Emotions
Thoughts | Feelings
Happiness
I wanted to capture a life of contentment and the subject's graceful, youthful demeanour. The poverty of wealth had not deterred from contentment. Head held high there was an element of self-confidence that was oozing. She had a permanent smile on her face.
Remorse
In this work I wanted to capture ‘Remorse’ in the model. His head tilted downwards with eyes gazing down and set on powerful shoulders. I wanted the observer to feel his sense of remorse, possibly after committing some action he regretted.
Mara’s contentment
A beautiful Sicilian woman contented in herself. Her relaxed gesture and body language were used to convey this. I wanted to capture the youth and awareness of her sensual body whilst also how elegantly comfortable she was in her skin.
Mara was a beautiful little Sicilian with oomph and attitude, after screening a few models who were all beautiful, I decided to go with petite Mara. She needed it the most, her face was unique and challenging. She was one of those people whom if on screen would come alive. Falling in love with her figure and attitude was key to bringing the most of her alive in the sculpture.
Solitude
The seeds for this piece were sown in Florence, as I spent many hours in awe of the Bargello Museum collection of sculptures.
During my time in Florence I made an Écorché (anatomical study of this piece) in a similar gesture, paying tributes to Lanteri.
Then began my search for a body type to fit the gesture which came to fruition a year later. I had certain specifications in mind and wanted a natural physique rather than a body primed in the gym. One whose body grew naturally with his trade. I had already made a maquette of the same figure in Florence, so I drew some sketches of the gesture and moved on with the project.
In this sculpture I kept traditional contrapposto, natural beauty and retained movement. A man very comfortable and proud of his body in complete satiation of his soul.
Time seems to slow when I am sculpting, which is one of the most beautiful aspects of the process for me. I tried to be true to nature, but made amends where I felt it worked better. I paid particular attention to the feet and hands, recalling the masterpieces and why they were beautiful.
After three arduous months and slaying many demons I concluded the piece.
The mould making needed assistance which is where Castle Fine Arts Foundry stepped in.
I work on the wax remedying any forms that were lost and need attending to. Then, the piece is ready to be made into bronze by the lost wax process. It is a tedious process of making a shell in ceramic to withstand the 1000C molten bronze that will eventually melt the wax and take it's imprint. Once the bronze is made as multiple pieces, it is welded together. Following this I tend to work on the virgin bronze sculpture with a burr, looking for imperfections and rectifying them. The next stage is patination - a process in which suitable chemicals such ferric or copper, are chosen to be mixed with acid and brushed onto the bronze to determine the colour. Bronze itself is a very porous and tensile material. Lastly the mounting of the sculpture takes into consideration the height that it will be viewed by the observer.
Determination
Lieutenant EC - 1st The Queens Dragoon Guards
A young determined soldier prior to being commissioned in a dangerous part of the earth. Details to follow...