#128, Freedom Wings-Composition techniques

Freedom Wings (in progress),  4'10" tall clay for bronze statue

This 58" tall sculpture is of a life size male bald eagle with the US flag and will be cast in bronze in the next couple of months. The 280 pound monument will be installed on top of an 8 foot tall black granite column that will be laser etched with images from WWII. The sculpture will be unveiled on Veterans Day 2017 along with two of my other sculptures.

The composition of this statue was really fun to work out. Although the idea of a bald eagle and United States flag is fairly common in sculpture, as well as paintings, what I think will stand out with this monument is the attention to detail and the strong composition. While making this sculpture I have been conscious of the different angles that people will be viewing the sculpture. Because the it will be sitting on top of an 8' tall column, viewers will be encouraged to walk around the monument looking at the laser etched images on the sides of the column as well as the statue itself. So, I had to think strongly about composition from ALL angles. The angle of view that people will be looking from will be from below looking up. In compositions, I usually use lines and curves that are meant to be seen from straight on. These lines and curves can follow an arm up to the eyes, dance around a little in the body and then out the other arm, for example. There is usually an entry and an exit point for the eye to follow, but within that composition are all kinds of angles and curves. I like to think of them being composed similarly to a musical composition. For example, for me, the Beatles were musical composition geniuses, as was Beethoven and Mozart. Studying musical composition is somewhat similar to sculptural composition, at least that is the way it is for me. So If I had a good entry and exit point in the composition (i.e. the flag pole and the tips of the eagles primary feathers) than the areas in between that can be controlled with curves and diagonals. The curves and diagonals, though, have to work from below (and also from above which is easier to see since I can't raise the clay sculpture to 8' in my studio very easily). As such, I positioned the flag pole catywonper to the plane of the eagles wings. The head is turned close to the direction of the flag pole but looking up slightly. The feet are positioned crossing the straight line of the pole (as seen in the photo). Then there is the curve of the tail feathers which when viewed from the rear you can see the curve of them. I also kept in mind the side view where you can see the rock underneath the flag. This rock area almost creates a focal point itself due to the different textures so it had to be designed well also. In short, I am making sure that all of the angles will read well from all directions. When Freedom Wings is completed I will post photos in the round to help illustrate my composition techniques.

#127, bald eagle sculpture, in progress

life size bald eagle sculpture in progress

Since returning from Europe one month ago I have been working on two commissions simultaneously and today I put the finishing touches on one of the sculptures of a life size female bald eagle. The bronze bald eagle will be permanently installed cantilevered on a 20 foot tall granite column 17 feet above the ground. The sculpture will be one of many that I am working on as part of a large scale Veterans memorial.

#126, Greenberg bas relief portrait

Bas relief portrait of a young man, 10inX9inX1/2in, clay for bronze

This 10in X 9in X 1/2in depth bas-relief portrait was commissioned by a mental health facility in Los Angeles that will go on a larger 28 inch x 19 inch bronze plaque and installed on an outside wall of the facility sometime this spring or summer. I worked closely with the mother of the young man who passed away and although it has been a while since I've worked on a very low (flat) bas relief portrait this came out nicely. The mother, the commissioning agency and the plaque company all expressed satisfaction with the clay original and so all that is left now is for me to give myself a pat on the back.

Yesterday, I spoke with the client and he asked me how I learned how to do relief sculpture. It is a good question and I had to remember back to when I first tried sculpting in relief. When I was an art student there weren't any classes in relief sculpture (at least none that I can remember) and it seems I just learned it as I started sculpting more and more, making mistakes along the way but always learning from them. Some of my early private commissions were creating bas relief portraits of family members and kids. In fact, my very first commission was a bas-relief for St. Mary's College of California in Moraga back in 2001. So how did I learn how to sculpt in relief? There really is no substitute for hard work... and patience!

"Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety nine percent perspiration."-Thomas Edison

"Patience is also a form of action."-Rodin

#125, Hendrix bust

Jimi Hendrix sculpture bust by Sutton Betti

One of my favorite musicians for the past 25 years is Jimi Hendrix and this is sculpture clay bust I have wanted to make for many, many years. I made his likeness a few weeks ago using several beautiful photographs found in a recently published magazine and of course from the internet. The clay bust is 35 inches tall and is sculpted about 125% life-size. It was not created as a commissioned work of art, but rather as something that I will have in my collection for visitors to my gallery to see in person. I'm hoping to be able to sell a bronze casting to the Electric Lady Studios in New York, the recording studio that Hendrix built in 1970 and designed by John Storyk.

#124, Gypsy relief

Gypsy Girl by Sutton Betti, 15in x 12in, shown in clay, 2017

Finished this 15x12 inch clay relief yesterday. It has been many months since I took the time to sculpt a new relief so I have to admit that I was a little rusty regarding the technique. However, it turned out better than I was expecting and I think my lack of control and uncertainty actually helped to make this a little more spontaneous than any of my previous relief works. Perhaps this adds to the movement and gesture. Normally I would spend a little more time on the clothing and hair, but struggled a little bit and decided to just leave it loose and somewhat undefined. I'll mold and cast this in aluminum and add it to my growing collection of aluminum relief sculptures that I hope to be showing this year or next when I make a return to showing at outdoor art festivals.

#123, Jimi Hendrix bust, work in progress

Jimi Hendrix bust in progress, 35" height, shown in clay

There is still quite a bit of work left on this over life size bust of my favorite guitarist and musician Jimi Hendrix but I thought I would share the progress anyhow. The total height of the clay sculpture is 35 inches and it's sculpted at 125% life size.

I hope to be finishing him in the next two or three weeks, but I'm in the middle of several freelance sculpting projects that will be taking up much of my time. At this point I'm about 12 hours into the clay work and I guestimate that I've got another 20 hours to go to get him where I'd like him to be. I'll probably retain the looseness of the textures as that seems to fit the sculpture well, but the hair might take me some time.

#122, the Visionary video

There hasn't been a whole lot going on lately at the studio other than casting some older sculptures and doing some work in my new office, but we did get time to make a video showing the process of creating the Stanley hotel sculpture titled the Visionary. Check it out!