is at this point that the artist determines the composition of the print.  But the next step, the acid baths, will determine the shading and tone,
the subtle differences in the etched lines.  Finally, the plate is inked and wiped for each print,
the artist deciding how much or how little ink to leave on the plate surface - which is called plate tone.

When the print is finished, it is signed and numbered, and rightly so, for an etching is a highly
individualistic work of art - an original - which has its own unique characteristics.

When the edition printing is completed, the etching plate is cancelled . . . cut up or defaced, making further production impossible.  These steps insure the high quality and lasting value of each print.





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

#471 In the studio: Etching, the process, con't . . .

Start this series with Post # 470, October 16, 2013.

Etching, as a graphic process, has been used for picture-making since the early 16th Century.

Noteworthy artists who worked with etching were Rembrandt, Goya, Whistler, Picasso, Borein, and Benson.

Etching combines an original art form and a reproductive process and should not be confused
with modern photographic, limited edition techniques.

 Each etching is an original and there is artistic interpretation with every print throughout the process. 

The addition of transparent watercolor to the etching further signifies originality and the artist's hand. 

The first step I take in making an etching begins with drawing on paper. 

Below, I research my subject and make several drawings which, later on, enables more spontaneous

work while drawing on the etching plate.   Line drawing is the essential characteristic of etching.

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

#462 Western Visions 26th year: Works shown and sold.

Western Visions is the longest running art show at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, Wyoming.  

More then 150 painters and sculptors were invited to participate in the show 

which opened to the public on September, 13 and will close on September, 22.

Below, are the four works I presented at this year's exhibition.

Doughboys II 
12"H 6"W 4"D

 Branching Out
5"H 10"W 6"D

Wild Turkeys
graphite on paper
13 X17


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

#421 In the studio: Bird anatomy, con't .

Please start this bird anatomy series with post #403, March 10.

Feathers that cover birds are grouped in sets, both left and right side, and each of these sets fill a role.  

While some feathers form the contours of the body;  some, such as the flight feathers of the wing and tail, 

carry out a function.  The purpose of some feathers is to insulate, waterproof, and protect the body.

Feathers overlap each other like shingles on a roof.  Imagine the forward motion of a bird flying or swimming and being protected from that force by the overlapping of feathers.  Each feather and feather group is purposeful, structured, and arranged in an organized manner.  Not one feather exits on a bird in a random manner. . . everything in nature is structured as the organized feather tracts on a supermarket chicken indicates.

Why is this important to the bird artist?  Once the bird artist knows the basics of the skeleton and the sets of feathers inherent to all birds, each species' behavior can be observed and researched to perceive proportion, shape, behavior, and pose.  The goal is to create art . . . not a specimen.  

  

Below is a clarified and labeled drawing of a wild turkey in flight.

Turkey Bookends

7"H 16"W 7"D

All sculpture and drawings - copyright Sandy Scott

#414 In the studio: Bird anatomy, con't . . .

Please start this bird anatomy series with post #403, March 10.

The upper part of the bird's leg is the femur or thigh.  Below the femur is the tibia or drumstick.
The remaining structure below the drumstick makes up the foot of the bird; called the tarsus and the digits or toes.  

Below, is a drawing of a turkey's leg with the bones surrounded by muscles, tendons, flesh.  Unlike modeling the human or quadruped, the bird sculptor should be more concerned with the skeleton and how it articulates than the muscles, tendons, etc.  Next, the feather groupings and the region where they emerge simply must be known.

Below, is a drawing of a turkey from one of my sketch books.  The feather groupings and patterns are organized and understood . . . due to a realization of the underlying structure and anatomy.

#347 Throw on another log . . .

Happy Thanksgiving

#221 In the field: Sketchbook

A page from my sketchbook . . . Low country wild turkeys.

Copyright Sandy Scott 2012

#220 In the field: Low country birds

The South Carolina marshes, waterways, and piney-woods are alive with birds and are a bird artist's paradise.  As a Trustee of Brookgreen Gardens, I spend lots of time in South Carolina and always take time to teach a yearly workshop and take my camera and sketch book afield in search of birds.

Spring is the time for wild turkeys and last week the big gobblers were on the prowl.  After a rain, when the ground was quiet, I slipped in close to a group of wild turkeys to photograph and sketch the wily birds.  Of the six species of North American wild turkeys, I see Merriams in Wyoming, and the rufous-tipped Eastern in South Carolina.  I returned to my Wyoming studio headquarters this week with enough turkey reference to start 
a new sculpture of the magnificent creature.

I enjoy designing functional art and have created many bookends.
Turkey Bookends  7"H 16"W 7"D