SCULPTURE: "Mantis"

Tonight, I finished a little project I've been working on. It's been a while since I'd done a full on sculpture in the round, so I made 3 little "bas-relief" sculpts..the other two were posted here earlier. The MANTIS finishes the set. 

I did my "sketch" of the Mantis in Photoshop by cobbling several photos together to get the pose I liked, and found a nice Celtic knot design for the background. I transferred the image by punching holes in a flat layer of Sculpy using a pin. 

Then I roughed in the shapes. Turns out that the Celtic element didn't work as hoped...it's too large in scale and makes the Mantis harder to see. Live and learn. 

The last phase was painting it with acrylics to create a "faux bronze" effect.

UPDATE:  I decided that the background was a bit hard to read, and competed with the Mantis. So I muted the background tones, and added more "patina blue" so the Mantis would pop more.

 

CHALK ART: "Postcard #25"

I just finished another chalk "postcard"...number 25 in the series. I decided to try a little experiment. This postcard concept is taken from the very first chalk mural I ever did...way back in 2014.

Hallmark Employees and their families helped with a clean-up and planting day at the Kansas City Zoo. They also had an artist project for people to enjoy. That year, I was involved with the planning committee, and I suggested doing a "chalk walk", since I'd always wanted to try one. 8 years later, I'm revisiting the image I had done. 

 Not sure I've improved upon the original...there are things I like about both.

 

SCULPTURE: "Bird Feeder Tree"

Today, I finished a project that was originally started in 2018. This version is the third "upgrade" to my bird feeder. The concept was to create an organic tree that had foliage designed to keep the snow off of the birdseed in the winter. 

The first version broke due to my poor engineering. The second version was a total re-sculpt of the tree with a "Tiffany Lamp" feel to it. The shrink-wrap plastic that I used on top was too reflective. 

This final version adds more foliage to the outer rim of the feeder, and uses plastic screen between the limbs, much like stained glass. 

I also re-built the stand to support the added weight. I used epoxy, PVC pipe, Bondo, and wood, then set the stand into a concrete base. 

I used wood stain, various spray cans (brown, tan, black), and acrylic washes to color it.