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Author: Teresa_M._Turner, Contributing Editor
| Adding Color
The leaf will require another thin coat of gesso before I can begin painting it. I use professional quality artists acrylics to paint my leather pieces. Again, as with the gesso, it is important to apply the paint in very thin coats. The first few coats are basically washes, and later coats can be applied by drybrushing, depending upon the effect that is desired. This is going to be an autumn leaf, so I will start with yellows and then add some reds and oranges later on; maybe even a little green. I typically end up putting 10-15 thin layers of paint on, sometimes more. An important sidenote- painting on the leather is VERY hard on brushes. Between the acrylics and working on a textured surface which has been sculpted, some of my brushes, especially tiny ones, end up looking like little brooms eventually. They are still useful for drybrushing and getting other interesting effects when painting the leather, so don't just toss them out! White synthetic bristled brushes for acrylics seem to hold up better than most others for this purpose. The painting always seems like the fun part to me, as this is really when a sculpture starts to look more realistic. I have placed the leaf in my scanner for the next image. It looks a little more flat because of being placed in the scanner, but this will not affect the shape of the leaf in any way. Sculpted leather is still flexible, but retains its shape quite readily. The leaf also appears a little shiny at this point, as I have not yet applied the matte acrylic varnish to the surface, which is the final step. |
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| What's Next?
Once the leaf is finished, you may be wondering, "What can be done with this?" Here is an example of another fall maple leaf I sculpted, once framed. (Deep mouldings must be used, either double rabbett mouldings, or regular mouldings with spacers inserted): |
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| Beyond the Basics
Leaves are much simpler to make than flowers, which is why I chose to use a leaf as the example in this article. When making other, more three-dimensional pieces, a lot of experimentation is required when drafing the pattern pieces. Because you are taking a material which is flat and transforming it into a three dimensional shape, you are limited by the medium to a certain extent. When creating more 3D pieces, pigskin is a better choice. It will stretch more, although it also has a more prominent pore structure, which creates other problems. The picture at right is a sculpture which was created from pigskin and cowhide, using the techniques outlined in this article. Each flower is comprised of 12 individually sculpted pieces. The entire sculpture, with the violets and leaves and twigs in the groundcover contains over 50 individually sculpted and painted pieces of leather. |  | I hope this article proves helpful and informative to anyone here who has considered trying alternative media for sculpture. If you would like more information regarding the techniques discussed, please let me know.
Happy sculpting! |
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Special thanks to Phyllis Franklin, AKA llis, who served as editor for this article. |
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| B i o g r a p h y | |
| http://www3.sympatico.ca/tturner/ | |
| Teresa M. Turner is a self-taught artist with a background in Medieval English Literature. She has been practicing art full time for over ten years, showing and selling her work in Canada and the US. Her pieces appear in private collections throughout the US, Canada, and Europe. | |
| E-Mail: tturner@sympatico.ca Web Site: http://www3.sympatico.ca/tturner | |
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