What the Gardener Saw

At the intersection between this world and the next lies Plebian Council, a dark patch overgrown with lovers and liars, magicians and misanthropes, seers and sailors. The supernatural is natural in this Victorian-era otherworld where a struggle between good and evil rages just beneath the social topsoil.

A murderous seed was sown, and now a battle rages among Mandrakes and Trefoils, Scrimshaws and Revenants, McLouds and Monkshoods. Angry ghosts walk the town. Curses are lowered and skirts are lifted. Erotic passions are inflamed, boundaries are trespassed and the unlucky are pickled in perpetuity….all under the watchful gaze of the Gardener.

What the Gardener Saw
Love blooms like a flower. Hate crawls like a vine.

New Posts Coming Soon

Lots has been going on and I have quite a bit of things to share. Check back often for some new announcements. Thanks!

In Progress: The Levitation of Mandrake

Early stages of the painting,"The Levitation of Mandrake" 24"24" oil on wood panel. More images chronicling the progress of the painting will follow.

The Secret Society of Nettle Motherwort: Lost Wax Bronze Casting Process. 3 forms of the sculpture.

The Secret Society of Nettle Motherwort: Lost Wax Bronze Casting Process: Step 2

Flexible Mold and Mother Mold creation. 

These molds were made from the Clay Maquette posted back in October. The reasoning for this step is so that if something were to happen to the wax positive during casting, I would be able to cast another form the mold made from the clay maquette. If I were to sculpt directly in the wax and misfortune were to strike, I would be have to start all over. This added step is basically a safety net for me.

The pink flexible mold is actually made from 100% clear silicone built up over a few hours to a thickness of about 1/2". It turned pink from the brown molten wax that was poured inside. The mother mold/outer mold is made of plaster to keep it rigid when the wax is poured in.

The next step involves pouring hot liquid wax into the mold to create a wax positive to cast the bronze from. This wax version is then cleaned up and additional sculpting takes place. From here a ceramic shell is applied to the wax.

 Step 3 images to come.

In Memory of Ella Sue Terrill 1943-2009

My dear mother, Ella Sue Terrill, unexpectedly passed away a week before Christmas.This is a very difficult time in my life as well as my entire family. After reviewing her obituary, I felt it did not even begin to tell the story of my mother, at least what she has meant to me. I would not be "Drawing All Day" if not for my mother and father and their support through the years.

I grew up in a fairly small town. There wasn't a lot of "The Arts" present in my little corner of the world. But, at a young age my mom recognized my ability and nurtured it. I remember her taking me to a retired woman's house who taught art to children. I remember my mother supplying me with art sets to teach myself how to paint and draw (I always think of the John Gnagy sets, along with the Walter Foster books). When I was older she enrolled me in classes at the Middletown Fine Art Center to take drawing and painting classes from a wildlife artist. I was the only youth attending classes with mostly retired folks (I still recall this is where I learned how to draw an eye). Not having any real art classes in high school, she was always looking for ways to expose me to art instruction.

The years went by, countless sketch pads, pencils and paints used up, walls filled with my creations, and it was time to attend college. I went off to Miami of Ohio to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. My parents continued support was amazing. Some parents may have viewed my love of art as a hobby, not as a potential career, but I didn't hear the "you better have something to fall back on" speech. Both my mom and dad totally supported me in my quest. I went on to achieve success and personal fulfillment in my chosen vocation. I am lucky, I get to "Draw All Day". I owe this to my parents.

Ella Sue Terrill was an amazing mom, wife, nana, and friend. She gave me the tools to be a good man, husband and father. She was also my muse.

I love you mom.

Mom and Me

Mom and my son 

 

Mom and my daughter 

 

On my wedding day, which is also her birthday

The Secret Society of Nettle Motherwort: Lost Wax Bronze Casting Process

Sculpture: The Secret Society of Nettle Motherwort

I'm in the beginning stage of creating a second bronze sculpture for the WTGS series.This blog will chronicle the stages from start to finish of the lost wax bronze casting process.

The first step is creating a clay maquette.

What the Gardener Saw

 

"The Fertile Mind of Helebore Mandrake"

by David Allen Terrill

Oil on Wood Panel

24"x24" 

Photo by Steve Wilson

"The Lost of Agrimony Bodge"
by David Allen Terrill
Oil on Wood Panel
24"x24" 

Photo by Steve Wilson

"Oleander Mandrake: Grey Man of Frog Ophrys"
by David Allen Terrill
Oil on Wood Panel
24"x24" 

Photo by Steve Wilson

"The Odd Encounter of Baltus McCloud"
by David Allen Terrill
Oil on Wood Panel
24"x24" 

Photo by Steve Wilson

 

"Helenium Mandrake: The Gift of Madness"

by David Allen Terrill

Oil on wood panel
24" x 24"

Photo by Steve Wilson

"The Eyes of Hortensia Teasel"
by David Allen Terrill
Oil on Wood Panel
24"x48" 

Photo by Steve Wilson

 

"Seelen Loch"

by David Allen Terrill

Bronze on African Mahogany Base 

Photo by Steve Wilson

Sketchbook Scans for 'What he Gardener Saw" series

A few drawings from my sketchbooks for WTGS. I don't use a pencil because I don't want to have the temptation of erasing. I draw everything with an ink pen, and have to accept every mark I make. This allows me to be freer with my marks, and in the end, happier with the outcome.

 

 

 

Seelen Loch: The Lost Wax Bronze Casting Process