Sorry about the amateurish photography, I had shot this myself on my back deck after Waterbearer was finished being painted. Still, the sun was muted by clouds, and she came out well enough. This sculpture, made of off-white stoneware clay, is about 21" tall. She holds in her hands a water jug that is painted to look like the earth. I used some of the last of the clay (this sculpture was created in 2004, I think) that for years had worked so well for me, and accepted the oil paint washes very nicely into the surface. Within a year the same clay from my source in Tacoma had changed, and was very difficult to use. Thus the recent experimentation with the low-fire white stoneware, used to create the small, acrylic painted sculptures in the first several postings of this blog site. Waterbearer sold at Trios Gallery in Solana Beach, CA., several months later.
I've been enjoying the high quality photographs of your artwork. But I think this is a good photo, too. The statue looks good in the natural setting. The gap in the trees helps the composition. And as you observed, overcast days are great for bringing out the colors, which are so effective in this piece.
ReplyDeleteThe entire sculpture is beautiful, but I am entranced by the hands. They are very nicely done!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Roger, for the critique on the photo. I feel a little better about the quality (or lack thereof) now. I assisted Neil a great deal on his amateur photography expeditions and home/studio setups, so some rubbed off, I think. He did love bright/overcast days! The shrubs against the back of the deck bench happily hid the neighboring duplex.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what I will do when my hands become old and gnarly, Marian... they've been great models for my sculptures for years. I just pose them between strokes, and hope for the best. It'd probably be better if I had someone standing by with their hands rigid. I remember Bob Fletcher so loved this sculpture, and I'd hear him describing it to other folks at parties with affection and excitement in his voice. Years later he wanted to know if I had a photo of it he could have.
ReplyDeleteI think that as the boomer generation gets older, aging will be in style. Maybe younger people will shave their temples and tops of their heads, and wear false, wiry eyebrows. And perhaps they will most admire gnarled hands, because those are more difficult to simulate.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't that be a reversal of fashion! And there could be a fortune made when Estee Lauder creates a line of liver spot makeup in colors that are named, oh, say: "Dowager Hue", or "Senior Blush". Or "Golden Age Dapple".
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