#213 In the field: Brookgreen Gardens Workshop

Portable clay warming device:
heat lamp and bucket 

Monday morning was the first day of my 3-day 2012  Brookgreen Gardens Bird Anatomy and Sculpture Workshop.  For information about Brookgreen Gardens please refer to brookgreen.org and brookgreenworkshops.com

Teaching bird anatomy and sculpture is a personal discipline and has been rewarding
over the years in that I continue to explore, learn and stay in touch with the basics.
This afternoon will end a 3-day information packed introduction to bird sculpture,
and the 4 "A's":  anatomy, aerodynamics, armature building, and art.

Workshops provide continuing education for adults and an opportunity to learn from a working, professional artist/instructor.  I enjoy working with students of all levels of proficiency; particularly beginners and painters.  We focus on birds in flight  and my teaching method is structured and methodical . . . a step by step "follow me" approach.

For more information about my workshops please refer to Blogs #140 - #145, January 21 - 27, 2012. 

Students  participating in a group critique of  a Common Tern clay block-in sculpture

   

#212 National Sculpture Society . . . LOVE

New York, New York - The National Sculpture Society presents LOVE . . . 

An on-line exhibition featuring the work of 61 members of  NSS.           

http://www.nationalsculpture.org/Exhibits/Love/

Torso Fragment II 18"H 8"W 4"D

#211 In the field: Gilcrease Rendezvous Reunion, con't . . .

I was born in Dubuque, Iowa and when I was 2 years old my family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma.  I attended Tulsa Public Schools which were known at the time to be
among the best educational systems in the United States.  My high school art
teacher, Sue Johnson, was a recognized American watercolorist and was
instrumental in my acceptance into the Kansas City Art Institute in 1961.

Friday, during the artist luncheon at the Gilcrease Museum's Rendezvous Reunion, 
I spent a quiet moment in the Vista Room which overlooks the beautiful Oklahoma 
Osage Hills.  Below me, on the manicured lawn, was my eagle sculpture, Above It All; 
which is in the museum's permanent collection. 



In the distance I noticed a yellow school bus which had carried children to visit the museum; just as a yellow school bus had carried me to this magical place so many years ago.  I remembered the overwhelming feelings I had when I visited the museum as a child and saw the paintings of Moran, Bierstadt, Remington, Russell, and the John James Audubon's painting of the Wild Turkey.  Television was in it's infancy and the art took me to places I had never  imagined and opened my eyes to the wonder of art.

gilcrease.utulsa.edu

#210 In the field: Gilcrease Rendezvous Reunion

The Gilcrease Museum, located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, continues to honor the legacy of its founder, Thomas Gilcrease, by supporting contemporary artists 
who paint and sculpt images of the American West. Since 1980, Gilcrease has showcased America's most prominent artists by choosing two artists annually - typically a painter and a sculptor -  and exhibiting their work in a retrospective; 
my work was exhibited at the world-renowned museum in 1998 with the painter, Steve Hanks. Some of the illustrious artists, such as Joe Beeler, Eric Sloane, Wilson Hurley, Frank McCarthy, Bettina Steinke, Fritz White, Morris Rippel, 
Hollis Williford, Tom Ryan, Paul Calle, Chen Chi, James Reynolds, and 
Bob Kuhn are no longer with us. I knew them all and I miss them.  

This year's Rendezvous Reunion features 35 former Rendezvous artists during an exhibition and sale that opened last night and will continue through July 15, 2012. Today, I've posted images from the gala event that includes pictures of some of the artists in attendance.

At right I am with friend, fellow Tulsa-native and one of the founding members 
of the Cowboy Artists of America, Gordon Snidow; Rendezvous artist in 1981.

5 sculptors, John Coleman, Sandy Scott, 
Doug Hyde, Edward Fraughton and Gerald  Balciar 

Opening Panarama

                                               

gilcrease.utulsa.edu

#209 In the field: Gilcrease workshop

Yesterday I completed a 3-day workshop at the Gilcrease Museum.  I had the delightful experience of teaching in the original house that Thomas Gilcrease built and lived in, located in the beautiful Osage Hills northeast of Tulsa, Oklahoma where the museum is located.

