Starting Bas Relief Medallion Commission

I received a commission to sculpt a bas relief medallion about 24" x 24". This sculpture will be cast in Forton or Aqua Resin.

To start, I scaled up my drawing and laid it out on a piece of hard foam.

Then I traced the shape out onto the foam board using a marker.
Next I used my hot wire tools to cut the foam away. This stuff is toxic so I was careful to work in the garage and wear a mask!

Once everything was cut out, I drew in some guidelines for the shapes and began carving away using a serrated knife.

When I had the basic forms started, I refined them using files, rasps and sandpaper to further define the medallion.

Finally I put on a coat of primer to seal it. This serves two purposes: to keep the crumbly bits out of the clay and to give an even 'tooth' for the clay to adhere.

I'll let this dry overnight and then I'll come back with some warm oil-based clay and begin sculpting over this armature foam.

Casting a Bas Relief in Aqua Resin or Forton

I've been busy moving into a new studio space and casting some bas relief sculptures for the shows that I'm in. I've got a quick peak into the casting process here using my Polytek rubber mold and Aqua Resin. You could also use Forton for this type of casting:

I have been quite busy moving into my new studio space. My new relief sculptures have been juried into several shows and I have been casting them. Here is a quick peak at the process:
1) Set up materials. I'm using Aqua Resin but sometimes use Forton. I have a gram scale, disposable cups of several different sizes, gloves to protect my hands, stir sticks (popsicle sticks work well), a drill with paddle attachment for mixing. I set up on newspaper for easy clean up when done.
2) I have my Polyteck 74-10 mold set up in the plaster/forton mother mold and have brushed in the first two print coast of Aqua Resin. I do two print coats to capture all the detail letting each dry before adding the next. After the first two coats of Aqua Resin have hardened I begin the laminating process. I mix batches of Aqua Resin (or Forton) and brush on - then I apply about 10% by weight of fiberglass strand. For the sides and small detail areas I'll use 1/2" and 1" strand and for the larger areas I use 3"-4" fiberglass strand. I continue to brush in coats and add more fiberglass until the entire piece is thick and strong enough. I build up an area for attaching the hanging wires as the last coat.
3-4) I let the entire piece rest over night - Forton and Aqua Resin need a 24 hour cure time in the mold to ensure it is strong before demolding. I carefully peel the rubber mold from the casting. I used 2 coats of Polytek 7300 so the piece will release but there is a fairly strong suction bond that require slow and careful efforts so as not to put too much pressure on the rubber or delicate areas of the casting. You can see the strands of fiberglass extending from the casting as I pull off the rubber.
5) The finished casting is removed from the mold and washed with soap or degreasing agent to cleanse the surface of any of the mold release. Next I will use a rasp to remove the excess flashing and fiberglass from the edges. Then I will sand those edges smooth before priming the entire piece and starting the patina.
This bas relief measures 18"w x 24"h x 3"d and the final casting weighs about 10lbs. I find the process of casting to be laborious but the finished product is a nice stone-like casting with the benefit of capturing detail like plaster but having the strength of fiberglass and light-weight.

Review of Polytek Poly 74-20 mold making rubber for brush on mold

I have finished making the mold and mother mold of my bas relief "Setting Her Sights." There is the first test casting in Aqua Resin moments after pulling it out of the mold.
You can see the full tutorial by looking at previous postings on my blog. Polytek Poly 74-20 liquid polyurethane rubber is designed for making flexible, high-performance, high-strength molds. This rubber is very liquid - much more so than many of the others that I have used. Think heavy cream instead of thick syrup.

This rubber is more often used for pouring a once piece block mold or making a blanket mold. I did not opt to do either but chose to do a brush-on mold instead. Block molds are easiest for bas reliefs, as you simply build a wall about 2" all around your relief sculpture, spray with release, mix the rubber compound and pour over the sculpture. When it cures you de-mold and you are ready to start casting.
While this mold is the easiest to make, it also requires a huge amount of rubber on a high relief such as this. If the highest point on my sculpt is 2" deep I would need to pour a mold that is about 3" deep. On an 18" x 24" sculpt at 3" deep for rubber - that's a lot of wasted rubber and the costs increase dramatically. True, if you do this pour you're done - no need to make a mother mold as the rubber holds the shape well - but the cost of material can be prohibitive - especially on a smaller run.

The next choice would be a blanket mold and it would work well too - I could have done that for this sculpture. I may do this mold for the next relief.
But I chose to make a brush-on mold. I didn't have Poly Fiber, but I did have Short Stuff, which worked well enough to thicken the rubber. I can see how pouring this rubber in a block or blanket mold would terrifically easy - it is very thin and pourable and absolutely no bubbles. I have tried pouring other rubbers and most had a thicker or gummier feel and had some bubbles which can be a nightmare, making glaring imperfections in your molds and subsequent castings.

