Work Horses

Work Horses:

I was involved quite heavily with horse drawn vehicles and belonged to a club years ago.

And this inspired to me sculpt one of the good old work horses that ploughed the fields of Australia in the colonial era.

Enter "Winter Winds"

As you see, an idea comes form something you might be interested in, or involved with at the time. That's how this sculpture came to be.

Not only that, I was also very interested with Australia's heritage, and its beginnings.

The land was tough and it also bred tough people, many worked on the land as farmers. And I had seen some original photos of a team of Clydesdales pulling a plough.

Clydesdales were quite common in Australia at this time. Though I did not consider my heavy horses breed when I did this sculpture.

" Winter Winds "

It had been quite a time since I had done a sculpture, so I was revving to get going on this one.

Needless to say, when I have taken a long break from sculpting one piece to another. I got this sculpture done in a reasonable amount of time.

In my mind, I wanted the scene that was in my head. I could see a heavy horse harnessed up to a plough on a winters day, standing patiently as its master stops for a break.

He stands in the strong winds of winter, here you can see the horses mane being blown around by the winds and his scruffy thick winter coat.

Sculpture is more divine, and more like Nature, That fashions all her works in high relief, And that is Sculpture. This vast ball, the Earth, Was moulded out of clay, and baked in fire; Men, women, and all animals that breathe Are statues, and not paintings.~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I wanted to create a sense of calmness about this sculpture and also patience. For the harsh elements of the winters day, as he works the day ploughing the field.... all in a days work.

Winter Winds was not hard for me to sculpt, I had a clear idea in my mind as to how I wanted this sculpture to be and a story behind it.

This is all you need to bring your scene to reality, such as I am always reminded of my picture in my mind and the story.

When I look upon this sculpture all these years later. I have not forgotten the image in my mind that motivated me into making this sculpture a reality.

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