Dog Sculpture Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Bronze

The dog bronze is complete and ready for shipping

2012-10-13T13:38:00.003-07:00

Here is the finished bronze after the wax sealer was applied.

Highlights are added to the surface of the bronze dog sculpture

2012-10-09T11:37:00.004-07:00

I took a scotch-brite pad and rubbed most of the surface of the bronze in order to remove the liver of sulfur patina from the highest points. The next step is to apply wax sealer to the entire bronze. The wax will protect the bronze and allow the patina to show it's true colors. The wax sealer is an on going maintenance that must be applied a few times per year if you wish to keep the bronze looking new. In door displays do not need the constant maintenance.

Application of the liver of sulfur patina on the dog sculpture

2012-09-29T16:13:00.001-07:00

This video shows what the bronze looks like after the application of the "liver of sulfur" patina. Water was applied to the bronze to show what the finish will look like after the wax sealer is applied. Same idea when one wets a piece of wood to see how it will look after an oil rub.

Liver of Sulfur patina base applied to the dog sculpture

2012-09-29T15:08:00.004-07:00

The patina of choice was liver of sulfur, it is a temporary patina until the client directs me. I believe the client will be adding a brownish patina to the bronze. Personally I like the current look. The last image is closer to the final look if the client goes with a liver of sulfur.

Dog bronze casting inspection prior to patina application

2012-09-24T11:10:00.001-07:00

First inspection of the metal phase: I used a sharpie to mark the areas of the bronze that needed revisiting. The metal chaser will take use an assortment of tools to clean up the areas I noted. Once the metal detailing is up to my standard the patina phase will begin. The client has chosen a traditional brownish patina.

Wax positive pulled from the mold

2012-08-11T13:56:00.001-07:00

Today I visited the foundry for the wax inspection. I found several minor areas that needed revisiting. There where several cavities I marked with the felt marker that needed filling. Overall it looks very good. The next inspection will be the metal inspection. After they pour the bronze and get it close to finish, I will revisit the foundry for a detail inspection. They estimate 3-4 weeks to complete the wax chasing, ceramic shell; pour.

2012-07-07T21:34:00.001-07:00

The dog sculpture made it safely to the foundry. The process should take about 8 weeks to produce the bronze casting.

Chavant NSP hard clay used for sculpting a life size dog model sculpture

2012-06-26T17:26:00.000-07:00

This video will show you a better view of the completed dog clay model.

Life size dog sculpture ready for foundry

2012-06-26T12:01:00.001-07:00

The dog sculpture is finally ready for the foundry. Applying the fur texture too quite a while to complete. Nevertheless, I am very pleased with the results.

Though most people viewing the sculpture will never look underneath to peak at the belly area, it was important to me, not to cut corners.

Dog fur texture created with a hot wax tool

2012-06-10T20:22:00.000-07:00

The image shows the results of using Gile's Precision Waxer. The tool was designed for wax carving; however, it works great on oil based clays. Chavant NSP hard is my clay of choice and since the NSP clay is composed of a higher percentage of wax components it leaves me with cleaner textures.

Click on image for a detailed view

Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier bust is ready for molding

2012-05-31T21:41:00.002-07:00

Well the head/bust section of the wheaten terrier has been detailed. I was not happy with the results I was obtaining with the dental tool; therefore, I modified one of my hot-wax tips in order to created the dog's coat texture.

I will commence on the remaining sections tomorrow. Mike & Barb, please review the completed sections and send me instructions if we still need tweaking.

As you can see the coat is very detailed. Thousands of individual hair lines are being created one at a time.

This bust would make a beautiful stand alone piece for displaying on a table. Similar to my English Bulldog bronze bust.

To view detailed images, Please click on any of the images

Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier detailed head

2012-03-29T21:32:00.000-07:00

This video shows the detailed clay head before reattaching to the body. A terpenoid wash will be applied in order to help blend some of the hard tool marks.

Wheaten Terrier Ear Set

2011-11-15T21:17:00.000-08:00

I reset the ears per your request. Please indicate if they need further corrections. Please note we are only looking for over all ear proportions and settings.

Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier head sculpture

2011-10-06T20:24:00.000-07:00

The head was reworked in order to match the most current images of Oxford the Soft-coated wheaten terrier.

Wheaten Terrier dog sculpture's head gets detailed

2011-09-16T18:56:00.000-07:00

Today I added some of the detail on the head section. The goal was to work on the overall hairlines to give it a realistic look.

Not sure how much hair I should place over the eyes.

