I've been creating paper sculptures for decades and this one on one of my favorite artist and his painting, "The Bedroom in Arles." The goal was to capture Van Gogh in the midst of painting and to convey the distortion of the original painting as accurately as possible. These sculptures are hand cut, curved and embossed, creating a detailed addition to the 3D quality of the work. People often ask how long something like this takes... A best guess is between 150-200 hours from the original concept which encompasses; sketching, paper selection, transferring, cutting, curving, embossing, gluing and construction. This is not a quick nor an easy process to get the correct distortion. For example, I built 12 beds before I was happy with the look.
I love a good face which is why I chose Cezanne for this sculpture. It's based off his painting, The Bay from L'Estaque. Cezanne used flat planes of color to delineate depth and dimension, so I did the same. No embossing or debossing except for the figure.
This is a hand built scale model paper sculpture of a restaurant interior design concept. From custom bar bar and furniture to railing, the entire piece is nothing but paper, glue and foamcore. The floors are embossed and even have a wood grain added, which doesn't appear well in the photograph. Paper sculpture in general doesn't photograph well as a lot of detail is lost that is in the construction.
As a kid, I loved the three stooges. I remember going see the original King Kong at a theater that showed classic movies and the Stooges were featured in the shorts before the start. An old theater with balconies and red velvets curtains and rugs. Gotta love it! Also, I had to strongly resist the urge to add a cartoon caption, "Bonk!" to the final.
Aaron Neville of the Meters, had an angel-like voice but a huge presence and even bigger arms. He rises into the heavens surrounded by fiery alligators behind a very accurate rendition of the gates of the Cabildo, (the home of the Spanish municipal government in New Orleans located in Jackson Square). The spikes on the top of the fence are replaced with crawfish.
I love baseball, especially love the old photos of the players and their baggy uniforms. The faces on the players from long ago had so much character and strength. I created a series of 30 Baseball Hall of Famers.
Eric Claptons' music is based on the blues. He wore his famous white suit which contrasts greatly with the roots of his blues education and one of his major influences, Robert Johnson. The legend of blues musician Robert Johnson claims he sold his soul to the devil at a crossroads in exchange for his extraordinary musical talent. This story reflects themes of sacrifice and mastery in the blues tradition.
I'm always exploring different ways and methods of exploration for paper sculpture. This one uses hand drawn elements which were Zeroxed onto Canson paper before beginning construction. This sculpture is all about a cajun christmas in Baton Rouge, LA. The tree is modeled after the state capital and is hollowed out, allowing for a network of bulbs that I wired. All wires were then attached to a dimmer switch, giving control over the brightness during the photo session.
