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The Stream & Horse |
I wanted to show motion in the water, and also needed to supply some form of "power" for the horse
drawn wagons that dominate one end of the scene. By placing a horse in the water, and contouring
"flow" around his feet, I was able to accomplish both points in one action.
I began by staining a variety of porous stone and rubble with artist's inks. I actually placed the
crumbled clay stone in a small plastic cup, and then filled the cup with diluted charcoal gray ink. I
allowed this to evaporate over the course of a day, thoroughly soaking the clay with pigment. I dried the
damp rocks in the oven, and once cooled, placed them along the edge of the streambed, and cemented
them in place with the thinnest CA glue in my studio. I also took a rubber tire from a 1:43 scale toy
truck and placed it in the bed for added interest. On the other end of the stream, I pinned the bottom
hooves of the horse with brass rod, and pushed him into place... a great way to solidly mount figures
into marine Styrofoam. By placing the horse on one end of the stream, and the truck tire on the other
end, the viewers eye is drawn the length of the stream, with the visual effect stopping at both features.
After blocking both ends of the stream depression, I created the water with Envirotex(tm) Pour-On liquid
clear resin, making the depth about 1/4" deep. To minimize bubbles, I tilted the board base about 30-
degrees, and poured the resin from the high end only, allowing it to flow evenly through the streambed,
pushing out the air pockets trapped in the details. As you can see from the photo, there are no bubbles
of any size whatsoever in the final cast stream. When pouring, I placed a small amount of the resin in a
plastic cup and carried it with me as I moved about the shop during the afternoon. Now and then, I
would "test" the sample to see how stiff it was. When it began to hold shape, I went back to the stream,
and "pulled" water up and away from the horse's feet to indicate splashing, and also added some ripples
downstream to indicate flow. Pour-On dries rock hard in about 6 hours, and remains clear permanently.
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Project Photos
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