Distractions!

It's the Autumn equinox - that's it, Summer's offically over (did you see it?)! The fresher weather certainly brings with it new energy and an urge to speed progress up on projects, perhaps due to the dwindling evening light and more limited hobby opportunities. Time to get moving on those ongoing projects...but...

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I'm just SOOOO easily distracted! Recently I bought some pens; Faber Castel Pitt Pens to be precise. I bought a pack of 4 black (superfine, fine, medium, broad), 4 Sepia (dark brown), 4 Sanguine (orangy brown) and a set of shades of grey (all broad, brush-tipped). Around this time I had also discovered an old sketch book from my school days which reignited my passion for two-dimensional creativity. Here's a couple of examples from back then (please bear in mind I was still at school then);

Sea-horse - Rotring technical drawing pens and Winsor and Newton Inks

Big Lizard - Tattoo design (unfinished)

New Year horses - a lesson in Perspective (NOT Anatomy, hehe! Cool manes though!)

Abstract horse - I always wanted to reproduce this on a BIG canvas, using glow-in-the-dark paints on a black/dark blue background. One day...

With my inspiration burning away I got to sketching and found a photo I'd taken of a horse that I pass daily on my commute to work. The horse is one of a group of three, one old-boy gray draft mix, a regular horse, and this one who appears to be a Clydesdale cross, I'd taken a few snaps months ago but when I came across the photo I thought my new pens were just the right range of colours, so got drawing and this is the result.

I have to admit; although it's a bit cartoon-ish, I was quite pleased with the result! I loved using the pens so much I took the plunge and bought a full set of 48 Pitt pens (a bit of a luxury I admit - all brush-tipped). Please excuse the dodgy pic, it was taken at work!

I had a dig about online for other Clydesdale type horses and came across a photo that I turned into this drawing; I can't find the photo again now, if I find it or am informed I'll happily credit the owner. I added the grass as on the photo the horse stood on a more dusty ground:

This drawing is to be donated to The International Blessed Broodmare Project (TIBBP), please contact myself or Janice Williford (email me for contact info) if you'd like more information on it. It is drawn on A5 smooth paper, and will possibly be framed.

I have to admit that my enthusiasm for drawing has wildly overtaken my energy for sculpture. But, I am definitely a slave to the phase, and will no-doubt be heading back there soon!

Have you been spammed?

Apologies for the public posting. I just received a spammail from my own Google! Well, it's not as it's not appeared on my blog, but it did appear to have been sent by me. If you've received ANY suspicious emails that are apparently from my Google group (ie if you're subscribed to my blog), please forward them to me - I will not stand for spamming so if Google won't filter them out, I'll ditch this blogger, but I don't know if this is happening unless you guys tell me. Kelly

Pre-sale advice on Pickle V2

She's here!!

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Thanks to my wonderful new vacuum casting equipment, I've been able to pull the full edition of Pickle V2 from the mold myself. Here are a few photos of the only A1 cold-cast metal copy I got before the mold broke (I got 1 Alu + 1 bronze second too). I hope you will find her as pretty as the V1 model.

Pickle V2 is the second version of the mini-bust sculpture, this version has a small three-point stand built from the mane that raises her slightly (handy for those dangly Arabian tack tassels!) and allows her to stand a little more securely than the first version (see here for images of both versions). Pickle is a small-trad scale mini bust, a full three-dimentional sculpture of a generic Arabian breed. I sculpted her as a mare but some people see a gelding, without any "bits" this model could happily be either.

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Pickle V2 is NOT AVAILABLE to order just yet, I've hit sales burn-out from the overwhelming sales from Fly Fishing (over 100 and counting), so am waiting until I return from my holiday at the end of the month before announcing her open for orders. I am, however, accepting emails of interest. I don't have the mental energy to arrange all orders just yet, but if you would like to drop me an email letting me know you're interested, I will keep a record of all these emails as a "reservation list" which I will deal with on my return around 1st Sep. (I'll confirm all such emails) Alternatively, leave a comment! I always love to hear critique and comments on my sculptures/casts, I only ask that you leave your first name or nickname on the comment (if commenting anonymously), so I have an idea of who's visiting. I do apologise for holding off the release of this model, but I hope that my need to restore some peace and order in my mind isn't too selfish. Hopefully I'll be much more on-the-ball in September, when the official release will take place.

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Pickle V2 is a run of 28, with 17 seconds (the eqmt took a bit of getting used to!) and 3 family gifts. A couple of the seconds have glitter/mica added but didn't turn out that amazing, hence being seconds. All unpainted resin copies are cast with Smooth-On white resin.

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Pickle V2 will be priced at $50 / £25

Seconds will be priced at $30-$45 / £15-£22

(imperfections range from small eartip bubbles to larger bubbles on muzzle that require a little resculpting)

I will be updating my website with the issue information shortly (another reason for holding back the release.