Sculpture
Working on Bird likenesses
Watching birds gives me such pleasure and getting to recognise their calls and markings is an ongoing joy, as is getting to know their nature, typical behaviour and characteristics after identifying them. When coming to work on a sculpture of a particular bird, knowing its nature and ‘spirit’ – or rather being able to […]
Some they fly, and some they swim
After the birds, a fish family.
Zebra Rock Birds
It isn’t often that I have red dust around, but I’ve been working on the Zebra Stone, making a couple of birds. The colouring and patterns are so unusual in this rock that I wanted to get the markings in the right places for the bird shapes – the splodges of red certainly influence […]
It snowed, it snowed a lot!
It is still snowing! There are just four birds remaining, from my piece called Flock, carved in the purest ‘white as snow’ alabaster – now in my shop.
Birdlets
They’re short carving days at the moment. Heavy overnight frosts take time to thaw, if at all, temperatures not getting much above freezing. Before I know it the sun is going down behind the hill at the back of the workshop and there’s no light left to work in. Today though I managed to […]
Autumn leaf forms
Over the last week or so I’ve stopped more than once to look more closely at a bird, apparently floundering in the road, I’ve seen one on the verge too. Yesterday I saw a mouse leap up and then lie still. When I get close it is a leaf, brown birdlike, flip, rock, fall […]
Plume
I’ve been working on a series of maquettes for a piece called Plume – this is one of them carved in Portland Limestone. I become rather fond of these models, they are a collection of open, honest, sometimes unresolved, sometimes unfinished, experimental trial runs. They teach me a lot about what needs further work, […]
Twosome
A sculpture of two birds carved in Tadcaster Limestone – I love the spotting of colour in the tails of each bird, and it also appears lightly on their heads too. Such delicate mottling, which I think lends Twosome a gentle grace. I’ve sanded the birds smooth to give a fine finish. This pair […]
Tall-tailed Bird
Here is my sculpture Tall-tailed Bird, carved in Cornish Soapstone – the one I was sanding the other day. The sculpture is now finished and polished ready for my exhibition at the weekend. Art& York exhibition – Friday 27, Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 October, 2017 – I’m on Stand No. 83. Look forward […]
In the Workshop – sanding my heart out
There are no shortcuts with sanding – it just has to be done if I want a flawlessly smooth surface. This bird sculpture will be polished, so if I’m not thorough I’ll be found out. As I work through the grades of abrasive I’m feeling the finish as much as seeing it, finger tips […]