THE WAY THE WICKED WIND BLOWS – SCULPTURE

This was the birthday present I made my wife. There is a long backstory to this which I wont burden you with. What pleases me – apart from that it is still working as I type – is the fact that it is made entirely from scrap materials which I have cut, soldered, brazed and tapped together. Even the ball bearings, the indicator runs on, were reclaimed. The carving is made from part of an old cherry tree. I had intented making a motif that was two dimensional, but when asked, my wife wanted someone reading a book – something she does a lot of in French and English. I couldnt work out a clear way of depicting a reader in 2D so I carved a version of Rodins Reader and fixed it to the top.

I did have a hic up when the indicator fell off soon after erection – mainly due to my poor brazing skills, but it is now up and running again and hopefully more robust.

When the nuclear fall-out decends I will now know which way to run.

All manner of artwork is available for purchase at very reaonable prices on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

FISH MOBILE – DRIFTWOOD

Some time ago on this blog, I published a version of this mobile made up of modified beach driftwood. In high winds one of the fish crash-landed and needed replacement. Emboldened by my cycle ride last Monday, the next day I headed off to the beach to collect some more wood.

I made two more fish like forms from wood I found lying around, after an extremely high tide, and placed them on a new string so I had three ranks of fish, rather than the two I first had.

Now it looks like a menacing shoal hanging around outside – well my wife seems to think so when the wind has them knocking against the window in the night.

Anyway, a bit of fun and a chance to get down to the seashore after a month or so away.

See my website for artwork available for sale: grahammcquadefineart.com

FISHY ART – DRIFTWOOD

In the last blog I posted – the painting of Southport Beach- the principal reason why I went down there was to get some driftwood to complete a mobile. I liked the notion that the distressing of the wood is a product of the sea as are the fishes.

I started out by carving rough, archetypical fish forms out of the driftwood but gradually, as I proceeded with the project, I left it to the wood to convey the form – though on a couple I cut them in half and repositioned the ends to make better sense- well you do, dont you?

I am wondering whether to get another one and have 3 hangings a 2, 3 and 2 to better intermingle the forms – but now the wife is looking sceptically at them, so they might be reconsigned to the sea.

Sculptures and other artworks are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

SCATTER – WOODEN SCULPTURE

A few years ago I reroofed my garage which entailed reboarding it. I had a lot of off-cuts and, being naturally parsimonious, I stored them, despite having no idea of what to do with them. A couple of months ago an idea trickled into my head and after a few sketches and a pretty useless maquette, I came up with this. I still need to do a bit more filling and then paint it to give it some weather proofing.

Yesterday it came out of the workshop and I thought I would try it out on the centre of the lawn – the wife didnt complain too loudly, so that was some kind of victory.

With the sun shining, the facets were accentauted, so I thought I might as well photo it and post the images. I am quite pleased with the outcome – so long as those pigeons dont use it as a perch…

Other paintings and sculptures are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

RED SEA – MIXED MEDIA

Ever taken on a project that has turned into long running saga? Here’s mine – after months of work. I wanted a large piece for a stairwell on a sea theme. I  was intrigued by the structure of waves in water where, within each wave, there are other levels and wavelets – the notion of fractals and ever repeating patterns and forms.

As I built the piece I  was taken by the anthropomorphic array  of the blocks, reminding me of serried ranks of Chinese warriors or in this case the throngs who try to cross seas in search of some form of a normal life. The colours perhaps reflect the failure and success of these individuals.

The wooden blocks were made from a couple of gates that I replaced. My neighbour didn’t want any more of the wood for their stove as the paint on the wood generated a lot of ash, so I took to cutting it down into strips to make the piece. It had an extra kind of resonance that the work is made from a gate.

After all this time, and having been able to mount it on a wall, I think it could be modified further, for better impact, so I fear it could be a few more months of work yet.

Other abstract paintings and sculptures are available on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

SPLASH – SCULPTURE: HAND CARVED SYCAMORE

This is a piece I have just carved which is made up of a trunk which was cut into two and then joined together to increase the width. I wanted the feel of water being thrown aside by a sudden force , like a rock hitting the surface.

One of the problems carving tree trunks means that the subjects tend to be long and thin which  can be a bit repetitive. This was an attempt to get greater scope. The actual join was not entirely satisfactory as the trunk was too big for my circular saw, but I managed to fill the gaps.

Not sure about the impact of the piece, but you can only try.

Other sculptures are on my website grahammcquadefineart.com

TAILSPIN – SCULPTURE IN APPLEWOOD

A change of pace and medium. I get given small trunks of trees and the sizes rather restrict the possibilities, but I was pleased with the outcome of this one. Carving through the outer wood and into the heartwood gives some interesting tonal changes. The strip of wood has the feeling of fabric in freefall.

Other sculptures and ceramics are on my website grahammcquadefineart.com 

 

THE BALANCE OF IMPROBABILITY – CARVED WOOD IN PEAR

A change of pace and materials. My old pear tree succumbed to honey fungus and I got myself a new one and decided to make something out of the trunk. As it wasn’t very big I was a bit limited to subject and thought about carving a backbone. In the end I opted for the easy option.

Other carvings and ceramics are on my website grahammcquadefineart,com