Outdoor sculpture and a competition

Here are a couple of outdoor sculptures that I did. The one on the left is constructed of Douglas Fir, the other was done using various woods.


Close ups of the sculpture that was created using various woods.



The sculptural models, above and below, were part of a presentation for the city of South San Francisco Westborough Boulevard Sculpture Competition. These are actually wooden mock ups, the final sculpture would be constructed of steel and would be 30 feet high.




Here is what my presentation looked like, I did marker renderings of how the sculpture would look in the actual location. My advertisng layout marker skills came in handy for this presentation. It was a fun project even though I did not win the competition.

More linear sculpture

Here are a few more models of proposed outdoor sculpture.


Two views of an interesting concept, the model is constructed of wood. I proposed this piece as a metal construction which would be 25 feet in height.


Another large outdoor sculpture, this mock up was constructed from wood and metal.


This could be a large metal outdoor sculpture or a smaller indoor piece. this proposal is constructed of wood and painted.


This rather odd wooden construction proposal would be 5 feet in length and made of metal in the final version.

Linear sculpture

I love simple linear sculpture and here is a mock up that I did based on the human figure. The model is made of brass that was painted black. In the background are copies of a couple of my black and white paintings that I did while living in Paris.



The sculpture can be displayed in different positions as shown in the above photos, I envisioned the actual finished sculpture to be about four or five feet long.



The sculpture could also be displayed as two pieces, one in black and the other in white or perhaps another color.



The piece on tne the above left is another proposed standing sculpture, the mock up on the right is a linear sculpture that would be mounted on a wall.

Carved figure studies

TUMBLING WOMAN is carved from Douglas fir.


Catalpa is the wood that I used for TORSO which is mounted on a black base.


Another view of TORSO. The other figure is carved from Butternut wood. I use many different kinds of wood for my carvings including Walnut, Mahogany, Sassafras, Pine, Douglas fir and Basswood.

Bernie Fuchs, a giant in his field

Bernie Fuchs died on September 17, 2009. He was one of the most influential illustrators of all time. It seems that he started right at the top and just stayed there throughout his long career. I remember in the mid 1950's when Bernie started working at New Center Studios in Detroit, he sure shook up the town. He was a sensation right from the start bringing new concepts and vitality to the illustration field. He was a hard worker and it showed in his illustrations. Bernie Fuchs will no doubt influence painters and illustrators for many years to come.
I found the above illustration in an old 1956 Detroit Art Directors Annual. I thought that it symbolized Bernie's spirit and determination.

A couple of years ago I bought RIDE LIKE THE WIND, a book by Bernie Fuchs. The book is full of great paintings by the master. It's published by The Blue Sky Press an imprint of Scholastic, Inc. I urge you to buy it, you'll enjoy Bernie's fine work.

Refracting sculpture

My experiments with sculpture include this refracting piece. I used a prism which reflected the linear construction in the piece.


Changing the position of the linear construction created a different reflection.


A couple more views of this interesting concept. This model was constructed of wood and a plastic prism. At the time I had a cat named Soto who destroyed this piece, apparently he didn't like it very well. The prism, of course, is intact and I may reconstruct it.

Masks that I have carved

Masks have always intrigued me, so I decided to carve some of my own. They range in size from 13 to15 inches in height and are carved from various woods.


Creating these masks afforded me the opportunity to experiment with design in a totally new medium, wood and carving tools.


The mask on the left is the first mask that I carved and the wood is Douglas Fir.


The mask on the left is carved from Mahogany and the other is made of mixed woods glued together. When I finish carving the masks are waxed and polished.

Some examples of my sculpture

Through the years I have done many sculptures including wood carvings, metal constructions and even a few bronze castings. My wife Jeanne felt that I was really in my element in the sculptural medium. I'm not sure about that, but I thoroughly enjoy creating sculpture.


This is GEMINI cast in bronze. I begin a sculpture like this by doing a few sketches, then I build up the piece using clay or wax. The finished model is cast in bronze after a mold is made. One of the faces on this piece was highly polished. Below is my cat Laura lounging next to GEMINI.


Here is FOUR WINDS, a bronze casting from a wax model. These are the only bronze sculptures that I have created, it's a very interesting medium to work in.

Pen line drawing with brush accents

This is a sketch from my 1977 book DRAWING IN INK. Through the years I have experimented with a variety of ink line techniques and this illustration demonstrates an interesting way to combine pen and brush in an illustration.


I begin by doing a few rough compositional sketches with a Pentel pen and a black Magic marker. These are just diagrams to help me compose the final scene.


I liked the second sketch and developed it further.


Next I do a tight pencil drawing , trace it on the illustration board and ink it with a technical pen.


With a fairly well loaded brush I start inking the heavy blacks. Then I gradually build up the other tones using a crosshatch technique with the technical pen.

Still more monsters

A few more drawings from my 1974 book HOW TO DRAW MONSTERS.





Above are the early roughs for the finished drawings below.

More monster stuff

Happy Holiday everyone ! It's a bit overcast and chilly here in Southwestern Michigan and a lot of folks that came here to swim in Lake Michigan are going to be disappointed. People can still enjoy the day however, as we have a few galleries and some neat shops to browse as well as some great restaurants to dine in. It's been a chilly summer in Harbor Country.

One of my readers, Chad, asked to see more monster art, so this and the next post will show a few more pages of my 1974 book HOW TO DRAW MONSTERS.

Gallery opening tomorrow

The Craig Smith Gallery in Harbert, Michigan is having an opening Saturday, September 5th from 11 AM to 6 PM, featuring the paintings of Jerry Strub and a few new works by Stephen Moss and myself. Anyone near the area this weekend should stop by. If you haven't seen Craig's gallery before, you're in for a treat, lots of interesting art in a 4000 square foot space.


Here's the entrance to the gallery with a large painting by Dale Threlkeld. The paintings at the end of the stairs are by Judy Mullen and the sculptures on the pedestals are mine.


A view of the spacious gallery as you walk in.


Three of the paintings from a new series that I am working on.


Some of my digital art and abstract paintings.


Two more paintings from the new series.

A quick color portrait sketch

In Sawyer, Michigan, where I live, we have the Scarlet Macaw Community Art Center which provides classes, workshops, programs, events and exhibitions for local area artists and art students. It was established in 1994 by Nifodora D. Krumrie.


The Center is located on the main street in the heart of Sawyer.


I have taught classes at the Art Center and here is a step by step sketch that I did for my students demonstrating how I approach a portrait study. This is a sketch of Nifodora, the Director of the Center, and is done using acrylics on canvas. I begin by first do a drawing on the canvas with a marker pen.


It's very difficult to start painting on a stark white canvas, it's a good idea to paint a neutral wash tone over the whole canvas first.


Then I begin to add tones of color.


At an early stage I paint in the darkest tones.


Then I add more modeling and the middle tones finishing the sketch. Color sketches like this can be used as a basis for a larger finished painting. It's a good idea for beginners to do a lot of these kinds of studies to develop their painting skills. can Watercolors or oils can also be used for rendering sketches like this.