A New Gallery Coming

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Hi again, I just wanted to announce a new gallery will be published soon. The Gallery will contain images of the original Hyper Realistic Reconstructed clay models that have been shown since the blog's inception.  I thought it would be easier for new visitors plus regulars to see the models all on one page. It will show models in different stages plus some pictures that haven't been shown before.
I welcome any questions or feedback. Please let me know.
Have a great week. Cheers.

Skin Texture Hyper Realistic Sculpture #1 Homo Erectus

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

I'm finally back again with a new post. This time it's about skin texture being applied to the figure.
Because of the activity in the studio recently,I've been working on my Homo Erectus sculpture sporadically.  I was able to finish roughing it out only over the past two weeks.

Recently, I've been  experimenting with applying skin texture to this sculpture. The challenge is what type of texture should this figure have? Homo Erectus according to researchers went extinct roughly 400,000 years ago so preserved remains which show skin texture does not exist.

I've looked at other artists who specifically attempted this subject. They range from an almost completely modern African body with a primitive skull inserted to a man ape. Now of course to be fair, no one knows with certainty Lake Turkana Boy's actual appearance. The skeletal remains only infer that his body functionally and proportionately are similar to a modern human. So the assumption is that this individual would  have a more human like appearance.

Although, I'm not making a sculpture  for a museum diorama, I still want it to look just like one.  As I mentioned before the goal is a contemporary art statement not a didactic model.

My main question is for this clay model: What type of skin texture should this figure have?  I'm making the assumption that his skin was different but not ape like.Why? Because we tend to forget that the other primates have evolved as well. To what degree,uncertain. Here I making another assumption that modern apes and their ancestors differ as well so to use a more ape like skin for this figure would assume that the apes have remained primitive and humans have not.  We'll see how this approach will work out.

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

In the meantime,I took some recent black and white images. They give a better view of the modeling which at this stage still needs further refinement and skin texture applied.
This is a gradual process but I hope to finish this model soon. Crossed fingers.
I'll be posting next week. I hope all of you great weekend. Cheers.

Busy Busy Busy !

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

As the title indicates,there hasn't been a lot of time to update the blog unfortunately. But at present,I'm working on three posts which all will be ready to publish soon. There will be post on applying skin texture to my Hyper Realistic Figure#1,one on different sculptural interpretations of the Crucifixion and another on anatomy.
Meanwhile,the studio continues to be a busy place with several moulding and casting projects,all sculpture to be completed over the coming week. I should have some pictures for those works as well.

Photo credit  Barbara Di Lella        Sculpture copyright  Adrienne Alison

Photo credit  Barbara Di Lella      Sculpture copyright  Adrienne Alison

I wanted to take this opportunity to show a couple of works that I'm currently moulding. The two images above are two beautiful small sculptures by the artist Adrienne Alison. Adrienne by the way will be launching  her new website soon. I'll be linking it as soon as it's up and running. Adrienne can  still be contacted through the Sculptors Society of Canada website.

I'll be returning next week. I wish all of you a great weekend. Cheers.

Anatomy and the Figure

Many years ago as an art student, I purchased from a medical supply company a natural bone human skeleton plus a number of skulls and assorted other bones. At the time I felt that having such a collection would aid in having a better understanding of the human form.

Image copyright   Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Although all the bones in this post are human nevertheless they share the same beautiful forms and contours with other vertebrate skeletons. I feel each one is like a perfect little sculpture all it's own. Bones like other natural forms have provided  inspiration to both twentieth and twenty first century artists especially sculptors.

I'll be back next week. I wish you all a great weekend. Cheers. 

Sculpted Faces

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art Di Lella    

I thought I would take the opportunity to show some of the sculpted faces that I have created over the past several years. Some have already been shown on this blog and some are newcomers. These sculptures are cast in a variety of medium such as Porcelain, Cement, Terracotta,Bronze and Silicone. I love the versatility of the figure as a subject because it can work so well in different media.
Meanwhile,I hope all my readers have a great week. I will be reporting back later in the week.Cheers.

Hyper Realistic Figure Sculpture #1 in Review

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

I thought today's post would be a good opportunity to have a review of this sculpture and to show a bit of it's evolution,pun intended.
The top image is the latest which was taken early this morning. He is more filled out and there is greater definition and clarity to the anatomy although I'm starting to tone down the anatomical forms so they can arrive at a more natural state.

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

Image copyright  Art  Di Lella

I really enjoy looking back at sculptural process although I've presented the images in a sequential order it doesn't show the rather back and forth aspects of modelling in clay. Another issue I had mentioned in earlier posts was the rather peculiar anatomy of this figure. This sculpture is based on a fossil human called Lake Turkana Boy but this individual is very unusual (by modern standards) because he possessed a skull of an 8 year old with a post cranial skeleton of a 15 year old and the body proportions of a tropical adult male. 
It has been so far one of the more challenging figures I've ever attempted so far.
In the meantime,I'm still off site working madly to finish off the moulds for Abraham Ruben and I hope in my next update I'll have new pictures. I should have another post by this weekend.
Thanks for stopping by.  Cheers.

Moulds for Abraham Anghik Ruben

Image copyright  Art Di Lella                     Mother and Child Sculpture by Abraham Anghik Ruben

This week I wanted to show one of my off site moulding projects that I've been doing for Abraham Ruben. The sculptures shown are in different stages of construction.

            "Muskox and Wolves" by Abraham Anghik Ruben

Primary coat of silicone applied to Abraham's sculpture

"Carved Narwhal Tusk" by  Abraham Anghik Ruben

Primary coat of silicone applied to sculpture

Second section of mould being worked, sculpture of  "Owl with Owlets" by  Abraham Anghik Ruben

The back side of silicone mould of Abraham's sculpture "Owl with Owlets"

I'll be posting more pictures of the process this week as these sculptures' moulds must be completed by Saturday. . I'll  be back  on Wednesday. Have great week.
PS   I would like to thank Abraham's Gallerist's Rocco Panese and Lou Ruffulo of Kipling Gallery for giving me permission to publish images of their artist's works.