Back to Work!

Phew!!!

What a CRAZY month May was! I had an incredible time at the BOYCC show, I will post about that separately when I've had chance to put the events and photos into some sort of order. This post is to let you know the current goings on at Studio Savage (not an official name, but it has a certain ring to it, don't you think?).

The first thing is the new blog and website. You won't see much of a difference in the blog if you get these posts by email, but I have changed the whole colour scheme from a yellow/ orange/ gold theme to a much more subdued pale blue theme, I have kept the orange for the titles though as I do like to have a little bit of zing going on!

The new website is a complete overhaul from the old site, using a completely new domain server and site builder. I'm hoping that this new site will display quickly (and correctly) on all computers, mobile phones and tablet pcs and that you find it easy to navigate around. I've added some PayPal features so you can now buy any available models directly from the website, lots of photos and info on previous models, current models, works-in-progress including the upcoming Pet Portraits and some information that I plan to expand over time, on topics such as casting with different materials and various supplies and tools.

I hope you like the changes, if you spot any errors please let me know.

In the studio, oh yes – I have a Studio now!  It’s a bit of a stretch on the meaning but I’ve never wanted to use that word whilst I sculpted on the sofa and cast in the kitchen! Early this year Adam (my new fiancé, giggle!) and I set up the conservatory as a dedicated studio.  This hadn’t been an option in years gone by as the conservatory had such radical temperature fluctuations throughout the day – in Winter it can get as low as -10°C (14°F) and in Summer as high as over +60°C (+140°F)!

In January we blocked out the direct Sun from one side of the Conservatory by constructing a nice “thatched” style shade which Adam skilfully attached between the conservatory and the fence.  Here he is cleaning the roof, he’s very handy!

We coated the windows with a one-way mirror type film which will reflect much of the heat from the sun and go a small way to keeping the heat in at night. We also applied a Filter film to the glass roof of the room, cutting out 98% of the UV (yay for non-whitening resins!) and also reflecting/containing the heat.  It does cut out a lot of light too, but prior to this I had suffered with minor snow-blindness from being in the conservatory looking at white resin for hours, so even though there is less light than before, it is now actually lit much better for working on models.

Cooling the conservatory down has meant that I can now store many of my casting supplies in there, stored on another new addition – some industrial racking.

Of course, it’s nowhere as neat and tidy as it was when I took that photo, but it is soooo nice to have a dedicated space to work in.  I can keep most of my supplies out there (all resin remains indoors though as it can be quite sensitive to changes in heat and humidity).

I’ll do a little tour of “The Studio” at some point, I’m still working out the best place to keep everything so all those boxes are evolving to their perfect places still.

Ok, so, what have I actually been DOING in the studio?  Well, first up I am happy to introduce INFERNO, a new medallion I released this week:

INFERNO is a feisty fiery horse, I like to challenge myself and for this model I decided that I needed to come away from my comfort zone of relaxed, content horses and try a subject with much more energy to it.  I chose an open “roaring” mouth to learn more about that area and I also challenged myself to actually build in some flames to the model, and although subtle, they are there – if you just turn the model 90° to the right…

…there is a raging fire!  This opens up all sorts of possibilities with casting and painting these models, I’m really looking forward to seeing what everyone makes of them!  I have a few plans for custom-cast copies too and already have an order for a fiery custom cast which I will be working on this week.  If you like this model, more info can be found on my website here, and purchase info here.

Other works on the go include, of course, the ever patient Jasper.  I have reattached his head at a slightly higher angle to make him a little more outgoing and suitable for a show table.  I have filled his body out in places to get rid of the minor “noodle” effect that was going on there, I have worked a little on his face and reworked the lower half of his supporting rear leg.  On probably his 15th front leg by now, I think I’m getting close to the point of happiness, at last!  His O/S front leg has been replaced completely, I have yet to fully define the muscles, tendons and bones but even though it looks a bit off in the photo below, the O/S leg is much more technically/ anatomically/ biomechanically accurate than the slightly more vague and technically-a-bit-off N/S leg.

Here’s a close-up of each, see what you think (and please comment on this blog if you have any suggestions, I have a definite blind-spot when it comes to equine anatomy of the front legs, particularly in the heavier built breeds).  Sadly it was dark when I took these shots so they are lit artificially, causing some weird shadows.

The existing n/s leg (vague and not-so-accurate):

The new o/s leg (clumsy but more correct), note that this leg has no feathering yet so looks quite different to the n/s leg.

Of course, I am still no expert on these matters and I doubt I will ever get Jasper to the point of perfection (I think every sculptor has hopes of that for their first creation), but I’m pleased that I can at least report some progress from the first half of the year!

I have started a new Little Lady (I’m resisting, but she’s telling me that’s her name!), well, to avoid confusion she is a Very Little Lady; a thoroughbred broodmare to play mother to Very Little One, so a touch larger than Stablemate scale.  I already have Jasper and Pickle V3 in the larger scales to work on and wanted a new mini to play with.

I realised a few weeks ago that I have managed to bring almost 400 foals into the world and not a single mother for them! So, here she is, about 6 hours worth of work at this point. I’m trying to plan much more with new models and am measuring as I go, so I’m quite pleased I’ve gotten this far so quickly.

That’s all I can think of for now, apologies for the long post, I can’t promise the next one will be any shorter though as I want to tell you ALL about the fun I had in San Diego at the BOYC Convention!