It was rather surreal. Jeremy Paxman talking about “Reeves’ statues”. You know you’ve made it when you have three questions about your statues on BBC2’s University Challenge. The questions were about Sadako Sasaki, Sir Nigel…
I have studied all the photos available of Sir Nigel – at different ages – and know that I want a likeness of him in his late 50s/early 60s. This is when he was Chief…
Having spent time getting the anatomy of the figure right, it’s time to clothe Sir Nigel. It may seem an odd process, but it really works. If the anatomy isn’t right, the final clothed sculpture…
In order to sculpt a convincing figure of Sir Nigel, I need a life model. Like Rodin, I use the traditional technique of sculpting the figure unclothed first, before sculpting the clothes. Barry McGerr was…
Now it’s up to me to finish off the armature. The main structure is complete. But I want to double-check all the measurements before I add anything more. I make some minor adjustments to the…
What’s a sculptor’s worst nightmare? Her beautifully-sculpted figure drooping under the weight of the clay or even crashing to the floor around her. Whilst I have built-in a decent amount of time to sculpt Sir…
It’s one thing sculpting a 36cm tall figure. It’s quite another thing to sculpt a 7ft 5in figure. So how do you scale it up? Some sculptors harness digital technology and have their maquette scaled-up…
The contract is signed. The commission is a reality. Now I have to sculpt the 7ft 5in sculpture of Sir Nigel Gresley in clay. Gulp. My permanent studio is far too small and is on…
Sir Nigel Gresley statue In 2015 I was commissioned to sculpt a bronze statue of Sir Nigel Gresley for King’s Cross Station, by the Gresley Society Trust. Sir Nigel, the eminent railway engineer (1876-1941), designed…
