Since I’ve been away from my sculpting studio, I’ve started painting my characters on small panels. This has been a great way for me to play around with color combinations and bring my daily sketches to life. I love taking these creatures from simple sketches and refining them on canvas so they can live beyond the pages of my sketchbook.
I usually work on 3-4 panels at a time to keep the momentum going without having to wait for paint to dry. It’s a fun challenge to make the most of the wet paint on my palette by using it in each piece or even as a color base for the next panels.
After finishing a series of character paintings, I felt inspired to turn one of them into a wall sculpture. I started by referencing a sketch from my sketchbook and cutting out cardboard profiles for the front and sides. Using hot glue, I assembled these pieces at 90-degree angles to create the basic shape, then added strips of chipboard to further define the structure.
Once the framework was fairly rigid, I covered it with painter’s tape to seal any gaps. This layer serves as the foundation armature for the clay I’ll apply later. While waiting for everything to dry, I got started on another 5×5 painting featuring Ish and the Fish.
