My Retirement- En Retraite

I have now retired from creating metal sculptures, but I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my friends ans customers for their support over the last few years. I will leave this blog open as a permanent record of some of the pieces that have left my workplace for a new home.

Lydia's Penguin

A Rock Hopper Penguin created for a lady who loves these little characters.
The body uses an empty gas bottle (I say empty, but if you need to do any welding on one of these, please remember to refill it with water beforehand, or you risk going into orbit directly!)

Rustic Wall Sconces

Just for a change I have created a range of candle holders from old garden implements; they each use a standard 40mm candle, but can take a nightlight too. The variety of tools is quite wide, just needing a vertical handle to be suitable. Most of them use a bracket with a single screw for the mounting.

Ram and Lamb

Another set of sculptures destined to stay together is a Sheep that currently lives in the Gironde department that now needs a Lamb and Ram combo to keep her happy.

Heron Family

Sometimes I get asked to create a group of animals that will be displayed together, so I need to make them in different poses but looking as though they belong to each other.

Carelle's Peacock

A life-size peacock commissioned for a lady who used to keep live peacocks of her own.
With a bit of luck this one will last longer than the real thing

Old Goat

This sculpture was commissioned to perch high up on a rock (as goats often do). It is the first time I have been asked for a goat in over ten years of producing a wide variety of animals, making a nice change for me.

Wall Fish

Created to hang on the stone wall behind our pool, the fish features a plough shear several picks and two scythe blades in it's construction. It measures two and a half metres from nose to tail.

Buzzard

This bird of prey was a commission and had to perch on an existing bracket attached to a wall.
The Buzzard has a wingspan of 1m40cm, I used a combination of machetes, seat springs, rotorvator blades and cutters from an old sidebar mower. The tail is an axehead.

Squirrel

A little climbing squirrel designed to be climbing a tree in a very small garden for a local french lady.
His tail is a rusty chainsaw chain, feet are wood  augers, and his body is from a pair of ox shoes.

Buzzard on Barrel

My brief here was to create a life size 'see-through' wine barrel with a buzzard alighting on the rim.
For the barrel I used the metal bands from a real barrel with staves made from old electric fence supports, while the buzzard is mainly from rotorvator blades with an axe for the tail and spanners for the legs.

Yacht

The simple approach. Just three components for this yacht: a pickaxe and two scythes

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Sunset Seagull 2

Similar to one of my earlier sculptures, this seagull has been created from two large scythe blades, an axe, and the metal rim from an old wooden cartwheel. There is a spike welded to the bottom of the rim which enables the sculpture to be pushed into the lawn and remain freestanding.

Deer Family

A life-sized family of deer, which includes one with tall antlers as well as a youngster.
These continue to be popular in the Dordogne where there's a fair amount of hunting.

Bird of Paradise

Two leaf rakes and half a pair of tinsnips form most of this sculpture which hangs from a tree branch in mid-flight.

Two Vultures

Staying with the 'birds of prey' theme, two new vultures made from garden forks, scythes, shackles and the usual selection of whatever I could lay my hands on at the time.

Two Kestrels

A pair of kestrels, each catching a sloworm. These have been created from a selection of rotorvator blades and garden shears. Their legs are old spanners, and there is a couple of brushcutter blades in there as well.

Dragonfly

this Dragonfly uses a quarter eliptic leaf spring from a cart and two carpet boules amongst other things, and has been designed to hang from a garage wall. It's wingspan is 80cm.

Dancing Cranes

A new pair of dancing cranes built mainly from old mower blades

Armilliary Globe

 An armilliary sundial created from the last metal vestiges of a cart at Chateau Les Jaqueteaux.
It sits on top of an existing well which has been capped off, but will supply a fountain inside the globe after the wellhead has been built up to recuperate the water. This sculpture stands over 3 metres tall.

Something different again...
Ten wrought iron tea cups. I'm still sorting out the rest of their saucers, but we're nearly there.
Tea Cups

Flowerbed

Not quite a sculpture, this is the result of being given a rusty old bed by my neighbour. I have used the head 'as is' and cut the foot to make the two sides. In the summer it makes a plant stand; maybe in the winter it could be used to store firewood. Slight modifications would convert it into a fancy garden chair.

Whale's Tail

Now for something completely different...a sculpture to be set into concrete at the end of an infinity swimming pool.
This uses two old plough blades, lots of re-bar and a handful of the biggest washers I could find.

Tubby Terrier

Smaller than most of my other dog sculptures, this terrier has a motorcycle petrol tank for his body, two forks for legs and a vintage saddle for his head.

Happy Bat

This roosting bat was created from two scythe blades, an axe head and a pair of rotovator blades. It can hang from a tree branch or from a ceiling joist. March 2014

Wall Lizard

A new lizard for the new year; this has similar construction to my previous examples, but is wall-mounted and measures two metres from nose to tail.

Marion's Peacock

Another peacock; this one is larger and more elaborate than the first, and incorporates a maize hopper and a tractor seat amongst other things.
Built 2014

Emu

Created at the request of a local couple who plan to move from France back to Austrailia soon. I have used a selection of old agricultural parts including a scythe and plough shear. The hanging 'feathers' started life as a metal curtain to exclude flies from a house; very Austrailian!

Deux 'Grands Ducs'

 When a french guy asked me to make a life-size 'Grand Duc' for him I began researching the kind of clothes that would be worn at the right era in history...luckily one of my other french clients told me that a Grand Duc is a nickname for an Eagle Owl, so I was back in my comfort zone.
The one on the right is on it's way to Holland, the other is here in France

Penny farthing

 Deviating from the usual animal subjects, this vintage-style bicycle was created at the request of a dutch guy who has a collection of my sculptures.
The only original bike part is the leather saddle, the wheels came from farm machinery, while the front forks are the handles from tree-pruning secateurs and the pedals are old brake pads from a Renault Clio

Jaure Lizard

 Another lizard, this one was for someone who took a shine to the first example. It is climbing on a low log, and I have used a selection of chainsaw and motorcycle chains plus a plough blade to bulk up the body.

Lil' Birdie

 They don't come much simpler than this! Yep, it's a hammerhead mounted on an old root, but in my defence, I had to find the root, pressurewash it, treat it and fix it to a steel base.

Kookaburra

I hadn't planned to make a Kookaburra, but saw some on a trip to Austrailia, so had to have one for our garden here in France. You can see many of the usual components just assembled in a diferent way; a longer beak would make it into a woodpecker, longer still might make it a kingfisher!

Antillies Lizard

 This was a commission to be a reminder of the lizards that are found on the Carribean islands. I have used a selection of garden tools along with the runners from a a sliding garage door (for the vertibrae). The lizard is climbing a tree trunk which is supported by the castiron winding wheel from a well.

Lizard detail

Front view of the lizard above

Random Bird

Somehow as soon as I have finished making a sculpture our cat has to 'own' it. How the cat figured that the bird might make a good place to sit, I'm not sure, but in case you were wondering the bird's tail
is an axe head

Farmyard Goose

 This was a commission for  a french couple who retired to the Perigord which is famous for the production of geese. The goose is twice life-size and uses four shovels, two plough shears and a motorbike silencer in its construction.

Chicks

 From the tall to the short! These chicks were created to go with a mother hen. Their bodies are metal boules, and the chicks simply push into the turf.

Taller Dancing Crane

 This is the third dancing crane, rather taller than the last couple at 2m 30cm high. I used thinner and rather more flexible leg metal in an effort to get the sculpture to bounce about in a breeze, so emulating the dance of the real crane. Just need a bit of breeze to see if it works!