Sea Serpent WIP Update

I haven't had much chance to work on the sea serpent piece due to the rotten weather we've been having! I'm painting the serpent in acrylic washes and I need to protect the finish with clear lacquer before progressing to the next step.

We finally had a decent day here and I was able to get outside and spray the serpent so I could finish the painting. The serpent is now done, the fisherman and boat are 99% completed. All that remains to do is create the waves washing over the base.

On past projects I've sculpted the waves in clay, made a mold, and cast the waves in resin. It is a time consuming process but provides a dramatic effect! Here is a post with photos of my sculpture of The Old Man And The Sea for a look at resin water : http://blacknick-sculpture.blogspot.com/search?q=resin+water

On this piece I'm going to use Apoxie Sculpt two part clay to create the water. The first step is marking off the direction I want the waves to flow using a marker.

Next I begin using foil to form my waves. The core of foil will save on weight and material. This weekend I hope to have the foil waves set in place so I can begin my wave sculpting.

Detailing The Miniature Fisherman's Boat

It has gotten cold here. When I see saltwater freezing on the jetties I know the real winter has arrived!

In the 5 minutes it took to snap a few pictures and feed the gulls some scraps we had for them I could barely feel my fingers.

The frigid weather was a good excuse to stay indoors and catch up on my fisherman project.

One of the things I feel detracts from a miniature is if it looks too perfect. This is especially true for boats.

So after all the careful sanding and painting it came time to beat up the boat a bit. The first thing I did was use a strand of line to rub the gunwale in several places.

Before gluing the seats in place I sanded the paint off here and there and nicked them up with my Xacto knife.

Next I used chalks and a cotton swab to create aged drip marks under the thole pins and at the locations of the bow and transom lines.

Many times fishing boats will have blood splattered about from the thrashing of landed fish. To replicate this I used thinned down dark red paint and a stipple brush. It created a nice pattern of paint at the location where the fisherman would be seated.

The next thing I did was antique the oars and the trawl tub. When the tub was done I packed aluminum foil inside it and topped it off with Apoxie Sculpt clay. Then I took the line which I had aged in brewed tea and coiled it in the tub tacking it in place with Zap a Gap glue.

Next up will be gluing the boat gear and fisherman in place. Then on to creating the water around the dory.

Sea Serpent WIP Photos

On Saturday I worked on the sea serpent piece. I reinforced the neck area by wrapping it in wire mesh and masking tape.

Next up I inserted the eyes I had sculpted and painted earlier.

For the sculpting I was using Apoxie Sculpt clay Apoxie® Sculpt which is a two part medium that you knead together to activate.

The trick is too only mix up as much as you can use before it begins to set up. I prefer using small batches and mixing more as I need it.

Once I begin sculpting I like to try and complete the piece in one sitting. I find that by doing so the newly mixed clay blends into the setting clay already on the piece more seamlessly.

Here is a few photos of the finished pose.

Monster Wonderful Monster

Tarayvonne my teammate on Etsy Dark Team has assembled a wonderful collection of monster themed artwork in this treasury: Monster Wonderful Monster by tarayvonne on Etsy

I'm honored that she selected one of my monsters for inclusion in her unique treasury!

If you have a minute you should pop into Tarayvonne's Etsy shop for a treat. She has a wonderful assortment of shadow boxes and other miniature creations: :19th Day Miniatures bids you welcome by tarayvonne on Etsy

WIP Photos

> The weatherman is calling for snow Tues into Wed this week. I thought I better take the opportunity to get into my garage and do some work before I need to shovel my way in there.

I wanted to cut and route a piece of plywood to use as a base for my fisherman. The alternative would be to sculpt the clay swells up to the boats waterline.

Besides being a waste of sculpting medium it would add quite a bit of weight to the piece.

By routing a depression into the wood the boat can sit lower in the base. Then considerably less material will be needed to build a sea around the dory.

I also cut a block of wood to add as an anchor point to my sea serpent sculpture. I've got the jaw sections put together and mounted the head to the neck.

Next up will be painting and detailing the dory.

Cod Fisherman

With shopping and other Christmas preparations I haven't had much time to update my blog.

I thought I'd take this opportunity to share a few work in progress photos.

I've got the polymer codfish painted. I thought of airbrushing it but was too lazy to strain the paint and then have to clean the airbrush.

I've also built and primed the wooden dory the fisherman will be seated in. I still need to make a pair of oars and other fishing gear.

Here is a photo of the fisherman holding his catch seated in the dory.

Sea Serpent Sculpture Sold!

I had two pleasant surprises yesterday. The first was the sale of a piece of my horror themed art.

It was the sea serpent sculpture that was inspired by the brontosaurus upsetting the raft full of sailors in King Kong (1933).

The second surprise came after I had fed the seagulls. Each morning the gull we nicknamed Wally shows up on the beach near our home.

My wife and I started to feed Wally when we noticed he was hobbled by fishing line ensnaring his legs.

Eventually he somehow freed himself but now each morning when I check out the surf conditions for fishing Wally expects his free lunch.

Yesterday was the end of the striped bass fishing season. Each year I make a point of fishing the last day. Well the freezing temperature combined with the gusty northwest wind put any idea of fishing out of my mind.

I thought since I'm here I may as well tough it out and walk a few beaches. After three blocks my eyes were tearing badly from the constant wind. I turned my back to the wind to get a moment of relief. As I turned to continue on this lure washed up literally at my feet!

The weird thing is I wanted this lure but I had put off buying it till after the holidays.