The sculpture process - from drawing to bronze sculpture. The jumping horse.

The finished jumping horse bronze sculpture with multi-tonal patina which highlights this intricately detailed bronze sculpture of a leaping horse as she leaves the ground to clear a tall jump. 

The double reins and martingale of this bronze horse were added after the sculpture is cast in bronze.

See more bronze horse sculptures at www.corpany.com 

The finished clay sculpture is photographed and the photos are sent to the client for approval. Upon approval of the clay model, the bronze horse sculpture is ready to go to the foundry for the mold and lost wax bronze casting.

Hand drawn sketch for the jumping horse bronze sculpture, "Liftoff!"

This original sketch was done as a composite of a number of good photos supplied by the client. None of the photos captured the horse and rider in exactly the position I wanted, but I was able to get enough information from the measurements and photos to create this sketch. Once it was approved by the client, I went to work on the clay model. 

The clay model is formed by first building a metal armature, and then adding wire to the armature to support the legs, head and neck, and the tail of the horse. Then clay is added to the armature, shaped by hand and using various sculpting tools to create the form and detail of the bronze.

Jumping Horse Bronze Sculpture

This jumping horse bronze sculpture is a custom portrait that is now going through the casting process. I am excited about this piece, because in the finished bronze it will not have the support post going up into the horse's belly. It is always exciting to me to make a bronze horse appear to defy gravity as it flies through the air.

To share a little more of the process of creating this sculpture, the sketch below was the beginning of the process. The client provided a good number of excellent photos of the horse and rider featured here, although none of them were in this exact pose. The client also provided a few of the measurements of the horse and the rider in order to keep the proportions correct.