Portrait Sculpture Courses

Ever wanted to sculpt a portrait but felt unable 

due to lack of :

•  Opportunity

•  Confidence

•  Skill    

As a practising artist and teacher, I know, creativity can be blocked by these obstacles.

So I have designed courses for small groups, that are enjoyable and suitable for all levels of learners and improvers. 

Using traditional sculpture techniques I will teach you how to sculpt a clay portrait head from a live model which you will be proud of.
    

www.SusanBatesLittle.com

Sculpture in the Woods

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Had a great but exhausting weekend running an Sculpture Portrait course for a small keen and very friendly group of novices .

We worked  in a  converted barn at Bavins, Nr Alton in Hampshire which is set in a wonderful wood where the bluebells and wild garlick was in abundance. We even ate some of our surroundings in the form of a beautiful nettle  soup and also a wild garlick soup made by our host  Jenny Ospici.  I will be certainly make this in the future. The food was lovely and plentiful which gave us the much needed  fortification to really work hard on the sculpture.
Such a lot was achieved over the space of two days by  the group who were  inspired by Ellie who was a fantastic model.
I felt a strange mixture of  mental elation, physical exhaustion and a sadness that such delightful company had to depart on Sunday evening.
I do hope that we can all meet up again and take what we have learned

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Portrait Sculpture Course - Hampshire

Price £150* for two day course

Have fun  and learn  to sculpt  a clay portrait head, from life, using traditional modelling techniques over two days.

10 & 11 MAY                 11 & 12 Sept               1 & 2 Nov

Each day will start at 10am with a short introduction and demonstration of modelling techniques. To save time armatures, which are internal structures to support the clay, will be provided.

At 1pm we will stop for lunch and again at 3pm for refreshment, and to rest and reflect upon our progress. We will pack up for the day at 5pm.

*Includes a model, a 25 kg bag grey clay, a wood and wire armature, refreshments and lunch. Basic tools will be available for loan, but you may bring your own if you wish, and of course remember comfortable shoes.

B&B and Glamping at “Bavins” near Alton - subject to availability – set in beautiful 100 acre wood. Bavins’. Stancombe Lane, New Odiham Road, Nr Alton, Hampshire, GU34 5SX.

To book your Sculpture Portrait Course in Hampshire

Call 01420 561034 or email susanbateslittle@gmail.com

A Head Start(ed)

I have just started a clay portrait head of my young friend. After three hours I am very pleased by the progress made and am looking forward to finishing it by the weekend. 

The grey modeling clay I got from Tiranti's has been a little too wet to handle and had a stickiness to it. Never the less, I am pleased by progress so far and of the keen interest shown by my young sitter in the sculptural process. 

Clay Modelling Tools – Basic Kit

Found these super basic starter tool sets from Great Art.   They are an online company and have some great art equipment. We worth checking out GreatArt.co.uk

It has just the basic tools which are great as a base to add to. I must say my best sculpture tools are pilched from my kitchen drawer. 

Tool kit for £9.99.

Tool Kit for £5.30

  

This entry was posted in Sculpture on March 25, 2014.

Goodbye Shepherd Market, Mayfair, London

                                           

So pleased that I exhibited at 54 The Gallery, Shepherds Market last week. 10 -15 Feb 2014.

My exhibition gave me a great focus  to push myself, do new work and also revaluate my direction. 

Shepherd Market is such a lovely friendly place and is considered the last little village in London. It is full of amazing and reasonable places to eat and lovely little shops. I really enjoyed the Jordanian meal we had with friends after a Private View.

Alas the weather had been horrendous. It had held me up completing sculpture before the exhibition and affected my visitor numbers during it. 

A number of people I invited to the private view were directly effected by flooding and I was amazed that people came from Cambridge and Leicester despite danger and travel disruption. You know it's bad when my friend Marguerite was evacuated from her houseboat, due to the flood, and was having to stay with friends. Imagine how pleased I was that she made time to see me in the midst of her distressing circumstances. 

I learned so much during the week and have a much clearer idea of what to do next. Certianly I will not delegate printing again because this was the area which cost the most, took most time and was least successful. In future I will do it all myself. 

I was flattered that strangers were so interested and supportive of my efforts. A new Algerian friend I made there gave me a Youth stone from the Yeman and I was so thrilled. As a child I lived in that region and love stone and minerals. Coincidentaly a piece of red velvet I treasure, and remember  buying when I was a child in Aden, I used in the show. 

My work was figurative in the exhibition but I felt energised by Shepherds Market to follow my heart and develop my more abstract design work in glass and start  carving stone again. 

CASTING - Waste Mould

Here are images of making a Waste Mould in plaster of the original clay portrait sculpture. I will eventually fill the mould with bronze resin 

    

So Behind - Trying To Get Ahead

I decided to sculpt a clay portrait of a friend of mine who i have drawn several times. As I have had the opportunity of exhibiting, at 54 Sheperds Market in London 10- 16 Febuary,  I thought another portrat study would be a great addition but it does rather add to the work load. This evening I started the first stage for making a plaster mould and hope that it will be successful. I have what seems like a mountain of work to cast and finish and wonder if I will ever get it all done! 

