John W Reid Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 New work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John W Reid Posted September 8, 2012 Author Share Posted September 8, 2012 As far as I know this has never been attempted before, the bringing together of a scratch made sculpture and a model kit into one artistic composition.This will be a single sculpture in two completely different parts with only the title to join them together.I have many reasons for attempting this as I will explain as I go along. At this point in time the falcon sculpture is almost finished (90%),the the Bleriot airplane kit is well under way. I could have scratch built the Bleriot too but I have a personal reason not to,which I will explain later.In fact it would have been easier to do so as this kit has many problems to deal with.Well here goes.... The evolution of the falcon sculpture has been a long one.It started out as a wooden decorative bird sculpture like many others I had done prior to the year 2000.When it was well underway with most of the rough carving already finished,I decide that I really didn't like the birds posture so I changed it using epoxy putty.Normally once the feather groupings and individual feathers are carved and finely sanded ,I would start burning in feather detail in preparation for painting.On this piece because of the epoxy it was out of the question.I was teaching bird carving classes at the time so I thought I would just leave it at that,as a study bird for my students.For health reasons I left teaching and the bird just sat in my studio/workshop for about 15 years just looking at me while I was building four large dioramas for the Canada Aviation and Space Museum.During that time the look of the bird grew on me as I kind of liked its look of quiet curiosity .So I had a choice,throw it out or give it away to another carver(as his constant stare was getting me down),cut off the head and reattach it to a new wood body or finish it as is as an interpretative sculpture.None of which really appealed to me. As I was finishing up my four storyboard diorama for the museum I got to thinking which of my unfinished projects should be next ? I had this Bleriot kit so I thought that might be fun but I lost interest and put it aside.I started on an old west railroad storyboard diorama got halfway finished but the bird started to bug me again.So I sat myself down and had a good talk about what I would most regret not finishing if I croaked tomorrow(am almost 72.)The answer the bird. The Goshawk and Flicker. This is the last bird of prey that I did prior to this one which was wood burned and painted in the traditional way. This is where I was a few weeks ago when I started back on this piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John W Reid Posted September 8, 2012 Author Share Posted September 8, 2012 The transition from wood to epoxy paste is almost unnoticeable in this pic.Nothing has moved at the joint for fifteen years when it was not even sealed so chances are nothing will crack in the future.This A+B epoxy is great ,when fully cured it carves just like wood.With power tools or hand sanding it comes off in a powder and does not melt like the others and clog up your bits. Thank goodness I had some left over as I don't think they make it anymore.(will check it out)I have painted the area with white gesso to high lite any areas for imperfections. I have changed things around again.This sculpture will be in two completely separate parts with only air and the viewers imagination between them.The bird will be on a base and the Bleriot will be hanging from the ceiling or beam.(Just like when we were kids with our models)There will be no pilot figure in the airplane as I want this piece to be from the bird's perspective.The only thing that will join the two pieces together will be the title "Stranger In My Sky" which makes no sense until you make the connection. As you can see I am not finished painting the bird yet but my idea for the Bleriot/Falcon piece would be to have it in a darkened room, with one light on the bird and another on the Bleriot model hanging from the ceiling so the viewer would be sure to make the connection between the two.For this piece lighting will be everything. Out of focus but you get the idea.I was trying to think back 15 years ago as to why I didn't just make the base out of wood or stone then it came to me ,I didn't want the weight of stone or grain and imperfection in the wood.This is supposed to represent a Falcon's talon so I want it as smooth as possible. So what I did was take a piece of pink Styrofoam and shape it with a special Styrofoam file to look like a birds talon.Then I covered that with wood type plaster,sealed the plaster with spray lacquer and sanded it as smooth as I could,put a few coats of black gesso on it then promptly put it away for 15 years. So this is where I am at as of today,gesso and sand,gesso and sand over and over using finer and finer sandpaper as I go along.It would have been far easier to have used wood but... The other half of this piece is the Bleriot of course.It was very important to me that this be a kit.Believe me it would have been easier to scratch build it as this kit is poor,the materials are OK but the instructions are confusing and pretty much worthless except for the pics.The reasons that I wanted it to be a kit are many,a few of them are that it reminds of building models in my childhood and hanging them from my bedroom ceiling and also to show that even kits can become art. Over the years it has been my experience that when the average non model builder hears "kit" he thinks of toys and dismisses the whole thing as just a kids thing.But modeling has changed over the years and even plastic models can now become art when placed in the hands of an artist.And then there are all those in the background who are researching,planning and seeking perfection in replicating the life size original. I am proud to say that yes this sculptures representation of the Bleriot aircraft is basically a modified kit. :t I am planning to cover only the underside of the wings and elevator.When looking up from the ground that is all you would see anyway as I have changed my mind about the angle of bank now that I have eliminated any direct connection between bird and airplane. The connection will now be done with the lighting only.When shining a light onto the airplanes underside I want it to be as transparent as possible like you would see it in strong sunlight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritJet Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 Stunning work, looking forward to seeing it finished Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John W Reid Posted September 8, 2012 Author Share Posted September 8, 2012 Thank you Steve,glad you liike it, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larkie Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 I take my hat off to your skill and patience, John. The details on that sculpture, as well as the overall structure and pose, are absolutely amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John W Reid Posted September 9, 2012 Author Share Posted September 9, 2012 Thanks larkie ! I plan to leave it white and let the lighting bring out the detail much the same as when I used to relief carving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John W Reid Posted September 10, 2012 Author Share Posted September 10, 2012 (edited) The bird will be black and white and the airplane black,burnt umber and brass. Edited September 10, 2012 by John W Reid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryJones Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Great work as usual John and a fantastic idea. I'm looking forward to seeing this progress Cheers, Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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