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Figure L, approx. 16"h x 8"w, sculpture in white marble, Andrew Portwood |
Newly installed in my gallery space at 14th Street Antiques & Interiors...2 pieces of stone sculpture that I carved when I was around 20 years of age,...let's hear it for youth & vitality. I recently rediscovered, and re-evaluated these pieces... and realized that their design integrity has held up very well over the years. I have found some old drawings as well that are familiar... but look very different today after experiencing a good bit of life. At the time, I was drawing figures every day, so it was only natural to try an abstract form in stone.....I am very proud of this work.
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Princess Nile, approx. 15"h x 8"w, sculpture in pink alabaster, Andrew Portwood |
These sculpture pieces took 3 months a piece to carve...starting with the white marble block I purchased at a quarry in Sylacauga, Alabama. I began first working up a design...building a small clay model. Then,.. I removed large chunks with a heavy chisel and hammer...slowly subtracting with finer chisels and refining with various files. Then begins the sanding...stages from rough to fine wet sanding under running water. The alabaster was not nearly as hard a substance as the marble, but still solid stone. The thing about sculpting from stone is.... that it is a subtractive (subtraction) process....once you remove material, it's gone. So...it's kind of a destructive, and a bit violent process that yields a new form. But to achieve that new and ideal form...it requires constant maintenance from all sides...every angle at the same time....subtracting little by little. Very labor intensive, but worth it for the results...that rock should be around for a long time!
In the future though, I should like to try casting in bronze.
They are both available at my gallery space at 14th Street Antiques & Interiors
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| Andrew Portwood Gallery Space at 14th Street Antiques & Interiors |