Front view, the right side of the dogs face has not been detailed. Right now, I am working on the top and left side, once the client approves the left side of the face, I will work on the right side.

Diagonal view

Dog sculpture head detailing for the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier

2011-09-07T21:11:00.000-07:00

I finally detached the head from the body and adhered it to the tilting table. The tilt table allows me to access hard to reach areas.

The head section is still somewhat rough and will require several more passes in order to add the detail.

Tool used to add the hairline texture for this commission.

On the first pass I added somewhat rough hairlines to see if I was going to be happy with the overall look. Lucky for me it was a very hot day here; therefore, the clay was on the soft side for this procedure.

Just by viewing this image, I can already tell I need more relieve on the beard section.

Once I am happy with the over all look of the fur texture, I will add a few lose hairs over the nose and perhaps eye area (not sure yet)

Dog sculpture fur texture detailing

2011-09-01T21:32:00.000-07:00

Here are some images of the texture I will be using for the Wheaten's coat. The texture will be revisited several times until the clay shavings are removed.

Dog sculpture final critique before detailing

2011-08-15T14:35:00.000-07:00

Mike, please advise as to which shoulder your like best.

Once this phase is approved, I will detach the head and begin to create the coat hair throughout the entire body. Once the body and head are somewhat done, we will play around with the cocking of the head. If you already have a preference as to the direction of the head tilt. Let me know, this way I can have the beard slightly point into that direction (I need to pay attention to our law of gravity).

Mike, in conclusion if you have a higher resolution image(s) showing his coat pattern, please email; otherwise, I will use the images I have. Looking for sharp images. The last image in his show stance, was somewhat blurry. I other words, I could not make out some of the hair line patterns. Now if the three images used on the header of this page display the correct hair patter, let me know and I will use them as my studies. The only concern is that the images used at the time did not have the full show coat.

Clay dog sculpture of a soft coated wheaten terrier

2011-08-09T21:59:00.000-07:00

This is the 3-4 coat of the clay brush up. The clay sculpture will undergo an additional two coats. The left rear leg does not look right; therefore, I will add more clay to the outer side of the leg in order to match the right rear leg.

Once the over all confirmation is correct the intermediate detail will begin.

Nose Job for Oxford the soft coated wheaten terrier

2011-07-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

In addition to applying the second coat of clay to the dog sculpture I decided to add his nose. The nose is basically complete and fully detailed, I will work the facial hair around the nose later.

Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier receives the second coat of clay

2011-07-05T18:35:00.000-07:00

Today I applied the second coat of clay; while focusing on the client's request to give Oxford the wheaten terrier his full show coat. Areas on the back side of the neck and chest were built up to give it the correct profile.

In comparing the sculpture to the image below, I may have added too much clay on the chest, as well as t he back of the neck. I will wait for the client to instruct me on how much to shave off.

Before, I forget... The clay is Chavant NSP Hard and I purchased it from one of Chavant's clay distributors, AFASupplies.com. They are a new online sculptor art supply store.

Applying the clay to the dog armature - clay to bronze

2011-06-17T09:27:00.000-07:00

This video show the procedure for applying the clay on to the dog form/dog manikin. I melt Chavant NSP Hard in a crockpot and use a brush to apply the layers of clay. Set the crockpot to low, too high of a temperature will burn your clay. Four pounds of clay took about 3 hours to melt.

This dog sculpture will undergo 3-4 coats of clay before I begin the detail work.

Results of the first coat of clay.

Bronze Dog Staute foam armature ready for clayup

2011-05-20T12:57:00.000-07:00

This post will show how I use images to help me line up the foam to the dog confirmation. This is extremely important when the client is looking for correct body proportions...etc. The clay-up/skin that is applied with a brush will only be about 1/4" to 1/2" thick; therefore, I try to get as close as possible with the foam armature.

The goal is to try to keep the sculpture as light as possible. The legs need to be able to support the weight of the clay.

I will not be supporting the legs with aluminum rod for this soft coated wheaten terrier, since his legs are short and stocky. Aluminum rods are some time used when the foam legs are not strong enough to support the sculpture. For instance, rods were used on the life sized bronze poodle.

Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier study head-shots

2011-02-24T10:11:00.000-08:00

The client has supplied me with these excellent head-shots of his Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier. The images will assist me greatly in capturing the likeness of Oxford.

Dog armature work-in-progress

2011-02-22T12:36:00.000-08:00

More work on the Styrofoam dog armature. Due to the annoying noise of the rasp against the foam, this will be the last video on this phase.