SB: Clay you studied in Europe and really bring that classical feel into
stuff, I can think of some benchmark type poses like the Pitt or Witchblade,
what is the most important aspect of deciding on a pose?
CM: I guess the single most important factor is that the pose work from as many
angles as possible. I think of the figure as a sculpture first and as a
character second. You should be able to look at the piece and like what
you see as a form in space (I've said this before). It's rare that a piece
works from every angle, but this should be the basis on which the pose is
chosen.
SB: How much of the pose is in the initial wire armature, or rather how much
do you move the armature around once sculpting has commenced?
CM: The armature should capture the pose completely. If you don't look at the
armature and see that pose and know that you¹ve got it, then something's
wrong. You shouldn't have to change the armature, but in the sculpting
process, it does happen a little. I sometimes expose the armature and have
to make corrections after baking, but that's not a part of the original
plan.
SB: Now we're old super sculpey guys, but with so many sculptors using
Castilene nowadays, have you tried it and what did you think ?
CM: Well, I have to admit I've never tried it, never seen it, and don¹t know
it's properties...I had to mow the yard that day...
SB: What are your favorite tools to work with, we love our burnisher with a
small spoon type spear. Do you use loop tools much?
CM: Like all sculptors I have my favorites...I use loop tools often. They're
important to my sculpting. I've made some of my own to get all sizes. I
use my horn tools often. I have certain tools I've adapted for certain
things, like the corners of eyes. I use the wood tools that have the ends
shaped like kayaks of varying widths for sculpting hair. I turn the legs
with the knife type burnisher you're talking about. I would think most
sculptors would do that.
If I were in a situation, for example stuck on a desert island with nothing
but my gym shorts and a box of S Sculpey, on which I could only have one
tool to sculpt with it would be wood with a loop at one end and the flat
knife-type rounded-end at the other. That or a toothbrush at the other end.
Or a Webley Revolver.
SB:In my mind you're the king of clean sculpts. I smooth unbaked sculpey with
%90 Rubbing Alcohol and a really clean brush, some people swear by
Turpentine and I've seen Polyform Products has a Sculpey Dillutenent , what
do you like to do that final clean up with , and how?
CM: I rarely go over the whole figure with RA. I use it at the very end after
I've smoothed by hand before baking, of course, usually in the corners of
eyes and mouths, over fingertips, etc.
SB: Do you prefer to sand the sculpey after baking or a resin copy, or both?
CM: I generally get the sculpture very smooth before baking so that there isn't
that much sanding to do, but it does vary. I sand after baking then Michael
(Measles) goes over the piece before molding. He's a master of cleaning up
the castings for production. Sometime, I'll take close ups of a piece
before baking and you can see how smooth they are (or are not...).
SB: I know you're a huge Frazetta fan. Who else are some of your favorite 2-d artists ?
CM:I think Mark Schultz is fantastic. His brush work is the best in the
illustration business.
Simon Bisley is incredible and I like Bilal's work very much. A lot of the
Europeans do terrific work. I have always loved Roy Krenkel's art, of
course. Al Williamson is one of the best.
I like Brom's painting and character design very much.
Comic art favorites are the great Buscema, Neal Adams, of course, and
Charest and Castellini. Marc Silvestri is one of the very best and his
women are superb. His composition is very sculptural and that's one of the
reasons he's one of the best. He has an intuitive approach that infuses his
artwork with a quality that goes beyond comic book style. This is true of
Schultz, although Schultz is more of an illustrator. Almost everything Mark
Schultz does is sculptural.
I'd love to sculpt a Steranko piece sometime.
N.C. Wyeth was an incredible painter. His compositions were perfect for
sculpture, too. Velasquez could really paint...
I'm drawn to loose painting more than tight even though I am a tight
sculptor. For example, I really like Delacroix more than Ingres although
some of Ingres's work appeals to me.
I really like many of the French classicists like Gericault and Gerome.
J.M.W. Turner, Gustave Dore, Kuniyoshi, F. Booth; the list goes on...
Take a look at the English and French paintings from the Napoleonic
Wars...incredible.
Well, you asked.
Last thing: if you haven't, look up the sculptors at Brookgreen Gardens, in
South Carolina. It's worth the trip out there. Some of the greatest
American figurative sculptors' works are there. Some of them were European
immigrants. There are some good books out there on Brookgreen Gardens.
It's very inspiring work.
Thanks, Jarrod.
Clay
SB: Thank you Clay. I know the forum members will be very interested in how you work. Everybody check out Clay's new site
http://csmoorestudio.com/index.htm
incredible stuff there
thanks again Clay!
j
