October 4, 2015

We are on the cusp of losing the brilliant summer colors which surround the house and studio, and instead shifting in to the muted hues of autumn.  That’s not to say that all flowers are low key, but the change is palpable.  Clayton specifically planted for all seasons, and in the fall there are both trees with brilliant leaves, plants with attractive seed pods and flowers that grace the landscape.

 

Calla Lily
Canna

Jack in the Pulpit seeds                                                                          Fall Aster

RYOJack in the Lantern seed podsfall aster

September 17, 2015

Clayton has been in Maine for the first half of September.  Yesterday, on his last kayak trip out to paint a scene on Crow Island, he noticed something unusual near the water’s edge.  Closer inspection revealed a circle of seagull feathers which were about to be swept away by the rising tide.  Bald Eagles are the only local predator for Herring Gulls, so clearly an eagle had eaten breakfast and left the “crumbs.”Eagle's breakfast remains

August 20, 2015

Commuting is often part of work commitments.  This is true for artists as well as other professions.  Clayton has been painting on a tiny Maine island nearby our island.  There is no place to beech a motorboat, so our kayak became his vehicle.  Each sunny morning Clayton would pack his tripod, stool and water bottle into the stern compartment of the kayak, and then strap onto the bow a dry bag with his painting kit with its paint and brushes.  Off he would paddle to Crow Island, pictured just behind his uplifted paddle.

Packing the kayakCommuting by kayak

July 30, 2015

boathouse hallBoathouse living room

Although known for his sculptures and paintings, Clayton’s interior design has proved to be creative while very functional for creature (people and animals) comforts. Although the shell of the Maine boathouse was built in the mid 1900’s, Clayton redesigned the interior from an empty space for boats, to family living quarters in 1991.  To increase the living space the allowable 30%, Clayton had the roof raised on one side of the house, and then designed the bedrooms around to allow two beds on either side of a window. Bureaus and closets built in meant little furniture in each room.  Then he hand painted each room’s floor with a different pattern, and, given the linearity of the house, added rounded corners where he could to soften the space.  Twenty four years later the boathouse has proved to be a comfortable living space for raising a family, inviting friends and enjoying Maine life.

July 11, 2015

Bison bison is pictured as it was being loaded for its trip to the foundry.  Clayton completed the life size sculpture this week and parked the pick-up truck at a level below the sculpture.  He then loaded the buffalo using supported boards as a ramp, a come-along to ratchet it aboard and a lot of slow maneuvering.  The buffalo sculpture is now in the process of becoming a wax sculpture which Clayton will check before it is dismantled and dipped into liquid porcelain for the final stage of pouring the molten bronze.  For more about the lost wax casting, please check The Process under the Sculpture tab.

Bison roams

June 20, 2015

There is one area of a sculpture on which Clayton always spends a lot of time: the eye.  It is not easy to sculpt an eye on an animal or human realistically.  There are a lot of muscles around and eye, and every species’ location and physique of eye is different.  It is often said that an eye reflects much of an animal’s spirit.

As he does with every sculpture, Clayton made sure that he portrayed the eye of the life size buffalo, Bison bison, as he saw it on the live model.

June 14, 2015

Bison bison A quick recap from our May e-News (Want to subscribe? Send your email on Contact Us tab):

Clayton was commissioned to create a life size reclining buffalo sculpture for the Children’s Garden at Penn State Arboretum.  The donor for this sculpture saw Clayton’s life size Miss Gratz at the Brandywine River Museum, and specified Clayton as the sculptor.

When an artist works from life as Clayton does, sculpting a bison begins with first finding a live model.  Although a neighbor raises buffalo, the issue of proximity still existed.   According to Bill, the owner, he couldn’t approach on foot.  The closest he could get to them was about 25 feet, when he drove his ATV out to the herd to feed them. Clayton went to visit the herd and he and Bill agreed on a plan

Clayton prepared an armature and waited until a buffalo was sent to market, when he had an opportunity for close examination.*  Clayton followed his normal practice in making a life size piece: he started by sculpting a small study called a maquette.  The small size of a maquette allows a sculptor to work out compositional details in an easily changed format before embarking on the life-size version where changes are possible but more time consuming. The foundry laser scans the maquette and then uses a computer controlled router to carve a Styrofoam® enlargement.