I enjoy teaching 3-day workshops . . . typically, my workshops are 5-day but I have found that it's possible to condense the class to 3 days.  My workshops are structured, organized and I cover an enormous amount of information about bird anatomy, flight, armature building, and the art of sculpture in general.
The subject focused upon in this class was the Common Tern:  a bird with a 30" wingspan which we modeled life-size.

My sculpture, Above It All, was acquired by Gilcrease in 2000 and is installed on the grounds.

gilcrease.utulsa.edu

#208 In the field: Gilcrease Museum

Recognized as one of the nations premier museums, Tulsa, Oklahoma's Gilcrease Museum features the world's largest and most renowned collection of art and artifacts, historical manuscripts, maps and documents of the Americas.  The museum's internationally famous western art collection includes works by Thomas Moran, Frederic Remington, Joseph Henry Sharp, and Charles M. Russell.

This week I am teaching a Bird Anatomy and Sculpture Workshop at the museum and attending the 2012 Gilcrease Rendezvous Reunion.  The show brings together featured artists from years past.  The museum honored me as the Rendezvous Artist in 1998, and I am thrilled to be here for the reunion.

My sculpture, Above It All, was acquired by Gilcrease in 2000 and is installed on the grounds.

Above It All  8 1/2' wingspan

gilcrease.utulsa.edu

#207 In the foundry: "Eclipse" patina, con't . . .

The picture below shows Eclipse with liver of sulfur and cupric nitrate only.

The picture below shows the next step, after ferric nitrate has been stippled over the cupric nitrate.

#206 In the foundry: "Eclipse" patina . . .

To know the fascinating story of the horse named Eclipse,
refer to Post #152, February 4, 2012.

The patina for Eclipse was achieved using the following method: The cold bronze was doused with liver of sulfur (below) and then rinsed.  At right, the bronze was heated with a propane torch, then cupric and ferric nitrate was alternately sizzled and stippled on the hot bronze.

This application is a traditional, old world patination.
Bronze is over 95% copper and typically, depending on atmospheric conditions, location and other issues, turns
blue green without chemical inducement.  We've all found
an old copper penny with a natural blue green patina.

#205 In the foundry: "Hunter's Pheasant Gamepiece" patina . . .

The goal during patination was to present a highly decorative sculpture.
A pheasant is an extremely colorful bird, yet I did not want to take elements such as the green head, red cheek patch, white neck ring,
blue green rump feathers, etc. and apply these individual pigments to
the bronze.  I wanted to retain the bronze quality . . . not make the sculpture look like porcelain or ceramic.

The patina was achieved by applying liver of sulfur and scrubbing back with Scotch Brite which leaves darks in the negatives.  Next, after
heating the bronze, cupric nitrate and ferric nitrate were applied by
"side-brushing" and "stippling" the chemicals.

My hunter's still-life composition (also known as a gamepiece)
was designed to be a wall-hanging. For more information about
this time-honored motif refer to Blogs #134, 135 and 136,
January 14, 15 & 16, 2012.

#204 In the foundry: "Buffalo ReliefIII & IV" patina . . .

I've used one of my favorite patinas on the Buffalo Relief III and IV which were designed to be displayed as mantlepieces.  I've used an earth-tone patina that works well on an active and rugged surface.  The opaque 

application of the cupric nitrate and ferric nitrate, stippled over liver of sulfur, impart a warm, stone-like quality.

#203 In the foundry: "Swamp Buck" patina

I moved my studio headquarters from Colorado to Lander, Wyoming years ago to be near the foundry that casts my work.  I live less than 5 miles from the foundry and when in residence in Lander, I can be found there almost daily.

Yesterday was spent at the foundry applying patinas on work for up coming shows. Shown is a new sculpture, Swamp Buck, that will be introduced in June at the
Prix de West, held at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, OK.  The clay model can be seen in an August, 2011 post.

The patina procedure is as follows: The sculpture is sand blasted, then (below)
liver of sulfur is applied while the bronze is cold and scrubbed back, revealing the high points and leaving dark in the negatives.  At right, the patineaur heats the
bronze and ferric nitrate is stippled on.  Finally, the bronze is cooled, sealed, waxed and based.

#202 In the studio: Animals in motion, con't . . .

The definitive guide for artists in understanding animals in motion is the book, "Animals in Motion", by Eadweard Muybridge; published by Dover Press.  The book begins with  an analysis of animal locomotion;  human, quadruped, and bird.  The book contains over 4000 photos of the animal in motion.  Every artist should have this celebrated book in their studio.

