Talia the Turtle

Meet Talia the Turtle!

(To view the study, sculpture, drawing, and vector graphic for this portrait, please view a previous post.)




Yay! I'm excited about this one. Ain't she cute? =)

This portrait took 3.5 weeks to finish instead of 2, which I'm not so happy about. But, I feel that I was successful in two of the three challenges from last time.

Challenge #1: Vary the composition - Instead of having one solitary figure on the right hand side of the canvas, I created 3 figures which spread across the top area. (I was still able to leave enough white space on the bottom left where the book's text will go.)

Challenge #2: More active posture - Three consecutive figures show the downstroke and gliding motion of the turtle. This simple and energy efficient movement propels the animal through the water, allowing it to swim for long periods of time without coming up for air.

Challenge #3: Push the expression - I don't think Talia is particularly expressive… since the sculptures were a lot smaller for this portrait, there wasn't as much detail in the face to refer to. With some imagination though, she seems to be quite inquisitive. She's checkin' you out!

Lesson - it may take more time for something new, but growth and quality are worth the effort
Discovery - I have had a very narrow understanding of sculpture. I would not only like to do more hanging figures, but I would also like to explore different materials.
Challenge - a night time scene

Hope you like Talia! As always, I would love any feedback. =) Now, on to the next animal… I think I'm going to do a kiwi bird. Since it's nocturnal, it will be good for a night time scene.

T is for Turtle

Here are some more images of my progress with the Turtle.

the study

the sculpture

the drawing

the vector graphic

I did some more work on the sculpture since the last post. The turtles are now suspended from a branch I found and cleaned up. It was fun to get my hands on a whittling knife again! The mobile is now hanging in our room, and it creates a really nice atmosphere, I have to say. =)

The collage will most likely be done sometime next week, so watch for a new post then! Bye for now...

Turtle Sculpture

It's been 2 weeks since my last post, and I finally have something new to show you!

I've been working on the sculpture for my next animal, which is a turtle. It's a sea turtle, to be more specific. As you can see, I've done something a little different this time, which is why it took a lot longer than the other sculptures. It's been a fun challange!



I suspended a series of five sea turtles, making a mobile which displays the movement of the animal. It didn't turn out to be quite as dynamic as I'd hoped, but I'm still pleased. I especially like how the reflections on the wall look when you hang it up. I think it's definitely the most decorative sculpture I've done so far, and I'm planning to replicate and sell the mobiles in the future.

So, the next step is the drawing, then the vector graphic, and lastly, the collage. I hope to get all this done by the end of next week, so check back soon!

Thanks for your support and have a great weekend =)

Jamal the Jaguar

Well, the collage ended up looking much more male than female in my opinion, so I decided to choose a masculine name. Jamal means "beauty" and according to wikipedia, it could also mean "inner beauty, from the heart." I like that. =)

(To view the study, sculpture, drawing, and vector graphic for this portrait, please view a previous post.)

Here are some pictures of the finished collage.




The people of the Maya revered the jaguar as a magnificent beast, and they incorporated the animal into their mythology. I placed Mayan ruins in the backdrop of this portrait to tell that history. I wanted to also depict nature itself as a powerful force, as the buildings are overgrown and the stones are eventually taken back to the earth.

Lesson - remember to talk about the work in order to sort out ideas and problems
Discovery - folklore and myth is a good place to start when researching an animal
Challenge - vary the composition, more active posture, push the expression (thanks to my dad for these suggestions!)

It seems like some of the previous challenges are resurfacing, the main one being the animal's pose. I think this is such a struggle because it's hard for me to make the sculpture in an active stance while still being stable. But, I have an idea!

I'm going to try and create a sculpture which will be suspended by a string or wire. That way, it won't have to balance on a flat surface. So, for example, a bird could be flying in the air, a frog could be in mid-leap, and sea creatures could glide through the water. This will open up a lot more oportunities for dynamic poses, and it will be a solution for animals that swim and fly.

I'd also eventually like to make a series of sculptures that depicts a movement (like the flapping of a birds wings) and string them all up as one artwork. It would be kind of like a mobile that one could hang as decoration.

Please keep suggestions and opinions coming! Your feedback is so helpful. =)