Skin and Bones

Intrigue

Brown Iris

Brown eyes. Reddish brown hair. Brown skin. Skin the color of vanilla, cocoa, and banana. Smile of sunshine. Laughing tongue. Her open arms. Her open thighs. Spring.

Figure Study of Black Seated Man

This study of a black male model was one of my last pieces. I would date it from 1980 or 1981. 16" high. Fired clay, painted with a patina to resemble aged bronze.

In its current state, the figure looks like it was retrieved in an Italian archaeological dig in pieces and reassembled. Originally, it was over 20" high, with the arms stretched out and raised. The arms broke off, because they were too heavy for the base. One leg and foot also were broken.

The original figure was reworked to be twice as large as its first composition. I realized that I needed a much larger scale to express the dynamism of the pose and attitude. I added more clay for the upper torso. When the figure broke, it broke at the line where the clay was added.

I stored this figure and forgot about it. I thought I would retrieve it to show at least some artistic development in my brief sculpting study. I placed the piece in the outdoor light for a better photo; I did not intend it for permanent display outdoors. I have since return it to storage.

Figure Study of Seated Woman - Outdoor

I sculpted this piece about 1976. 14" high. Fired clay, originally painted with a patina to resemble aged bronze. This seated woman figure has rested out of doors in my gardens for over thirty years. The patina has worn off, but most of the detail remains unweathered.

Figure Study of Seated Woman

Sculpted about 1978. In the years 1971-1982, I trained in sculpture in art classes and by personal study of monumental sculpture on my professional travels in the US, Canada, and the U.K. I took life modelling classes with Robert Ortlieb, a Southern California sculptor, and one summer of classes in a San Francisco art college. In my classes with Ortlieb were several students who became professional sculptors, Catherine Irving, Alice Schonfeld, and Herb Conrad. I recognized that I did not have enough talent, even with diligent application in the studio, to pursue the art as an avocation. I kept a study journal over ten years, which I have published in this blog. Of the several dozen pieces I did in those years, only two remain. The one pictured below is in my home; the other anchors my garden.

Women in repose were always my favorite subjects. A woman friend who liked my work said that, what she enjoyed about my female figures is that I treated the women with respect and they had dignity. Those qualities are what I tried to express.

I sculpted male figures from life, too. The male poses had tension and dynamism that I did not have sufficient talent to convey convincingly.

I ceased active work in sculpture when the demands of family and profession left me no time for the pursuit of art. The models and figure studies I did of them thirty years ago are like old friends from another life, whom I remember with a wistful nostalgia.

Seated Young Woman, Aspect 1. 14" high. Photographed with a flash. The flash light fairly accurately shows the patina. Fired clay with painted patina to look like cast, aged bronze.

Seated Young Woman, Aspect 2. Photographed with a candle light setting. Better shows the three dimensional features of the face.