"Mommy?
Where do resins come from?"
Part II
O.K. just some boring stuff here. . .filling in little dents and pits in the clay. As I scrape the surface with a tool it exposes
all these little divots where I didn't pack the clay in solidly. I'll need a nice smoth surface though
to get going on finer detail.
I still haven't secured the leg wires to the base yet since I'm not certain I want the legs exactly in this position. . .actually here,
I've already raised his knee up a bit. Some folks have commented about how he's looking sort of George Ford Morris-ish. . .
I'm glad it's beginning to show. I was inspired by a painting he did of a black percheron stallion being shown in hand. I'll upload a photo of
it tomorrow so you all can see where the idea for this flashy trot came from. :^)
O.k. decided to move the rear leg as well. haha. You can see how much by comparing these two pics.
I think I like it this way. . .takes him from looking more cool and collected to looking a wee bit
dangerous and out of control. hee! I want him to be a high quality breeding stallion with all the attitude and "oomph" that goes with it.
Got the leg moved where I want it. . .Still have to fill in the crack
I created by cranking it forward so far. Have to double check from the front and rear to be sure his feet will be far enough under him to
keep him believable. Even though he'll have a base to keep him upright it's important that he still appears well balanced from all angles
just like he would in real life. The rear foot on the ground in particular needs to be well under his body rather than too far out to the side.
Time to tack down those wires. He's see-sawing all over the place on his center post. It's driving me crazy! A few staples (using electrical staples, they're nice and sharp)
and he's not going anywhere for awhile. You can see the beginnings of his clay base being laid in.
Feet secured?. . .check
Rough base outline in?. . .check
waitaminnit! When did he lose a foot? hmmmm. . .
Plenty of time for that I suppose. . .start to beef up the rear leg that's up. Blocking in the basic muscle bulk.
I't's too hefty but i'll deal with that later. Also, it doesn't really how, but I took off quite a bit from his sides. He was FAT! Take it off
one spot though and put it right back on another. I've got about 8 pounds of clay on there now!
Here's the general outline of the base. This guy will be a bit top heavy so the base needed to be
wider than he is in order to keep him upright, and extend out far enough to visually balance him as well.
I like bases, even though I know a lot of people don't care for them. They can serve so many purposes for a piece, both structurally and compositionally.
When I was first learning to sculpt, my father always told me to make sure the base was small enough to keep the focus on the subject but large enough to
make the subject appear secure in their environment. It isn't enough that a base keep an otherwise precarious piece upright. . .it helps the horse to be grounded.
If the base were to only encompass the feet that were on the ground. . .where is the horse going to take his next step? Into thin air? The motion of the horse will
make him look like he's really going somewhere. . .but if there isn't any place for him to go, does he still look as free to move about?
It's really a matter personal taste though. . .and since this is my horse. . .he's got a nice size base. ;^P
Back to page 1. . . click here.
Let me see page 3. . . click here.
