In this section I have gathered those pieces that are not carved from stone or wood or cast in Jesmonite. Some are experimental pieces, in composition or materials.
Panther, prowling
completed: 2024
materials: Acrylic painted plaster, on aluminium armature, all on reclaimed mahogany base
These magnificent creatures are big cats, most commonly leopards or jaguars, with a colour variation that results in them being very dark brown or black.
I am particularly fond of them because in my twenties I was asked to look after a black cat called 'panther', who became my companion for many years.
Rhino Head
2021
Casting plaster on mahogany base
380 x 265 x 148mm
This was my first entry for The Great Big Art Exhibition, on the theme of animals.
The previous summer my wife and I had a close encounter (through a hole in a fence) with two adult white rhino. It was very moving.
Butterfly Brain
2021
Ink wash and ink drawing on paper. Held in painted blockboard shaped frame.
This was my entry for the second theme of The Great Big Art Exhibition, which was Portraits. I initially cut out a number of pieces of blockboard to great an armature on which to make a head in plaster, much as I had done with Rhino.
I then realised the waste from my bandsaw was an inverse head. Using the ink set I had been given for Christmas, I created the blue background and then drew the Monarch buttefly in inks on paper. It was then a simplt job to paint the frame and mount the paper behind it.
After Barbara
2021
Painted casting plaster on pine base
410 x 265 x 142mm
In May 2020 I was booked onto a sculpting in plaster workshop at Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
It was cancelled (lockdown) so I ordered materials and had my own plaster workshop - a great way to learn with this obliging material.
Plumbed Remains
2003
Lead on turned mahogany base
298 x 192 x 192mm
Made from salvaged pieces of lead piping, this was an experiment in casting. I made a form out of candle wax, using a wire armature. Then I made a solid plaster mould, extracted the wire and heated the mould until the wax melted and ran out.
Aside from a bit of bubbling in the lead at the top of the sculpture, presumably from some moisture still retained in the plaster, the technical process was successful. I really like the way the surplus lead tumbles across the base; which was of course the top in the mould.
