Ritter Center House Finished

I finished it. I was happy that there was only 3 sides and not 4. Painting a house is,well, like painting a house...there is a lot of space on the outside of a house!...I am happy that the figure feels like the house and to me really adds something dynamic to the shape. The inside is very open- pale blue sky in feeling to contrast with the density on the outside of the house. Up high, on the inside where very few will look, is a blue angel.

Ritter Center House Roof Detail

This is a detail of one side of the roof. The snakes and ladders are from the original game that later was turned into chutes and ladders- a board game that deals with fate and luck. I created a board game, calendar motif on the house to symbolize the passage of time and the unknown twists and turns in one's life. The numbers represent the days of the month and the passage of time. The house is 49" x 48" and is made with plaster, acrylic and oil paint. The sculpture is mahogany and oil paint.

Rooftop Man

After I got the figure more defined I ran into a little problem with the hand held disc sander I started with..I couldn't define any details and it wasn't allowing me to carve as carefully as I needed. I called up Joe Brubaker Joe Brubaker - Sculpture a sculptor who also is in Donna Seager's Gallery. His work is amazing and Joe is exceptionally nice. I went over to his studio - a fun space loaded with odd found objects of metal and wood. Remaindered parts of things, half started sculptures of heads and gorgeous miniature bronzes he has had cast of his work. He leant me some tools and told me what not to do and this made all the difference in the world. I especially loved painting the figure as suddenly I was back on familiar territory again, having never carved anything before. It is so fun to paint sculpture because no matter how you paint the form it will always resemble the figure. You are no longer trying to create an illusion with paint. The shape is fixed, but the color is not. I loved painting it. I wanted this figure, that is going to float above the Ritter Center House, to feel as is it is 100s of years old. Very primitive, simple and universal.

Carving the Man

My neighbor gave me this huge chunk of mahogany. I cut out the general shape of the figure and now I am trying to refine it. It's interesting to just be removing and not being able to add anything back on...sculpture is like that--just take away all the parts that don't belong and then you will be left with what you imagined. Easier said then done. I think I will paint on this figure once he is finished. Maybe a dark color, a rich patina. He is going to float above the house like a weathervane on a roof. I will make it so he can move in the breeze.