| Saker Falcon. |
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| Life size Bronze Saker Falcon.Private commission. |
As a child I used to draw avidly until the day someone gave me some clay! I obtained a degree in sculpture
and have had a working studio ever since. My first job was with Madame Tussauds and my first
commission, which came through the landscape garden designer Roddy Llewellyn, was a life size
girl for one of his gardens.
I have been exhibiting and selling work through galleries mainly in London and Ireland ever
since.
Over
the years I have done a number of commissions for property companies including Berkeley Homes
who, along with the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), commissioned
me to produce the seven foot statue of the late Sir Peter Scott with two Bewick Swans for the
wetlands centre at Barnes in London , this was unveiled by David Attenborough in 2000 .
My work:
In recent years a lot of my work has been derived from found objects such as flint, coral and bone. Some work is more obviously
inspired in this was than others. Eve I and III, in particular, are almost copies of the original piece of flint that I found,
with some alterations to make the human resemblance clearer.Searching for the object is
an exciting process in itself and I have had to spend many hours at West Wittering beach just looking for them.
The majority
of my work conveys human feelings and expressions withiut actually being realistic human forms. This is where the challenge
of work lies for me.
Occasionally I take on portrait commissions and enjoy working with a precision and accuracy that
contrasts with the freedom of expression that I like to use on my more abstracted work.
I am always changing my work
and experimenting with different ways of expression- it is interesting and challenging for me and stops my work feeling stagnant
or repetative.
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| Sir Peter Scott. |
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| Working on the sculpture of Sir Peter Scott. |
The Process:I have never worked from drawings- I cannot plan what I do- if I did it would kill the spontaneity.
A drawing might suggest a form and start off an idea but that's as far as it goes!
Each piece will start with a loose
idea suggested by a piece os bone or flint perhaps,.
The sculpture 'Sylphidine II' was inspired by 'Knife
Edge' by Henry Moore.
'Corail I by a piece of coral that a friend gave me.
'Eclat
de Pierre I and II' by a piece of flint that another friend gave me.
'Arche Ossulaire' and Bone Form I and
II were from some bone that I found.
I use wire to get the movement and flow of the idea and then quickly put on the
clay or plaster while I am excited by the idea. A pice of work may take a few days or a few weeks- I never know.
Once
I am happy with the work I have it cast into bronze. All my finished work is in bronze. Bronze can either appear cold or warm.
Light reflects off the suface and it can be irresistable to touch. Bronze is timeless and has it's own history. The process
of casting is complex and time consuming and I try to be involved in each part of the process where I can.
| Sir Peter Scott. |
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| Over life size Bronze sculpture of Peter Scott with two Bewick swans.WWT Barnes, London. |
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