Horse Head Sculpture

Horse Head Sculpture:

So what is about equine art that is so popular?

Can anybody out there answer that. I cant, it's a mystery........

Yet here we are, as artists, many of us (like myself) drawn to do art work on horses.

Bronze horse sculptures have towered above people in parks and public places in Europe for hundreds of years.

More often, you will see a famous general upon his charger, noting a famous time in history.

Is it that horse and man have shaped history side by side?

Well, this is not far from the truth. But how do we explain that people who have no interest in horses, go out and buy an art piece with horses in it....

I know I do, but that is no surprise, as I love horses.

Maybe it is that the horse has shaped our society so much in the past.

Horse head sculpture has also been around since the time man had his likeness sculpted in marble, adorning the ancient walkways of old buildings.

If you have attempted sculpting a horse head sculpture yourself, you know that as with any sculpture, you will also need an armature as the major support.

I have put some examples of horse head sculptures here on this page for you to have a look at.

Also, at the time I had taken some of these photos at the finished wax stage, just before I had them cast in bronze.

I was on a role here with these sculpture, sculpting one horse head after the other, finally finishing up with three sculptures....... I was mentally exhausted, and could not sculpt for another three months.

Yes, it does take it out of you, and you also get sour after putting in this much work and need a break, before those creative juices rise up, ready to go again.

Now I had cast the Arab head in "cold cast marble", one in white marble and one in black, as you can see in the photo

You don't have to stick to just one color like bronze.

This actual horse head sculpture became a trophy for an Arab horse association, they snapped this limited edition for their Arab championships for more than a few years running.

Choosing to have different colours for first, second, and third placements.

As you can see..... sculptures such as these, can be used for trophies, as this one was.

I have also seen such sculptures of equine busts adorn entrances of houses, though I am talking about a much larger sculpture of course.

Just think for a minute..... if this particular sculpture was much larger, could you imagine being an owner of an Arabian horse stud with a couple of these horse heads at your driving entrance, or entrance to the front door of your home.

When choosing your subject for a horse head sculpture, not just any photo or drawing idea will do, you need to choose carefully.

As what will work for a full body sculpture of a horse, will not necessarily work for a horse head bust.

You are restricted in how much intended action you are going to portray into just the head and chest of the horse. And you don't want it to look boring, or even funny... and not in a humorous way either.

You need to picture in your mind how your chosen subject will look in sculpture form..... Not the easiest thing to do, but necessary.

When I sculpted these pieces in wax, I had put armatures in them for support. As with any medium, you don't want your sculpture to fall into a heap after you have done all that work.

Every medium has it's weaknesses to the element, the same with wax, which can be very hard in the cold weather, but if you come from a hot climate, wax gets soft and can get so soft that it will start to sag.

You don't want to loose any of that detail you have slaved away in creating, so always use an armature for support.

It is a pity that these photos of the wax sculptures don't have a great amount of detail to them, the reason being, is that when photographing wax in light, and also having a thin film of oil over it, the light reflects.

If I had photographed them in the shade, then the flash would be used and I would still end up with a reflection on the sculptures surface.

But you can see the forms of the sculptures in their raw wax state.

Can you see that I have added some extra pieces to the wax sculptures, You can add small chains or material to get the desired effect you are looking for in your finished piece, you don't just have to sculpt every detail yourself.

But don't over do it, as you need to compliment your work with a few added necessities if needed, like string to show the effect of rope.

The majority of work needs to come from you and not everything added will mould well for casting, so be selective in what you use.

Horse head sculptures can come in many sizes, depending on what you intend them to be used for, you also you need to consider the casting costs when it comes to sizes.

Even if you cast them yourself, the bigger and more complex the sculpture - the more expensive if you get a foundry to do it.

" The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery." - Francis Bacon

If you cast, the sculpture yourself, compared to how big you choose to make your horse head sculpture, it is still going to be more expensive as your sculpture increases in size.

Bring beauty and purpose into your horse head sculptures. Find subjects that have the promise of interest and purpose about them. Remember that you can depict the mood of your sculpture by how well you are able to choose your subject.

I cannot stress just how important it is to choose your subject wisely for this sort of sculpture. After all..... no one is going to buy you sculpture if it does not show a story or a purpose in it's pure essence of being.

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