That's truly awesome. It's been a joy to see it come together.

That's truly awesome. It's been a joy to see it come together.

Thank you Greg.!

ah! scrapz! its beautiful - really wonderful! love how youve managed to keep movement in the tail, it looks drawn, lovely and loose! also particularly drawn to the mane and cheeks, the planes on the cheeks, the head is fantastic, it all is :) briliant. looks like you had a really absorbing time creating this :)

WOW is the first thing that comes to mind as you notice the beautiful flow and grace of the muscles almost as a snapshot of full free gallop. Incredible and inspiring !!!!

andrew,
this is awesome. i have a lot of emotion looking at this. can't say enough good things so i will just say "outstanding job".
seldom

Just Brilliant Mate!

In the 16th century Italy there was an artist named Giuseppe Arcimboldo who was a painter employed by the royal court . His paintings used assemblages of vegetables to create images of members of the court. Your work reminds me of of his images . Both are fine art so far as I am concerned. You are in very good company.

Thank you Beth ChefTJCook Seldom Whirly and knots. my aim is to give the viewer some happiness. If you guys like it, then I am happy with the result. cheers.

Here is some more progress . Note the saddle base joins to a central square post that fits in a vertical housing. The finished saddle lifts off like the real thing. I am not sure about the bridle and harness. These are a requirement of the buyer.. Im thinking some of the beautiful lines in the horses head are now lost. what do you think?

i think the grace of the head is lost, to the same extent that a wild horse's grace is lost when a bridle is put upon its head....... it is the most realistic- non meat- horse i have ever seen.....
absolutely brilliant mate.

andrew,
dont worry about the grace being lost, i agree. however what you are seeing is what a horse under tack appears like. if and whenever the owners decide to remove the tack as you stated the grace will reappear. this is awsome. thanks so much for sharing this with all of us.
seldom

if this was in my shop i could not help but scratch his neck every time i walked by, much as i do my own living horses.

This is my first time chiming in on this topic. First, your work is really amazing. You are a true artist and craftsman.
Second, no I don't think the bridle takes away from it's lines anymore than it does a real horse. It does make it look even more life like.

Thank you for sharing your work with us. It is all very inspiring.


Mitch

thank you Seldom and McRobb.

I have to go back and reposition the girth strap to a more correct position as my father says its wrong. after "spitting the dummy" and feeling my 'art' was not appreciated ( would you ask Leonardo to shift mona's nose up a bit) I had a reality check : The buyers also noted the position of the girth strap and asked me to change it. After a few internal swear words I realised i was ignorant of 'horse stuff' and if you are asked to build a nag with all the trimmings accurately ... then thats what you must do.
cheers

Sorry Mitch I meant MRobb not Mc Robb (I must have thought you had Scotish origins!

G'day Andrew, how goes the project, you've not posted for a bit Mate.......

Thanks for the interest Whirly . I have had a few dramas to sort out (OK now) and I am now working on the rider. Legs mount to horse via ankle , stirrup will be added later to give illusion that rider is standing in stirrups. Note the fully articulated joints on the heavy wall 1inch box internal frame. This allows unlimited adjustment. Each leg fits into a vertical housing at pelvis that can be separated.The arms can also be removed. These housings are locked by a nut and bolt.. Once gesture is finalised all 'uni' joints are welded up. I used 2 ropes to set and adjust pelvis and shoulder height. Horizontal movement can be made by sliding the rope forward or to the rear on the rail suspended from roof. Once I am happy with the internal frame it is dissasembled and reassembled on a work table at a convenient height.

cheers!

andrew,
love the show you are giving us, its great. to my eye it appears that perhaps the feet are to far back at this point and the knee bent more than should be. in other words a longer stirrup length and a deeper seat. feet should be about even with the cinch. just my 2 cents and suggestions that i see. doing great, keep up the good work.
seldom

Mate, you're a Genius........

andrew,
love the show you are giving us, its great. to my eye it appears that perhaps the feet are to far back at this point and the knee bent more than should be. in other words a longer stirrup length and a deeper seat. feet should be about even with the cinch. just my 2 cents and suggestions that i see. doing great, keep up the good work.
seldom

Thanks for the Tips Seldom. I acknowledge you have a far greater knowledge of horses than me. The rider and horse are based on 5 actual jumping photos of Taylor and her horse Jaffa. In each of those photos the stirrup , feet, knee and buttocks are very close to the position I have created . So Im working with what I see not what may be more correct in a equestrian event. I really dont know the correct positions for each of these key points but I have noted that (looking at many internet images) when the horse initially "kicks off" in a jump the forward momentum of the horse causes the riders feet (and stirrup) to move rearward like a pendulum, away from the position you describe. I guess that as the rider gains equilibrium with the horse (a second or so later)the riders feet will return to the position you describe. I thank you for your input and If you see any glaring errors Please let me know as I am a complete novice in these matters.

Whirly............ Thanks mate!

Un#######believable you have got a lot of patience and foresight every time I check in here and have look I'm floored keep up the great work scrappy

Here is a bit more of the rider. With the wire I can "draw" the thighs , hips and buttocks. Once happy that I am in "the Ballpark" I start adding bits and pieces:







 

Thanks Gibbo for the compliment , Im glad U like the stuff I do!

great work, andrew. i really like this.
seldom

Thank you Seldom , here is more of the rider, ignore the hand position as they are still flexible and just hanging in place.
Today I am going try to do the waist , hips and shoulder line.