Sea Serpent Sculpt Finished!

I finished the sea serpent sculpture I've been working on this Thursday and got it listed in my Etsy shop :http://www.etsy.com/listing/68901992/sea-serpent-and-doryman I thought I'd share some wip photos with you. First I finished sculpting the clay waves over the wood base.

Then I mixed together Liquitex Blue acrylic paint with transparent green polytranspar paint to make a thin wash.

I applied the wash over the clay waves in thin coats.

After several coats of the blue/green wash I dry brushed in some white caps.

When my painted sea dried I gave it several coats of water based clear varnish to seal the finish.

While the varnish was setting I mixed up a small batch of EnviroTex Clear resin.

I wanted to do a test mixture of the Envirotex, sand and broken bits of shell to be sure it cured properly. The next morning I saw it had set fine - clear and hard!

So I mixed up a second batch and poured it into the bottom of the listing boat letting it settle to the side. I've never seen the floor of a work boat yet that didn't have some sea water slogging back and forth. The EnviroTex captured this look perfectly!

Here are some photos of the finished piece. Click on them if you'd like a larger view:

If I've piqued your curiosity about sea serpents you may enjoy these links:

The UnMuseum - Sea Serpent of Gloucester

The Shadowlands Sea Serpent page

This book by J.P. O'Neill sounds right up my alley! Amazon.com: The Great New England Sea Serpent: An Account of Unknown Creatures Sighted by Many Respectable Persons Between 16...

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.

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.

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.

Dark Art Goblin Tree Ornaments

I recently finished this set of three Goblin tree ornaments and listed them in my Etsy shop.

They are modeled in Apoxie Sculpt clay and polymer clay. Handmade Goblin Dark Art Ornaments by BlacknickSculpture on Etsy

Between Christmas shopping and fishing the last weeks leading up to the close of the striped bass season I haven't had much free time to work on my new sea serpent piece.

I thought I'd share these photos showing the beginning of the armature and adding the tongue and teeth.

After gluing the aluminum wire into the wooden skull I began sorting through my teeth.

I glued the individual teeth in place. And then sculpted Apoxie clay around them to form gums.

Next it will be time to create the eyes and paint the jaws.

My Sculpture Featured on Etsy's Off the Beaten Path

It was a pleasant surprise to wake up to find my Sea Serpent sculpture had been chosen by the curator of Etsy Finds: Off the Beaten Path : Etsy Finds: Off the Beaten Path :: Etsy Blog .

I can't believe the number of people that have viewed it in a little over a day! Just goes to show you the power of the Internet.

I have another serpent in mind I'd like to create. This one will be "swimming" in resin water.

Creating resin water is a little more time consuming and the fumes are a bit much. For this reason I like to cast my resin pieces outdoors which means I'll have to wait for warmer weather to arrive.