However, as is often the case what is an imperceptible discrepancy in a table size version, can become an obvious error when enlarged 9.5 times.

Thus the first photo below shows Clayton scraping off styrofoam from the enlargement so he can add clay onto the armature and sculpt according to dimensions he had previously taken.  The second photo shows Clayton (who has taken over garage space to make loading and unloading easy) with the life size piece in progress.

*Already in place is the head and two of the legs, sculpted when Clayton had the opportunity with the bison this winter.  Probably obvious from this description, sculpting a life size piece is a lengthy process, which requires a lot of patience and willingness to go back and make adjustments where necessary.

As Clayton moves ahead, further descriptions will follow.adjusting life size armatureClayton with Bison bison in prorgress

May 27, 2015

Clayton’s Wilmington Club presentation, “Looking at Paintings: More than Meets the Eye,” was both informative and entertaining. (See May 14 News.)  Being a big picture type of person, Clayton used analogies from everyday life to illustrate points about how he views and reacts to paintings.  With his ability to hone in on details, he pointed out five elements that appear in paintings which consistently engage the viewer.  These elements appear in a variety of genres, and cultures and span centuries. The presentation was well received by a variety of people, some for whom the paintings were familiar, and some who rarely visit museums.  One attendee who is color blind was very appreciative that although colors were discussed, color recognition was not key to enjoying these paintings.

Clayton plans to offer the presentation or versions of it in the future for other events.

May 14,2015

Clayton has always enjoyed analyzing and then articulating his thoughts about paintings and sculptures.  He visits museums whenever he is in different area, and focuses on pieces which reveal more on second and third inspections.  For example, Clayton returned to Le Musée d’Arte Moderne in Paris a number of times to understand why a painting by Hélion, was so appealing.

Recently Clayton has been consolidating his thoughts for a presentation on May 20 at the Wilmington Club.  “Looking at Paintings: More than Meets the Eye” will cover a number of complex paintings including  Composition Abstraite by Jean Hélion, The Daughters of  Edward Darley Boit by John Singer Sargent and Winslow Homer’s The Fox Hunt.

April 21, 2015

Clayton is the master of subtle garden design, much of which takes a lot of planning and hard work.  When he was creating his Japanese garden, Clayton realized he had seen a number of large, attractive in the woods of our property.  When he sat down to plan the Japanese garden, he foresaw how these large stones could become natural accents in the scheme of the garden. If one took the gravel pathway to be water, then these stones were mountains presiding over the landscape.  Clayton picked specific spots for their locations and their orientations. For example the smallest rock is a craggy vertical, framed by the arch of the back porch, which offers a delightful view from the kitchen window.  As a group, Clayton calls them the Three Sisters.

The Three Sisters The Three Sisters

March 9, 2015

When Clayton sees the need, he designs furniture and then collaborates with others to get his vision produced in reality.  There is one piece he designed which is used multiple times a day – a low “bench” for sitting on while donning and doffing boots.  It is the perfect height – one doesn’t need to lean over too far, yet it’s high enough that when the Labradors come along to “help,” a half-on boot can be raised over their backs. The bench has a padded portion on which to sit and a flat wooden portion for collars, gloves, hats, etc.  There is enough space underneath the stretcher for recently shed slippers or sneakers.  And as so typical of Clayton’s designs, this incredibly utilitarian piece of furniture has great proportions and looks very attractive.Boot bench

February 27, 2015

One of the first steps Clayton takes in creating a sculpture is to make an armature which can support the clay in place.  Without an armature, the weight of clay can mount up enough to sag or distort from its intended position.  Of course in order to make an armature correctly, Clayton must have the dimensions of the final sculpture in mind.  The basis of the armature needs to be strong and unlikely to bend, such as metal pipes.  Volume can be added by attaching Styrofoam® and appendages by adding twisted wire.  Pictured is the armature for a life size turkey vulture Clayton has just started.IMG_3383