Friday, March 3, 2017

Beginnings of Cagron

The cat forms were distributed to the artists in November, and this is the beginning of what will become Cagron.

Fiberglass Cat Statue
Primed and ready for completion

The 3-D form has some curves and shapes that aren't shown on the drawing in the application packet, so a bit of  modification is in order.  It will still reflect the overall theme of a cat-dragon, but some of the detailing will be changed from the original design sketch.

Cagron is covered with scales similar to a lizard or snake.  As is typical of most of my work, a lot of detail will be included on Cagron.  He will have LOTS of scales attached for texture over most of the body.  The scales are cut from Wonderflex and attached with Apoxie Sculpt, a 2 part epoxy product.
Examples of scales cut from Wonderflex

My goal is to have Cagron be touch friendly, unlike a "REAL" dragon. (If you read any stories about dragons, you know their scales are very dangerous and to be avoided.)  I took a while to design the shape of the scales because I did not want them to poke anyone who might touch the sculpture.  The scales became oval shaped, and I cut templates out of card stock so that the scales would be uniform across the body. Tracing the shapes onto the Wonderflex and cutting out each scale was mostly accomplished watching the NFL playoffs and Superbowl.

The Apoxie Sculpt comes in 2 separate containers and is clay-like in its molding properties.

Apoxie Sculpt comes in two parts.  You mix equal parts together...


When the two parts are blended into a single, light gray color, allow it to rest for 5 minutes before working with it on the project.


It becomes difficult to work after about 45 minutes, so I limited myself to one small batch at a time and worked through that.  I also used the Apoxie Sculpt to build attachments onto the cat form, such as the antlers, scales along the spine, and bigger toes with talons.  Yes, Cagron is quite fierce and must have powerful feet.


Saturday, September 17, 2016

The Painted Cats for 2017 - Kickoff!

Tails of the Painted Cats for 2017 is now underway! I'm honored to have my design accepted by Juror Cheryl St. John for this fundraiser that benefits the Cat Care Society in Lakewood, Colorado.

This year's painted cat statue will be a sitting cat that I will transform into a dragon-like creature.  My inspirations for this design come from dragons in general, an Asian dragon statue, the character Haku in Hayao Miyazaki's anime feature Spirited Away, and the spirit dragon Shen Lung (variation) who controls storms and brings rain to the land. My "cat dragon" has been named Cagron (say it with a roar).

I will be using WonderFlex to build the scales on the body.  WonderFlex is a low-heat, moldable plastic sheet product that bonds to itself when heated.  It is used in the costume industry and provides lightweight but sturdy structure while accepting paint readily.

Here are pictures of my inspiration:
Haku from "Spirited Away"

A Fun Dragon Image

Asian Dragon Statue
The design I developed for the Tails of the Painted Cats 2017:
Cagron
Now that the artists and designs have been chosen, sponsors for each cat will be sought out by our fearless coordinator Jane Dorsey at the Cat Care Society.  Jane will order the blank cat statues in October, so check back some time after that to see the progress I'm making on this fun project.

Information about the Cat Care Society can be found here.

If you'd like to see the cat statue I created for the 2015 fundraiser, click here to go to the Cosmos-Cat website.

Thank-you for viewing my art!