Portrait in stone of two children

The client wanted to site the statue of her grandchildren outdoors in the grounds of her house. Therefore- I suggested that the models should wear wellington boots for my photo-shoot and include them in the finished work. Terrific fun.

I decided to use Portland Stone because of it’s subtle colour- it’s recognised use for statues and portraiture and its ability to improve over time. It is equally stunning under starlight- moon light and bright sunshine

Conventional wisdom dictates that the lower part is not weakened by having just spindly delicate ankles- legs supporting the much heavier mass of stone above.

However- I have never been a prisoner of conventionality- and so I represented the wellington boots fully and properly.

I reasoned that there were four appendages down to the base and that would do. In this way- I avoided having them joined to a clumsy bit of wall or something sculpted in to provide strength. It looks so much more lifelike.

I’m so pleased for the girls. I managed to catch their cheeky personalities and character. The fun part was managing to get an asymmetry in their posture and expression as seen clearly in these pictures.