Brook Hobbins

Brook Hobbins produces work to commission, for exhibition and for sale. She is a Member of the Society of Portrait Sculptors and the sculpted portrait is at the heart of her practice.

Currently, you can commission her to make a sculpted portrait from photographs. And when live sittings are possible, these can be arranged at your home or at Brook’s studio on the East Kent coast.

WHY PORTRAIT SCULPTURE?

The desire to capture the likeness of an individual in three dimensions has existed since antiquity. It is a potent sculptural form that speaks directly to us across history and between cultures.

Commissioning and sitting for a portrait sculpture offers the opportunity to be part of this ancient tradition — as well as the chance to participate in the creation of a piece of contemporary sculpture.

A successful portrait sculpture will embody the unique presence of the sitter as well as the singular hand of the artist — balancing likeness, character and abstract qualities in reciprocal tension.

HOW IT WORKS

Ideally a portrait sculpture is created from life. During the first sitting I discuss options for the form and character of the piece with the sitter — or we may simply agree to get started and see what happens.

There’s no need to sit completely still or be silent – chatting is fine. I usually take a set of still photos, a video and some measurements at the first sitting.

The portrait is modelled in clay and will gradually evolve over the course of about six sittings. But if time constraints or other factors make sittings difficult, it’s possible to work partly or even exclusively from photographs.

I’m happy to create posthumous portraits from photographs, as well as historical, fictional or symbolic characters from existing images or from imagination.

Once the clay original is complete, the piece may be cast in plaster, Jesmonite or bronze.