Portrait commission

Since my return from the sculpture class in Scottsdale, I've been working on a portrait bust commission. Can't post many photos now, was commission is a surprise gift for my client's wife.

Once they have the completed bust I will be able to post full photos showing the process.

Continuing the portrait

 Today was one of those days - modem was coughing and sputtering and finally gave up the ghost - second time in 8 months - I spent several hours trying to get a different brand but alas, this one is the only one in town for dsl.

So even though I've gone through two of these already - I had to exchange it for the same model....and know that it will probably go the same way as the first. Will be giving some serious thoughts to new ISP if this keeps up.

Anyone out there know of a truly reliable DSL that will play nice with my Airport?

I did some refining of forms, but my time was broken and that makes it less productive. Tomorrow I should get some real time into the piece and perhaps get a chance to start blocking in the clothing too.

Any guesses as to who the person his?

Hollowing the clay bust

Good things come to those that wait. While I know this, sometimes I still rush things. Wanting to get the heavy, wet clay out of the portrait and to speed drying in hopes of firing this bust for the Loveland Sculpture Invitational, I proceeded to hollow out the sculpt before it was firm and dry enough. Result? The clay couldn't keep its shape and distorted, warped and cracked/broke in places.

I knew I could fix things, but I certainly made it more difficult for myself and conversely it will take longer to finish than if I had waited another day or two for drying. Note to self- learn patience.

First I took the wire that I had taped to support pole prior to adding clay and pulled it up and through the sculpture behind the ears. Next I pried the back of the head off and laid it on a pillow wrapped in plastic. The I hollowed out both sides of the head, preserving the interior clay of later use.
I did some damage to the face, which is easy to do when the clay is too soft. I also found that there was heavy distortion when I reassembled the clay that required additional work to correct.

The sculpt has been repaired and nearing completion - will post new photos soon.

Sculpting Portrait demo continued

 Today I worked on the likeness more and finally put some hair on her. The clay is very heavy- there is about 30lbs of wet clay here.

This portrait will need to rest and firm up a bit before I can move on. The next step will be to cut her open and hollow her out. There is so much wet clay that it can't support itself yet.

You need not do too much work on it at this point, because the chances of it getting crushed are quite good. Better to wait until it is leather hard.

So now we wait...