Phaze Studio - Portrait Sculpture

Portrait Sculpture - Gallery

Portrait sculpture is the ultimate way to immortalize your pet; whether it be a dog, cat, horse, or even rabbit or bird. Each piece is individually sculpted by Liesl out of the finest professional-grade materials, in your choice of size. Finished pieces can be then portrait painted to resemble your pet, or bronze surfaced to a vibrant luster.

A Bit About Portrait Sculpture

Here's a quick description of the process that went into your sculptural portrait!

Each piece begins with a series of photographs, and a sketch. In most cases, go to the barn and meet with the horse in person, give him a carrot, and asked him nicely to pose for the photo shoot. From there, I do a quick sketch of how I thought the piece might look best, showing off his personality and best features.

After the sketches, I create the rough sculpture. It begins with armature wire, a bendable wire that gives structure and is kind of like the backbone of the piece. Then I fill out the head and neck with aluminum foil for bulk. Why aluminum foil? It doesn't conduct heat, is lightweight, and also is surprisingly strong to support the layers of clay that go over it.

The very first clay that goes on is a polymer clay. I 'flesh out' the horse-shape; the muscles, face structure and anything else that needs to be done to get an idea of how the pose will go. After sending along the first round of photos to show the pose to my client, I go ahead and fire the clay.

The next step is the details, which is done in a two-part sculpting epoxy. This becomes the rock-hard exterior of the piece. The details are, as you can guess, the most time consuming, and I lay out all my photos in front of me to work off of at all times. I normally start at the shoulder and work up, and then the muzzle and work back. The last part I usually do is the ears; this is because they are so fine that they probably would get mushed if I tried to do them first!

Now the finishing! After letting this next layer cure over night, I start the task of smoothing and polishing the piece. The finish that I most often use is two different tones of bronze. This is an actual bronze surfacing that may patina with age. The base color is a blackened bronze, which was then gone over with a more gold-bronze to pull out all the highlights. It is permanently attached to its base, which is solid pine that has been stained to a walnut color and sealed in a gloss lacquer.

Caring For Your Piece & A Lifetime Warranty

Your piece is constructed to withstand rough handling, a potential drop, and general wear and tear in an active household. The connection between sculpture and base is steel reinforced, and there are re-enforcements in the nostrils, eyes, and even in his ears. This being said, I recommend still using care when handling your piece. The best way to carry carry is one hand on the horse, and one hand under the base.

If, under any circumstances your piece breaks, please contact me and I will fix it. Each piece I create comes with a lifetime warranty, and your satisfaction is guaranteed.

General care is easy for this piece; its a good idea to keep it out of extreme temperatures (100 degrees +, or below freezing), and away from damp/wet areas for prolonged periods. These pieces do exceptionally well on coffee tables, end tables, bookshelves, desks, mantels, etc. Your piece has been created in materials that will last indefinitely with proper care, and so rest assured that it will always stay as beautiful as it is now.

The photos you see are of my latest piece, before his bronzing and then afterwards when he is completely finished. In the future I will post a step-by-step process for you to see. Enjoy!