A treat to work from a live model

[Henry Wienhold]

Just beautiful Heidi, your sculpture is a joy to look at.

[Michele Rushworth]

I like the flowers. I guess it depends on what you and the client (is there one?) are aiming to express. If the goal is traditional, classic sculpture, then the flowers take away from that. If the goal is something more modern and personal, then the flowers work.

[Mike Dodson]

Heidi,

Beautiful work! I like the flowers. I think it forms a nice balance with the one in her hair, it completes the composition to me. Lovely!

[Geary Wootten]

Well Heidi, I'm going to comment in the most prodigious and professional way I know how about your work here........

YOU RAWK DUDE!!



-Gear

[Heidi Maiers]

Golly, thanks for the positive feedback guys.
No Michele, there is no client on this one so I am free to make it however I see fit.
It seems these practice pieces don't move very well (after all, who wants a portrait of some stranger staring at them in their living rooms? I for one don't ). Making it a little more decorative might appeal more to John Q. Public. Giving it a title of, let's say, "Flora - goddess of flowers" or some such thing might help me actually sell it rather than not if it is left plain with a boring title of "Gretchen - a studio study".
What do you all do with your practice portraits? I have a room full of them I use for shows and either toss, donate, or give the older ones away eventually if I can find anyone who wants them.

[Linda Brandon]

Heidi, this is a beautiful sculpture. Your work is so lovely.

I think trying to sell this as a genre, figurative piece is worth a shot. Could you make it one of a series of people with flowers around them?

[Michele Rushworth]

Some of my earliest practice portraits are in the garage where they may never again see the light of day. The better ones are hanging in the homes of the subjects who posed for me, "on loan," where they have occasionally generated commissions from other people who have seen them. I donated one early sample portrait to a charity since the person depicted was related to their cause.

The more recent practice portraits I've done that were good enough are being used as my samples. Most of the year I hang them in my studio, or exhibit them when I do demos etc. I have about five portraits that fit into that category.

[Denise Hall]

Heidi,

Your work is much to good to be tossing around - literally and aesthetically! I wish I lived nearer to you so you could "donate" one of your sculptures to my school for my students to actually see a beautiful example of classical sculpture in the raw instead of just seeing them on a tv screen "visit to the art museum". When I think of all the "sculptures of (nearly) strangers in The Vatican, Uffizzi, Louvre, on and on, like The David, Moses, Aphrodite, Eros, etc. - well, I would love to have one of your pieces looking at me in my living room!

Keep up the good work - I think your talent is rare!

Denise

[Elizabeth Schott]

Heidi,

Your work overwhelms me, I think it is just wonderful.

As I encounter the constant questioning from those considering a portrait in oil or pastel and they seem to feel it is an indulgent out of their realm, I just can't imagine what you would run into with people thinking of a sculpture of themselves.

I would love to know the demographics of those who purchase your lovely work, and if it's not too nosy - what a piece like this would sell for if commissioned?

It's funny but it has always been a secret dream of mine to work for Madame Tussaud's, their sculptors are wonderful too. I even wanted to work sculpting fake foods!