Pip and Squeak - Well oiled for Christmas

So pleased to have finished the oil painting of dogs to be given as a present for Christmas. The dogs are such characters, the little one especially.  
If was fairly impossible to keep them together so I had to do studies of them separately and make up a composition. It was difficult because they are such different sizes but the little one has the bigger personality. 

Usually the little one wears her ears flat but the owner liked them worn like a funny bat creature. I must say it does look better for the composition.

Drawing~Proteus Creation Space

I really must get into the habit of blogging more regularly. 
At present I am engrossed in getting work together for my forthcoming exhibition in February at 54 The Gallery in London. 
Today I took a break and drew at Proteus Creation Space in Basingstoke which was having a Christmas Event . 
Proteus is a theatre company which was formally based at Queen Mary's College where I once taught. Now they have taken over Fairfields Art Centre and are making it into an exciting and vibrant centre.

Best of Farnham

Great night  on Thursday 27 November at the Best of Farnham business evening which was held at Mahaan's Indian  Restaurant. The meal was delicious and the company, formed of  local business people, was interesting and convivial. 

I was invited by Martin Davidge-Stinger  to make sketches of the speaker  Penny Power . It  was rather nerve wracking, but buoyed by adrenalin and encouragement  from Martin, I had ago and produced two pencil sketches during the  the meal. Later we gave these drawings and an earlier painted sketch to Penny. 

The speaker  Penny Power @pennypower was very warm and  approachable . She had been successful with founding  Academy which was  a forerunner to Linkedin and Facebook.  Now she  is trying to get some interesting youth apprenticeship initiatives  formed and had been discussing her ideas with Lord Young earlier in the House. 
I was impressed by her positive energy and her practical 'win win' common sense ideas which we really need to implement and support. 

Portrait Painting - Farnborough Festival.

The weather was absolutely 'challenging' ! Wind, rain, cold! Nevertheless the brave folk of Farnborough continued undaunted and although their clothes may have been sodden their spirit wasn't.

Lots of people requested portraits and because of the general enthusiasm I continued throughout the day and managed to paint seven pictures which I was pleased with.

My first teaching job was at Cove Secondary, which was near by, and I met and painted a mother of a child I used to teach there. It seems he turned out very successfully despite my efforts and still has 'memories ' of my casting him as an Owl in a school play. It was hilarious recollecting the various personalities and incidents which took place. 

Almost Maled it.

Yet another male nude. I have been  going  to life drawing for years in the belief that it is  good practise and a great opportunity to keep my drawing skills sharp. The problem is I have a tonnage of drawings. Going through some of them the other day I was shocked by how many I had done. Time for a cull I think. This is my latest sketch from last week in watercolour.  The pose is not too inspiring. The chair and bin really do not add a very glamorous note.

Oxford John Radcliffe Hospital day

I had to go to the John Radcliffe Hospital with my husband for an emergency visit. He was afraid his sight was deteriorating. He is already registered severely blind as an indirect result of a disease called pseudoxanthinelasticum  or PXE for short.
We are lucky and privileged to have such a great hospital to go to but unfortunately the wait to see the specialists can be lengthy.   I always take my sketch book and draw people waiting. Luckily he got the all clear this time but it is a great worry. The stress must be considerably worse in a country which does not have a care system like ours. I do wish the government would value it as much as the public do and stop trying -I think- to Americanise it.

I have been so busy chatting about work rather than actually getting down to any tangible art.

There are so many networking groups that I could spend my whole time socialising.On the plus side, less physical effort has rested my feet injuries and walking is much easier.

Yesterday I discussed the idea of doing workshops and demonstrations  in the  vast Hobby Craft Store in Basingstoke. B'stoke is not known as a cultural epicentre so there's a challenge.

Pleased with a recent little watercolour sketch quickie I've posted on twitter but can not for the 'Love of God ' upload here. The frustration has caused me to bite my lip. Arggh 

                                 

HURRAH! Finally unloaded pic thanks to chap at Apple Store B'stoke. 💋 

CLOSE UP - CAROLE

Portrait of Carole

Still haven't finished the last portrait so thought I would post this one on the blog. 
I cast it in ciment fondu which is a fine  type of cement sculptors use. A good surface can be achieved with polish. 
The base is granite. 

GET AHEAD - Sculpture Portrait Courses

Several people asked if I would teach them portrait sculpture.
A friend suggested I could use her wonderful old converted 'posh' piggeries which look like they come from an enchanting old fairy tale.
Weekend or weekday workshops seemed a good idea and I can be flexible to accommodate the most popular time for people.
A model and materials will be included.
It should be great fun and the location is beautiful.

'Cheeky Monkey' Portrait - Anäiss

This is a painting I did in Alton Park during a 'Cheeky Monkey' Family Fun Day

a couple of weeks ago. 

Highly Sprung

 Pencil study