Occasionally, I spot an object in a painting that I would quite like to borrow. Unfortunately, the painter may have been dead for a few hundred years, which makes asking somewhat impractical. So I make my own.
One example came from a still life by Hovsep Pushman, one of my favorite still-life painters. In several of his paintings, two small figurines kept catching my eye.
Getting hold of the originals seemed rather unlikely, so out came the clay.
I made my own versions in modeling clay. The clay never dries, which is rather useful — an arm can move, a head can turn, and suddenly the little fellow behaves himself in the composition.
Over time, I have made a small collection of these improvised characters. Some were quick experiments, while others have stubbornly stayed around and found their way into several still-life setups.
They were never meant to be copies. I only wanted what had caught my attention in the first place — the idea of them.
They now live among my flea-market finds and other studio oddities, waiting for their next assignment.
Share this post
Related Posts