An artist must educate himself, 

he cannot be educated,

he must test things out as they apply to himself;

his life is one long investigation 

of things and his reaction to them.

                                                   -Robert Henri

This, of course, applies to women artists as well.

Patina being applied to Swamp Buck . . . a deer in motion 

#201 In the studio: Animals in motion

When modeling an animal in motion, whether it's a quadruped, a bird, or a human; 
the eyes must be level with, and parallel to the horizon.  When you see horses running flat-out around a race track, their bodies leaning into the turn, notice that their eyes are parallel to the ground.  If you see a spooked deer, bounding over a fence while looking 
for an escape route, notice that the eyes are parallel to the ground. An eagle banking 
and soaring in a thermal;  or a football player . . . spinning, turning, and running for the goalpost . . . all will have their eyes parallel to the ground.  

A bird in flight can bank in excess of 65 degrees but the eyes are parallel to the ground. This fact of nature has something to do with the inner ear, balance, and logic.

#200 In the studio: Equestrian maquette, con't . . .

Typically, I don't use measuring devices such as calipers, to tell me if my sculpture is "right". I am not blindly dependent on them because the results in clay can come across as a specimen of the figure.

After attending the Kansas City Art Institute years ago, I worked as a background artist in the animation department of Calvin Motion Pictures. While creating a recent sculpture depicting running horses, I referred to an animator's trick which is to "draw the verb".  For instance, while horses are the noun . . . running is the verb.

The sculptor must understand locomotive anatomy; how the muscles bunch and stretch.  The sculptor must know when and how to exaggerate a figure's form and anatomy.  Below, is the initial block-in and work in progress.  By narrowing the waist and lengthening the largest shape - the torso - a sensation of athleticism and speed is felt by the viewer.

#199 In the studio: Equestrian maquette, con't . . .

Proportional calipers are a measuring device used by sculptors. They are used to scale up or down in the ratios marked on each arm by moving the joint system to matching sets of holes.  For example, with the joint in the holes marked "2", the tips furthest from the joint will have twice the opening of the tips closest to the joint, and vice versa, allowing you to (in this instance) scale up 2X or down by half.  At the 1:1 ratio, calipers can also be used for direct measurement transfer.  Below, I'm enlarging the proportions of my little plastic anatomical model by 25%. Calipers help the sculptor determine proportions of big shapes.

#198 In the studio: Equestrian maquette

I have spent long hours in the studio this week creating an equestrian maquette depicting two running horses.
The clay block-in will be transported to Arizona next month and proposed as the study for an over- life-sized
monument to be installed in a roundabout.

Modeling horses ranks as one of the most difficult figurative sculptural endeavors.  The proportions must be
exact and, due to the lack of fur and hair patterns, bony anatomical way-points and musculature are prominent;
the same is true when modeling the human figure.  Photography, such as the image below, helps determine
the proportions of large shapes.

#197 In the studio: Lander, Wyoming Studio Headquarters

We are back in residence at the Lander, Wyoming studio headquarters.  Spring is 

not as evident here as it was at the 

Arizona studio but the ice has left our 

pond and a pair of Canada Geese have 

arrived to build a nest.

Camp Bay

6"H 11"W 6"D

#196 In the studio: "Loose", con't . . .

To model in a "loose" manner the sculptor must understand structure and shape.  

Random surface marks, lines, and shapes without a meaningful underlying structure 

are not "loose" and can be perceived as sloppy modeling.

"Loose" is how it looks, not how it's done.

Foxrock Mantlepiece

11"H 18"W 6"D

#195 In the studio: loose, con't . . .

"Loose", as it applies to technique,
is the ability to give an accurate impression 

in clay without precise modeling.  

"Loose" is how it looks, not how it's done.

                                           

 

Hearts Entwined  12"H 22"L 11"W  (detail below)

#194 In the studio: Loose

To model in a "loose" manner and make it work necessitates a knowledge of anatomy and a developed sense of shape and form.  Random shapes, marks and lines are meaningless.  "Loose" is how a sculpture looks, not how it is modeled.

Bison Fragment III

19"H 19" 7"D

with detail below

"Loose" is how it looks, not how it's done.