The Concept of Running Free

A piece with a horse and a piece with a human has been on my list for a while.  I didn't want to just make a horse and rider, I needed some kind of story for them to be acting out, something interesting to be happening, some sort of situation the characters would be reacting to.  That's basically how I see my sculptures, as characters reacting to or acting in situations.

I had spent a few hours with a friend and her horse, DaVinci, a while back to get some reference images.  While perusing the hundreds of photos I took, I found a few shots that caught my interest.  One of the things most surprising to me about my visit with DaVinci was how nuts he went after being set free in a corral.  He is normally a jumper, trained to run a course jumping hurdles.  Very disciplined.  But in the corral, he was free of the confines of the stable, free of the saddle, free of any requirements.  He jumped and bucked and raced around the corral in utter joy and freedom.  Soon his owner started to run with him just outside the railing of the corral, a huge grin on her face.  It was wonderful to watch the two of them running together, free of the confines of life, running free together.

So that is the inspiration for this sculpture.  Of course, I had to make the image more dramatic, turning the woman into a dancer with a flowing dress, dancing and almost flying along with the prancing horse.  My work has to have some fun in it, after all.  I also wanted to highlight the connection between the woman and horse, because that is as important as the freedom.  They are running together, experiencing the freedom together.  I think that is much what happens when a rider takes their horse out for a fun ride, having a shared experience.  

In the design she is reaching out to to touch the horse, and they look into each other’s eyes with exhilarated expressions.  That’s one thing I really want to stand out here, the facial expressions.  I don’t want bland or neutral expressions.  The view should be able to easily read the character’s emotions from their faces.  It is as much a part of the sculpture as the poses of the bodies, and that should give the sculpture life.

Here are the armatures posed for the Running Free sculpture. This is essentially two sculptures, each with their own armature. They will be sculpted and cast separately but will be joined together in the final bronze. This is where I had to make the pose more real, since you can't really cheat things in the real world. On a concept drawing, anything can be cheated. But when something can be seen from any angle, it needs to look good from any angle. I am sure I will make more changes when I get the clay on there, but this is a good start.

The first clay for the Running Free sculpture is on the armature! Here I have bulked out the general shape of the horse. The goal is to define the mass of the major muscle groups, as well as the chest and belly. This will make sure I have the proportions correct. This needs to be done before any detail work so I don't have to rework things over and over. I can also make changes to the pose at this stage without too much trouble. Posing the armature is one thing, but it looks completely different when the skin and muscle are there to show a real silhouette. I have already changed which front leg is leading to make it more accurate.

Here I am working out the muscle definition of the horse now that the main mass and proportions are all there. I put in a rough face, a neutral pose. I plan on putting a nice expression on the face, though. I need to work out just how far to push it but still convey the emotion.

I have also roughed out the basic form of the Dancer.  She is running alongside the Horse, the right hand caressing the horse's face.  That won't be finalized until the two pieces are brought together, to make sure they connect well.

Right now the goal was to get the pose right, and block in the major forms and masses, to make sure the proportions are correct.  From here I will work on refining the main shape before going into any detail work.  I also built an armature for the dress that will flow away at the back while the sculpture is still rough.  I may have to alter things, so it's best to stay away from detail work that may be thrown away if major changes occur.

A sculpting demo at the Scottsdale Fine Art and Wine Festival

Both the horse and dancer in the Running Free sculpture are ready for their big debut at the Wyland Gallery. While they are not finished, just in the early stages of clay, they will be the center piece of my solo show. They are the most ambitious and dynamic of my sculptures, and together they have a lot of impact. People also love to see behind the curtain of the creative process, so these two sculptures in progress will give them a good look. I plan on working on them as well, so people can ask questions and hopefully learn a bit about what it takes to make one.

While the two sculptures are just in the rough stages to me, everyone else thinks they look great (meaning done). That’s kind of the problem for me as an artist, and probably other artists as well. While others may think the work looks great, it isn’t finished until the sculpture matches the image in my head. And that’s a tough thing to do. I have a vivid imagination, full of dynamic shapes and tons of detail. I think the detail gives the sculpture richness and plenty to look at. Of course, the detail shouldn’t mask the overall shape and flow of the shape, they should be in a symbiotic relationship, but I just think the detail adds dimension to the art. That’s also the part that can take so much time.