While I'm finishing up some of the projects on my Vbench I decided to shake off some rust (have not sculpted in some time) with a headsculpt in Sculpey. The head is 1/6 or a bit smaller. I have to finish the eyes yet and the proportions need a little tweeking. After these I have another sculpting project to attend to. ~Gary

Honestly Gary, I'm not sure if I'm Abe-l to comment.........HA, just kiddin'. Nice work! Love the more unfinished, artistic aproach here. and a really nice likeness.

I assume this is Honest Abe?

Jay H.
OKc

Gary,
I'm with jay. It does not look like you lost your touch any. Great looking.
Would make a nice bronze?
Cheers.
John

Hi Gary
This is great! I picked it as Abe also... Are we right?
Brad

Jay, John, and Brad,

YES, you are right. I have been wanting to do Lincoln for years, though I'm not sure to what level I'm going to complete this. I prefer the beardless Abe verses the bearded version. I'll probably add the beard after I bake the head. It sure feels nice to be pushing Sculpey around again. ~Gary

Excellent start!!!

Great beginning, Gary! Good likeness!!

All the best,
Dan

Great start. Would love to see more

Stephen Mallia

Wow! great likeness so far Gary. Glad to see you mashing clay around again.

Excellent start on Abraham Lincoln.
I see that you can push putty like you never stopped.

marc

Gary this is superb. Let's see some more!

Matt

Guys, Thanks again. I hope to have Abe a little more refined looking in a couple days. ~Gary

he's back!

nice to see you pushing clay again mate. good stuff!


all the best ---- tim

Heh Gary - Why did you stop? For how long? I have been out of the hobby for two years and infrequently check this site out (but its my only contact as I don't even buy MM anymore).

I keep thinking about picking up the tools and sculpey again. I've had big motivation problems due to work stress and illness in the family - any pointers on getting back in? When I do pick up a blob of bust raw material and a tool I turn out popeye-like creatures. I'm probably not relaxed enough and I give up too quickly.

Great Abe BTW!

Colin

Colin, I guess it was a combination of factors. My sculpting slump really took a turn once I started painting flat artwork that pretty much did it.

If you're in a slump, try a project that really inspires you. You may even try to sculpt a subject that is something you typically would not do. You might find inspiration in a book, movie, or even piece of music. Unfortunately there is not one cure all. I would also suggest that you do something simple and not a piece that overwhelms you technically. ~Gary

Glad to see you back at it, Gary. The sculpt is looking good. Do you plan on making this a full bust or are you just sculpting the head?

Matt,

Thanks. I'm not sure yet. I had a featureless head laying around so I took advantage of having a ready made foundation. ~Gary

personally i get where you're from there Gary, i have the occasional lax period and find that a change is as good as a rest. drawing is a good rest period i find. some times its about confidence too. nought wrong with you any these mate. nice to see you on the CH too; i find the critiques there a real help and the 'Jams' are a nice informal way to try new avenues.
keep pushing clay gary!

all the best and merry christmas --- Tim

Here is the Abe sculpt cleaned up. As much as I liked the hair and skin rendered loosely it probably would not look great with paint on it. I did try to keep the skin on the rough side as well as his hair. I added a little Sculpey Diluent to soften the Sculpey when I started fleshing him out. It did soften it, but it did have a downside. When I was sculpting the hair I felt as if I was sculpting hair out of butter using a hot knife. After the head is done baking I'll then go in with fine steel wool to clean it up. The lower eyelids, ears, and nose will be be finished following a couple of sessions in the oven. Below you'll find the link to an interesting read regarding Abe's face.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Abraham-Lincoln-Had-a-Lopsided-Face-And-Strabismus-62674.shtml

Oh yeah, I have to do the beard yet too.

That's pretty cool. The likeness is awesome

Stephen Mallia