I was pretty careful, using my postal meter to accurately measure out the 2 to 1 ratio, but my gut feeling is that this product is probably a little forgiving if you didn't have access to a scale and measured by volume instead, you'd probably have it work out just fine.
The very low viscosity of the 74-20 meant that it was very easy to stir and mix well with no bubbles and it brushed on very easily with a disposable chip brush. This was a plus for me, as the rubber was thin, light with very little weight or drag on the brush so there was no moving or distortion of the softer clay sculpture. For work with hard surfaces thick rubber or heavy -handed application isn't a problem, but for softer clays, the simple act of brushing a rubber on can cause real problems.
The first two coats were applied very thinly to pick up all the detail without disturbing the clay. Subsequent layers were thickened with the Short Stuff. It did take a lot of layers to build up the thickness of the rubber on the high points, as the rubber succumbed to gravity. Perhaps Poly Fiber 2 would have made the rubber thicker than the Short Stuff that I had on hand. I felt that the time between coats was easy to negotiate - not too fast and rushed and not waiting around eons for it to set up enough for the next coat. Overall it was very simple to use - taking 4-5 hours for me to build up the mold with very, very deep undercuts to fill.

When the rubber was cured (overnight) I sprayed it with release and made the mother-mold shell in forton and reinforced with fiberglass. I could have also added leveling legs, but instead opted to rest the open mold on sandbags as I will not be casting solid, but will casting in forton and aqua resin hollow.
Overall I am very pleased with the results. The rubber was thin enough that it brushed easily without squashing my clay and I could see that there were no bubbles. The mold that I pulled off of the clay sculpture is excellent with good stretch and excellent detail - it picked up all the detail and was easy to use.

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 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.

Sculpting the Bas Relief Tutorial part 2

Now that I have all the clay on the board at slightly larger than 18" x 24" and about 3/4" deep I ready to begin. I place the sketch onto the clay and cut away excess clay.

Next I cut the shapes out of the paper and place back onto the clay - this gives me paper to trace around.

I'm using a simple wooden skewer to do the tracing and drawing but you could use a stylus, knitting needle or sharpened pencil to get the same results.

Once the outline of the figures is traced onto the clay, I set the board up on an easel on my table. When sculpting a bas relief it is important to work as vertically as possible. Laying the board flat and trying to work on it will give you a distorted view as the perspective will change the look. Sculpt the work in the same position as

you plan for it to be viewed - as much as is possible.

At this stage it is rather heavy - I'd estimate that the board and clay combined is about 35-40 lbs.

I also like to tack up my drawings nearby as I'll be referring to them frequently as I work.

Next I take a loop tool and begin to dig down the background by about 1/4" inch all the way around. This separates the figures from the background a bit.

Finally, I grid off both my sketch and the clay - using the grid to help me locate proper placement, I begin roughly sketching in the drawing of the figures using the skewer. At this stage it will be very rough, which is fine, as it is only a starting place for me to gauge where I will be building up the forms and the 'drawing' on the clay will be

obliterated.

With the drawing in place I am ready to begin adding clay to the forms.

Bas Relief wall sculpture for your home, garden or office

My new bas reliefs are now ready for purchase and will be easy to ship as they weigh less than 8lbs each.

These are the first two in a series of four wall sculptures featuring strong young women and incorporating symbolism with flowers and animals.

Reliefs are especially nice because they are wall hung, like paintings, but have depth and spacial presence. While reliefs can be cast in bronze, you'll find that they require special walls and hardware for hanging due to the heavy weight of metal.

When decorating your home or garden with plaques and wall relief sculptures, take the environment into consideration. Is the wall stucco and sand colored? Or dark wood? The background that the sculpture is set against can make a real difference allowing the art to shine and create a special and inviting atmosphere.

 A small sculpture would require a small wall for display or else the sculpture should be part of a grouping - otherwise it can get lost on the wall and lose its impact.

The color and texture on the wall or plants or furniture nearby also work for or against your new art purchase. If you have a busy brick wall, putting a detailed painting or sculpture next to it could result in too much to look at - lessening your enjoyment of the work. Think in terms of contrast to make the most of your art and surroundings: dark against light, texture against smooth, detail against plain.

These weather resistant high bas relief sculptures have a hand created patina and no two are exactly alike. In fact, you can request custom colors to truly personalize the art.

You may buy these wall sculptures as a grouping or individually at $495 each.

Contact me for availability and to purchase sculpture.
Gallery and dealer inquires are also welcome.

You can view larger photos on my website:
"Standing Her Ground" and "True to Herself".

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.