Forton Bas Reliefs can take the weather changes outside...

Colorado is an area with some extreme weather and temperature changes. Last week we had temps near 70 degrees, almost record-setting for mid to late December.

Today's high, however, was 5 degrees and I write this it is currently minus 7 degrees and will be minus 11 degrees later this evening.
I snapped a quick photo of my cast bas reliefs in the snow today. I had to brush them off as they had been covered with more than 8" of snow earlier.

The wild temperature and humidity changes haven't affected them at all and they look just as lovely on the garden walls in the snow as they do with summer blooms around them.

It's nice to have outdoor sculptures that hang on garden walls, courtyards and fences to enjoy all year round.

Sculpting the bas relief demostration tutorial part 8 - finishing the work

A bout with the flu and two small portrait commissions have kept me away from this sculpt. Now I'm feeling better and the sculptures have been shipped to Australia and it's back to work.

This relief had some drying and cracking in areas that I had to cut away and put fresh clay into. Always a risk with water-based clay when you leave a project to rest for a while. So after repairing some areas I went back into refine the flowers and then soften with a bit of water. After that, I decided to add some additional hair to the right side of her face to improve the overall composition of this piece.

While that was setting up a bit, I went into the dress to add some detail - first a hint of bodice then texture and some pleating. Finally a small bow for interest.

With some additional touchups and work in the new hair area, I finally finished up the sculpture. I would prefer to mold it right away but my schedule doesn't have the time required for multiple coats of mold rubber and this is a process that simply can't be interrupted. So it looks like I will have to spray this up well, lay it flat with several layers of plastic to try to keep it from drying too much and wait for Monday to give the mold-making process my full and undivided attention.

My next tutorial will be the process of making the mold and mother-mold for this sculpture.

Sculpting the Bas Relief demonstration tutorial part 6

 My sister sewed up some sleeve protectors for me. My studio gets quite cold and I'm often wearing jackets and sweaters, which drag in the clay and get dirty. I drew up a quick idea and she sewed a sample set for me. They go over the tops of my sleeves and the elastic keep the cuffs of my clothes from getting into contact with the clay. Works great - will make the next set a tad longer.

Now that most of the relief has the forms in place and I feel confident of the anatomy of the arm, it's time to rough in the sunflowers that she'll be holding. It's important to sculpt the arm even though it is covered up because if you cheat on the anatomy, it will look off - people won't be fooled. So you don't have to bring that area to finish but the anatomy should be solid and convincing.

I begin by working the stem shapes and placing the largest forms of the sunflowers and then start to refine the shapes. The clay will need to set up a bit before I work the petals and leaves. I plan to do them in a loose manner to keep the focus on the girl.

Next I take a homemade brush made from broom twigs and crosshatch all the forms to homogenize them a bit.

 

Sculpting the Bas Relief Tutorial Part 5

The sculpting demonstration tutorial by Lori Kiplinger Pandy continues with a push and pull of the clay forms.
I am continuing to build up the highest planes and the remove clay from the receeding areas. Throughout this process I turn the sculpture from side to side and stand on a step stool to view from above or squat down to look from below.

You must constantly be aware that this is not a painting, viewed simply from straight on, it is a sculpture and will be viewed from different angles.

After a period of working, I'll wet the clay a bit and use a home-made brush to crosshatch over the entire sculpt to knock down areas and blur some edges - this helps me to see how the forms are taking shape overall and to blend

the clay a bit.
Once the clay has had a chance to rest a bit, I'll step back and review the sculpture as a whole and evaluate it's progress before I proceed to working again on the sculpt.
You'll see that I started to rough in the owl in the background - it is imperative that you keep bringing each area up to the same amout of finish as the rest - having one area of scupt leap too far ahead of other areas causes distortion and usually results in having to rework large areas of your sculpture.

I will be visiting galleries for potential partners during the next week so it will be a little while before I post the next section of this tutorial.

In anticipation of my absence, I have sprayed the clay, double wrapped it in plastic and taken the entire board off the easel to lay it flat on a table. I don't want the moisture in the clay to migrate from the top due to gravity and cause uneven drying or warping, so placing it flat should keep it stable until I can return to work.

Sculpting the Bas Relief Tutorial part 4

Here I am continuing to to add clay and build up the forms. It's very important to remember to turn your bas relief as you work, just as you would a sculpture fully in the round.

It's tempting to spend a lot of time in an area - but if you fail to work on all areas in equal amounts, you'll stop for a cup of coffee and come back to discover vast amounts of distortion caused by overworking a single area.

By turning the sculpture from side to side, you'll see where areas will need to be built up or pushed back. As the work evolves, you'll need to constantly reassess the depth of each area. This is where a discerning eye and artistic license will come into play. This isn't a canvas with a drawing or painting and it isn't fully round....it is somewhere in between. You'll need to employ drawing-like techniques to give the illusion of depth to some areas and that fine line can only be found as the sculpture

progresses.

As you can see here - I have determined how far out I want my high relief to protrude and as I work, I swivel the work from side to side to see it in profile to determine how far to build out the torso and the arms.

Don't be afraid to cut into the work. At this stage I cut off both her arms to allow access to the torso when I determined that it needed to be filled out more and brought further forward in the relief. That is part of the process.

Again, as you work, keep bones and flesh in mind - this will help keep your forms fresh as you work.
When taking a break from the work, as this is water-based clay, it must be wrapped up. I have found many ways of wrapping, but my favorite has become to simply mist the

sculpt and cover with plastic drop-cloth that I purchase by the roll. I like that I can cut it to size for the project and clings to the edges of the wood securely and helps to maintain the moisture until the next session.

Cheats, Thiefs and New Bas Reliefs

 Cheating and stealing are sad facts of life. Unfortunately it happens to artists all the time. I'm currently having to decide if it is worth the cost of an attorney to go after a company that I have worked with in the past for theft of royalties on my work.....

While at the Loveland Sculpture in the Park show in August a number of people politely asked if they could take photos of my work on display. 90% were lovely people who enjoyed my work and wanted to take a picture of my Danny Kaye sculpture because it made them smile - of photos of my new bas relief sculptures because it reminded them of their daughter or granddaughter. And I gave them permission because they asked nicely and they honestly told me their intentions.

But the one that makes my blood boil is the smarmy man who strode into my booth and snapped away photos of my work while I was talking with another visitor. When I turned to approach him he gave me a look out of the corner of his eye and quickly swooped up close to these reliefs for one last photo before darting out of my booth.

He was up to no good and will likely be stealing something from my work - I've encountered his kind before and it is a sad fact of the business that people do this.

So, for you art lovers out there, please be polite when at art shows. Ask before you take photos. Most artists will let you take a photo if you ask, but this is how we make our living - so we must try to be careful at the same time. Not to bash on any countries out there - but there are a few that notoriously steal images from artists and set up sweatshops to produce cheap knock-offs of our work.

Rant over. So here are the two new reliefs that got a lot of attention at the Loveland Sculpture in the Park show. They measure 18" x 24" each and are made of Forton (polymer modified fiberglass reinforced gypsum). Think of it as plaster on steroids. Forton is lighter than plaster, much stronger, especially with the fiberglass, and weather resistant. These are properly sealed and can be displayed outdoors and weigh about 7 lbs each.