Thursday, December 31, 2015

One for the road Part 3

 
 
 
Figures 14 to 19   Show the relief's progress through to completion. Resin copies of this relief are available from The Artist Preservation Group. Enquire about copies by going to the following link.
 





 

One for the road part 2

 
Figure 7   I then placed a sewing needle into a pin vise and proceeded to transfer the subject by poking holes through the major elements that make up the painting. This method gives me the most accurate representation of what it is I am copying.
 
 
Figure 8   I then remove the Wax or Parchment Paper after tracing the entire image by poking through the paper with the needle held by a pin vice.
 

Figure 9     I then go about removing the Sculpey that is outside of the figure. I mostly concentrate on the larger areas surrounding the arms, legs, and parts of the body.
 


Figures 10 & 11   These photos show the progression of sculpting the face and tricorn hat of the subject. I'm always mindful to keep the areas of the subject closer to me thicker and those parts that are way from the viewer thinner. This helps add to the three dimensional effect.
 


Figures 12 & 13   Shows further development of the relief.
 
  
 
 

One for the road

One last post to close out 2015. This relief sculpture is based on a figure study of a Continental Staff Officer by Historical artist Keith Rocco. I have to thank Keith for allowing me to use his painting for the subject of my latest donation to the Artist Preservation Group.
 
 
 
 
The following photos illustrate how I approach sculpting a relief with emphasis placed on how I start such a project.
 
 
 


Figure 1 & 2  I first take a piece of floor tile that will accommodate the size of sculpture I plan to make. The tile is given a very light coat of Vaseline so the sculpture will easily separate from it once it's completed. Two pieces of wood or plastic strip stock is then placed on either side of the tile. It's important that the height of the stock allows it to sit above the surface of the tile. This will be used to determine the thickness of the relief.
 
 


 
Figures 3 & 4   A large piece of Sculpey was rolled out and then press down onto the tile. A piece of Baking Parchment or Wax Paper is then placed over this. A second piece of tile is pressed down onto the Sculpey positioned on the tile underneath. The strip stock on either side will ensure that the Sculpey is flattened to a uniform thickness. The Parchment or Wax Paper prevents the Sculpey from sticking to it.
 
 
 

 
 

 
Figures 5 & 6   I then peel the Parchment or Wax Paper off and replace it with a black and white print out of the subject. Keep the strip stock in place as the black and white image is then pressed down onto the Sculpey so it adheres to it to allow transfer of the image to the Sculpey.