Painting and Sculpture Skills Sharpen Eachother

Painting and Sculpture are like two knives that sharpen eachother. The painter who sculpts comes to a greater understanding of 3-dimensionality.

As a sculptor who has recently taken up painting, my mental evolution has been interesting. Detail may be achieved very quickly in painting. Polish and detail is time consuming and laborious in sculpture. It is easy to stop short of polish and detail in sculpture due to the time element and perhaps a sculptor's patience. Some sculptures may take months or a year whereas a painting might take several weeks to several months.

I am confident in saying the experience of painting is pushing my sculpting to greater heights in terms of polish and detail.

Anatomical Models for Sculpture and Painting

Anatomical models are very useful in the studio.  Depending on the artwork being created, they can provide almost unlimited reference.

Here are several companies that offer high quality models and figures.

In addition an artist can create their own castings of body parts using aginate, a natural molding material used by dentists to create molds of teeth.

Also, mirrors in the studio are useful.  One artist I know uses a folding screen where the moveable panels are mirrors.  This provides for a more complete study of your own figure.

I am always interested in other methods and anatomical model resources!  Please share any good info you might have!  Please click on the following links to visit the external sites!

ANATOMICAL PLASTER MODELS

ANDREW CAWRSE MODELS

ALGINATE RESOURCES

Recommended Reading

Lately, I seem to have developed and insatiable appetite for reading and audiobooks.  Below is a list of books and audiobooks I would like to recommend for the artist and seeker of wisdom.

Man's Search for Meaning, by Victor Frankl,


Frankl was a prisoner in Aushwitz and other Nazi camps, and used his experiences there to formulate a new system of psychology which he termed logotherapy.  This was developed through his study of human nature during tragedy.  The most significant school of Psychology since Freud or Adler schools, logotherapy is rooted in the idea that problems are rooted in our desperate need to find meaning and ultimately purpose.  Mostly his system focuses on the triumphs to be had by the "defiance of the human spirit", and through achievements made in the human spirit, not in the material world.


The Art Spirit, by Robert Henri.

Robert Henri was a renowned and well loved art teacher in the early 1900's.  This book is repleate with wisdom for the artist spirit.  And it is profoundly practical.  A MUST READ!!!


Aesop's Fables,

If you havent read this, you are truly missing out!  I love these little fables!


The Consolation of Philosophy, by Boethius

This is now in my top 20 favorites of all time!  Boethius, a Roman statesman, poet, philosopher, is imprisoned for being too virtuous and conscientious in his politics.  His adherance to virtue attracts the disdain of those around him.  From prison he holds a discourse with Philosophy who comes to console him, test his faculties of reason and rhetoric, and set him on the path again to higher wisdom and God.  This book is so brilliant, there is little I can say except, READ IT!

Stealing the Mystic Lamb, by Noah Charney

This book is fantastic!  Charney delves into the history and creation of Jan van Eycke's Ghent Altarpiece.  From its groundbreaking style, scope and techniques, to the life of the artist, to its repeated theft, this book covers everything!  A great read.

Letters to a Young Poet, Rainer Marie Rilke

This is one of my all time favorites.  This is for writers what the Art Spirit is for artists.  It shares the correspondance between Rilke and an aspiring poet.  It shares immense wisdom for the creative individual.  It discusses our vision of the world, and how to survive as a sensitive creative person.

The Art of Power, Thich Nhat Hanh

This little book is filled with spritual wisdom about the true source of power and what power is.  Profound.

The Art of War, Sun Tzu

If you have not read this, it is a must.  It is a great source of life strategy.

Costume Design for Sculpture or Painting

Over the past several years I have begun designing my own costumes and having them made by various talented seamstresses and other individuals.

From Greek chitons to tunics and himations, to children's robes, capes (called birrus britanicus with a hood called a cucullus), all costumes are made using choice materials.  This ensures the look of authentic clothing rather than costume.  Aesthetics are most important to me.  I consider the type of fabric that would have been worn at a particular time and I consider the quality of the drape.

In the photo below, a child wears a tunic sewn from coarse linen.  On occassion for model shoots, I will use a spray bottle to dampen the fabric slightly, thus relaxing the folds.

On the Sculpture Stand, Rudolf Nureyev

Here are pictures of what is currently on the sculpture stand.  This is a small figure of the Russian ballet dancer, Rudolf Nureyev.  The figure itself is 11 inches from toe to nose.

I have already been through several passes over the figure and and working my way up again.  Currently, I'm fine tuning the ribcage and the arms, accentuating the anatomy.  Then I will work on the protrait and hands and make one more pass over the figure.

This will be a bronze casting upon completion.