What do I want to do?

Just recently I have begun an original sculpture of Lilly, my draft cross. She is curio sized, a size that I think is very underused and under appreciated in our hobby right now. Its a fabulous size to work on, it fits perfectly into one's hands, and is a pleasure to paint. As I've been working on her, I find myself looking more closely at the work of other sculptors I respect, studying their sculpture along with the real-life reference I have in front of me.

It has been said by quite few that people are "a sum of their influences"... and this is no less true in the art world. As artists, we look and process a zillion images every day. Studying the work of others helps us define our own art, using what we like and don't like to build our own unique look and style. Additionally, the greatest works often come from those who have a community of artists who can give each other feedback in order to improve and evolve. Critique is crucial to any artist in order to continue their development, and we must never fear what others have to say, whether it be positive or negative. The bottom line is that regardless of subject or medium, artists are constantly learning from each other whether consciously or unconsciously.

This is no less true in the model horse hobby-- however-- by virtue of being what it is, we have narrowed the spectrum of 'acceptable' work to a very, very small margin. It must look like a horse, as realistically as possible, with little room for extrapolation. This can, and is, quite stifling to many artists who work professionally within the hobby. That being said, even with this small acceptable margin, there still exists very different sculptors with very different bodies of work. And there are very different painters with very different bodies of work. So, even within the narrow hobby we see a range of work, all of which look like horses... and yet falls into 3 very different styles: the impressionists, realists, and hyper-realists. All are equally valid, and all are equally correct since they all are built on the same anatomical structure. Each has its pros and cons, benefits and drawbacks. And of course there are many artists who fall in the gray area between these styles.

In working on my own sculpture, found myself looking at pieces that fall into each category. There is something to be learned from each; and as I develop my own personal style and portfolio I am now trying to make a conscious decision as to where I want to go with my own work. I can't stress enough in this particular breakdown that all these styles are equally valid both as art, and within the anatomical confines of the hobby.

Impressionism vs. Realism vs. Hyper-realism

Impressionism: Impressionism focuses on realistic scenes of modern life, with emphasized vivid overall effects rather than details. Characteristics of Impressionist paintings include visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), ordinary subject matter, the inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience, and unusual visual angles. In sculpture, this translates to pieces which look "stylized"-- built on an anatomically correct structure, but whose details are done in such a way to give the piece an exaggerated sense of expression or movement. They often have an amazing personality and the viewer can feel what the emotion/expression in the piece. In the model horse hobby, two artists who immediately come to mind who use this technique are Lynn Fraley and Ann Harris.

Realism: Realists render everyday characters, situations, dilemmas, and objects, all in a "true-to-life" manner. Realists tend to discard theatrical drama, lofty subjects and classical forms of art in favor of commonplace themes. Realists tend to not 'sugar coat' the truths of real life; they portray it as it is, flaws and all. In the model horse hobby, the realist that comes to mind immediately is Brigitte Eberl. A common comment about her work is that people love it because it looks like REAL horses, conformation flaws and all. She does not idealize the subjects she sculpts; she portrays them exactly how they are.

Hyper-realism: Hyperrealism is a genre of painting and sculpture resembling a high resolution photograph. Hyperrealism is a fully-fledged school of art and can be considered as an advancement of Photorealism by the methods used to create the resulting photorealistic paintings or sculptures. Hyper-realists present work that is "overly real"... not just anatomically accurate, they often go above an beyond to accentuate the underlying structure of bones and musculature as well as surface details, also idealizing the form to its most perfect state. Artists who immediately come to mind who work in this style are Sarah Rose and Carol Williams.


Why do I bother writing about this? Because it is important to know the history and movements behind each style which presents itself in our hobby. It also is a way for us to objectively study the sculptures within the hobby and also see their validity not just as "model horses" but as art. As someone who has not done much armature-to-horse sculpture, knowing and understanding what other artists are doing is so important for my own development, as I decide with real-horse reference in front of me how I want my piece to progress. Of course it completely comes down to what I am capable of doing/sculpting with my own hands. It will be interesting to see how this little piece turns out.