Sculpting from life
June 5th, 2006I have been drawing from life for years, but I only recently tried modeling in clay from life. For one project I made a portrait of my three-year-old daughter (now four years old). Three-year-old girls never pose, of course. This makes drawing them difficult.
Sculpting in clay is a different matter. I made a clay head about one-third life-size, not attached to a base so I could hold and turn it in my hands. Every time she moved, I turned the sculpture and modeled whatever view I had for that moment. It took time and persistence, but after a few sessions I made a good likeness. I was surprised at how easy it was, given how little experience I had in this medium. But there is a logic behind it.
The challenge in drawing is to transform three dimensions into two dimensions. Without a consistent viewpoint, the process is somewhat hopeless. With sculpture, this transformation in dimensions is not an issue, and every viewpoint holds useful information. By going to the third dimension, the most difficult drawing problems become doable as sculpture.
June 6th, 2006 at 10:26 pm
Interesting, I’ve been thinking a lot about sculpture in relation to two dimensional painting. Which would you say is the most challenging?
Three dimension is reproduced as your mind sees things (volume)Two dimension is as your eyes see things (area)
you would think that painting would be more difficult, but sculpture is the less chosen ??
June 7th, 2006 at 1:40 pm
I find sculpture much easier than painting, but I use sculpture as a form of study, not for the purpose of making finished artworks. That defines a different level of difficulty because of the different goals. I also spend a lot of time drawing my sculptures. I find it easier to make a figure sculpture than to make a drawing of it, even though I have a lot more experience drawing than sculpting. Here then is one of the reasons that sculpting can be so valuable to the painter: it is a medium in which it is easy to create, even if the final goal is a two-dimensional artwork.
June 7th, 2006 at 7:09 pm
Is there a site where I can view your work karl zipser?
amber
June 8th, 2006 at 5:58 pm
Here are some paintings:
one
two
three
June 8th, 2006 at 9:55 pm
wow those are wild, very unique I have never seen anything like them
I know they are good because the image remains in my mind
do you like Bosch?
June 9th, 2006 at 2:05 pm
I’m glad you find the paintings interesting. I’m fond of all of the “Flemish Primitive” painters.
June 12th, 2006 at 11:24 am
hi i was a non-collegiate student in an art college last year and while i was admitted into the painting course i spent half the day with the sculpture department and half with the painting. I found that i had a better appreciation of the idea of the 3D ness of a figure once i started sculpting.
June 12th, 2006 at 11:28 am
dunno what happened – the last comment is from me and got listed as anonymous