Cat's Eye Carving

Different faces.

During my Degree which I graduated from 20yrs ago I studied portraiture in both 2D and 3D. We would sculpt in clay taking precise measurements from people sitting for us. As I became more competent, it would take me roughly 24hrs over a period of several weeks to create a good likeness. This would then be cast in plaster.

I can now use silicone moulds and a material called Jesmonite to create my casts but most of the figures and faces I create now come from my imagination and are carved into stone. However my imagination is backed up with years of practise and plenty of drawing.

I mentioned in my previous post the many sketchbooks that I have and I use these as my reference source. When I have a specific commission my sketchbook pages will be dedicated to the workings for this.

These 3 carvings are all quite different and show how I can carve the stone to give different feelings.

A small chip with a particular chisel gives the impression of thought, sleepiness or in the case of Poseidon, strength. Carving on a small scale as 2 of these are is very difficult as there is only a finite amount of stone to use, the Green man carving is a little easier because he is completely made up but even so giving him a smily face, you can almost see his rosy cheeks is a challenge in itself as there is no paint, just stone.

I am happy to take on commissions for any type of portrait or you can choose from one of the faces I have on my shelf.