30
Aug
Graduate Custom Likeness Bust in Stone Look
A Custom Likeness Bust Sculpted from Vintage Photos
A family wrote us looking for a custom likeness bust as a way to honor their father and bring to life one of their favorite photos of him. We are very used to working from photos when it comes to creating busts and sculptures. Many of the ones our sculptors have created are memorial busts or surprise gifts where a sitting with the subject wouldn’t be possible. But this sculpture came with the additional challenge that we only had two vintage black and white photos to work from. The main inspiration image was one from a graduation ceremony, and we wanted to capture the look of pride, happiness and accomplishment in our work.
Lead sculptor for this custom bust project Steven Richter, used not only those black and white photos but also contemporary photos of relatives who shared a similar facial structure to help us discern some of the details and structures that were harder to see in the photographs. We also worked very closely with the family to ensure that the finished sculpture captured the way they remembered their father. We shared photos of the clay bust in progress and got their feedback to incorporate into our art.
When the clay sculpting was finished and we had final approval from the client, we moved on to molding, then cast the piece in a resin material. The client asked for a faux stone finish similar to the look of Mount Rushmore. So we used a base tone of gray and added several splattered and washed over layers to give the final statue a natural stone finish with a bit of age and character. We’re honored to have helped this family take an old photo, a real moment in time, and bring it into three dimensional life. The family now proudly displays this in an alcove in their home.
Want your own custom sculpture or bust created by our sculptors? Email or call today and let’s discuss your project!
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