Category: plaster

topographic relief model painted with watercolor to shade and shadow the land as if light illuminated it from one side

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Melting Ice and Eroding Desert: Art Reflecting Environmental Change

Top down less reflective view of resin art sculptures
Top down less reflective view of resin art sculptures
Top down less reflective view of resin art sculptures

My watercolor art took a sharp turn into plaster this summer. The warm dry weather allowed me to work outside. This made the plaster and resin easier to clean. I created a design which was inspired by the braided curving river flows in Iceland. The runoff from higher elevations would lose energy in the flat coastal lands. It would then bend and weave through black volcanic earth. This created intricate patterns looking like veins. See Andy Mumford website for incredible landscape photography of Iceland. I re-used the design for the desert, which was cast in plaster as well from the original mold. The waterfall is made of resin and the plaster cast of the landform is supported by Styrofoam skinned with plaster. The resin base helps to protect the plaster, which has a tendency to crack until it is supported. These two pieces will stand the test of time.

The earth, however, may not stand the test of time. With our industrialization of the world, humans have caused global warming from greenhouse gases and carbon emissions. Many countries and people are working to reduce their carbon footprint, but many are not; see https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-greenhouse-gas-emissions. We are all in this together. We need to take climate change seriously. This is necessary to save the glaciers, rainforests, and Earth One. We do it for the sake of our children. Here are ten simple choices you can make: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/ocean/earthday.html

plaster sculpture of melting glacier sheet looking down at flowing water.
“Artic” topographic art depicting ice sheets melting
"Desert" topographic art showing desert soil eroding from floods, a sculpture made with plaster and resin. Watercolor was used to create shadows.
“Desert” topographic art showing desert soil eroding from floods, a sculpture made with plaster and resin. Watercolor was used to create shadows.
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Three Dimensional Watercolor

three dimensional watercolor painting of tide pools using yellow, white, sienna, viridian, and ultramarine blue

I’ve been spending a lot of time looking at shadows cast from sunlight onto landscapes. My three-dimensional watercolors allow me to place a light where the sun would be. I can then examine the landscape and the sun’s shadow from mountains in the watercolor. How do I do that? Plaster models of mountains, hills, beaches and tide pools. I’ve learned to create a model from hardened foam and then cover that with pottery plaster.

The pottery plaster is stronger than Plaster of Paris. In fact, I add a hardener to the mix of powdered pottery plaster that makes it “clinker”. I can form, carve, sculpt, texture and smooth the land. I’ve done flat oceans and coastlines with waves. I’ve crafted hills in Jalama Beach in California and mountains in Tucson, Arizona. I also created abstracts to study shadows. A light source can be added to the three-dimensional watercolor painting. This addition gives the effect of a western setting sun, for example.

The lights come with some of the paintings in shadow boxes. The lights are battery operated LED lights with a motion sensor. How cool is that?

The plaster takes the watercolor easily and it sticks nearly permanently. I’ve experimented with water on the plaster and just how much it can stand without degrading. I’ve used a laser level to find “horizontal” on the plaster cast. I’m at the point where I’m happy with the results. Many of the art pieces are for sale on this website https://watercolorwildflowers.com/store/

three dimensional watercolor painting of tide pools using yellow, white, sienna, viridian, and ultramarine blue
Tide Pools 1, 34″ x 34″ x 3″ watercolor on plaster
Dorland's cold wax jar used to seal watercolor on plaster relief model
Topographic relief model of Jalama Beach, California. Rocky cliffs give way to rolling green and red hillsides where ice plant grows in abundance.
large plaster on board abstract relief of desert mountains in a black floating frame. Colors of yellow and red and turquoise change from the warm southern light to cool blue shadows away from the light.
36″ x 36″ plaster on board abstract relief of desert mountains. Colors of yellow and red morph from the warm southern light. Turquoise transitions to cool blue shadows away from the light.

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3D Mountain Art: Landscapes Embodied in Plaster and Watercolor

plaster casting of topographic model

Fresco is an old technique where the pigment is embedded in wet plaster while painting a mural. I have adapted the technique to a more modern application. I use plaster on a foam casting to build natural looking topography for mountains and coastal samples of land as seen from above. The plaster takes the watercolor very well and it becomes a permanent part of the finished painting / sculpture.

The interesting part of a topographic sculpture is that it casts shadow on the painting just as the sun casts shadow on the land. These shadows are incredibly interesting and change as the light moves. It is easy to visualize just how the land looks because of the 3D shape and the lighting on one side and shadow on the other side of mountains and hills. There are even shadows cast from waves as the sea rolls onto the beach!

My background in surveying and civil engineering has given me a passion for seeing land from a terrestrial or aerial perspective. I find that I can experiment with watercolor to capture a genuine look by layering of similar or different colors. The transparency of watercolor looks so vibrant with a background of white paper. Why not do the same with white plaster?

Some of the pieces get heavier than intended, which is why I use a foam core. With proper hanging and framing the piece can be displayed on a wall or set vertically on the floor against the wall. Having the light incorporated into the art is a “sick” idea according to my son.

The lights I use are strong but warm LED lights that have a motion sensor so the light comes on when someone is near the artwork. The light has a USB charged battery in the attractive design. The lights are included with the sale of the painting.

mountainous terrain in three dimensions
mountainous terrain in three dimensions built from plaster and watercolor