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Todd Lane

ArtistUSA

  • Life Size Pug artwork by Todd Lane - art listed for sale on Artplode
  • Life Size Pug artwork by Todd Lane
  • Life Size Pug artwork by Todd Lane - art listed for sale on Artplode
  • Life Size Pug artwork by Todd Lane - art listed for sale on Artplode
  • Life Size Pug artwork by Todd Lane - art listed for sale on Artplode

About Artist:

Artist's statement: Regardless of the medium, I believe it is only art which speaks truth that holds a lasting resonance with the viewer. Therefore, I do demand anatomical accuracy from my work. However, since art is an interpretation, I also believe my work is enhanced by incorporating a judicious degree of exaggeration. These are my goals. 

"...Todd. A fellow traveler in the world of wonders." -Walter Matia 

Polymath Artist: I am an award-winning sculptor, illustrator, a former newspaper comic strip cartoonist and memoirist.

 "Ostinato Rigore" (relentless rigore) -Leonardo da Vinci

I received my formal art training at Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland. There I studied a myriad disciplines to include: cartooning, illustration, drawing (all levels), advertising art, design and sculpture. In addition, I studied human anatomy, physiology and kinesiology for 18 months which has benefited me enormously in giving life to my work. 

Following art school, I served an extended seven year apprenticeship under master wildlife sculptor Bart Walter. I also studied under master sculptor Walter Matia for over one year and briefly under artist Phillip Ratner.

As a result of my years of formal training, professional understudy and consistent work, I have come to understand that creating fine art is fundamentally about developing the ability to see your subject--any subject--with uncommon clarity. You will not be capable of imbuing your art with a true sense of life until you have learned to see in this way.

And to do so, you must consciously be thinking about: shapes, distances (i.e. positive and negative space), mass, movement and symmetry as you sculpt or draw. It's an ongoing exercise in problem identification and problem solving and the completed art is the result of that process.

In addition to my personal mentors, the artists that I've been most influenced by are: Jacob Epstein, Alexander Pope, Felix de Weldon, Henry Moore, August Rodin, Alberto Giacometti, Bill Watterson, Gary Larson, Jim Unger, Wiley Miller, John Callahan, Bill Mauldin and Berkley Breathed.

 

 

About Artwork:

*Jury selected for exhibition by the Marion Cultural Alliance in 2019 and the St. Augustine Art Association in 2020*

An ancient breed, most believe that the pug originated in China prior to 400 BCE, and were called (or were at least closely related) to a breed called "lo-sze."

-Treated Like Royalty
Emperors in China kept pugs as lapdogs and treated them to all the luxuries of royal life. Sometimes they were even given their own mini palaces and guards. In addition, Buddhist monks kept pugs as pets in Tibetan monasteries.
 
A group of pugs is called "a grumble," and in Holland a pug is called a "mopshond" which comes from the Dutch for "to grumble."
 
-The Breed Probably Gets Its Name From a Monkey. Marmosets were kept as pets in the early 18th century and were called "pugs." The name made the jump to the dog because the two animals shared similar facial features.
 
According to the AKC, the perfect pug tail has two curls.
 
-There was a secret organization named after the dog. Around 1740, Roman Catholics formed a secret fraternal group called the Order Of The Pug. The Pope forbade Catholics from joining the Freemasons, so the group formed as a replacement. They chose the pug as their symbol because the dogs were loyal and trustworthy. The Grand Master was a man, but each division of the group had two "Big Pugs" that were always one male and one female. To join, members were expected to prove their devotion by kissing the rear of the Grand Pug under his tail (luckily, the Grand Pug was made of porcelain).
 
Pugs are brachycephalic - which means that their head is broad but short resulting in the smushed face appearance they are known for.
 
-Pugs in history
In the midst of the Eighty Years War against the Spanish, a body of Alva's Spanish troops ambushed Prince William's camp. Upon hearing the enemy soldiers, his pug called "Pompey" licked William's face and barked until the prince awoke. Prince William then grabbed Pompey and escaped to safety. The pug was subsequently chosen as the official dog of the House of Orange in Holland.
 
In remembrance, an effigy of Prince William and his pug Pompey is carved over William's tomb in Delft Cathedral.
 
The pug's motto is "multum in parvo" meaning: a lot in a little, as they are plenty of dog in a small package.
 
On a personal note:
I first encountered a pug when I was a child. Our neighbors two doors away had one they called "Cricket." Like most pugs, Cricket was an affable little beast that brought a lot of joy to the family. I remember Cricket's "mom" preparing, what were to me at the time, veritable gourmet meals of chicken, rice and eggs for Cricket at dinner time and wishing that those meals were for me!
 
Although that was decades ago, today I have a friend who owns a male pug and had mentioned to me a number of times that I should consider sculpting one. Following my initial research into the breed, I decided to use his pug as my primary model. And once I began forming clay onto the armature, I realized what an enjoyable challenge it was to depict the pug face in particular. Mostly because there is no other face quite like it.
 
You can view several additional images of this life size bronze pug on granite by clicking "Visit Website" on the right and then opening the "Gallery."

Todd Lane

Life Size Pug

  • 2019
  • 21 x 16 x 10 inches
  • Fine Art Category: sculptures
  • Medium: Bronze on Granite
  • Origin: USA
  • Certificate of Authenticity: yes
  • Issued by: Artist
  • Provenance: Original piece being sold by the artist
  • Signed: Signed upper left
  • No / Edition: 1 of 20
  • Comments:

    This piece was completed utilizing the traditional "lost wax" method of casting bronze sculpture. An ancient process involving no less than 12 individual phases of production dating back more than 5,700 years.

    Creating sculpture, for me, involves months or sometimes years of researching my subject's musculoskeletal system. This is followed by many hours of observing that animal or person's gestures, movement and behavior prior to laying clay on the armature.

    The term "cold cast bronze" is a misnomer. So called "cold cast bronze" contains no bronze (which is mostly copper), no alloy -- not even plain metal -- at all. It's actually made from a polyester epoxy resin blended with bronze *powder* for coloration. As such, the materials degrade rapidly when compared to the real thing. True bronze lasts an eternity.

    All of my sculptures that are cast in bronze are created using "Chavant Fine Art Sculpting Clay" (manufactured in the United States since 1892) and cast by American Bronze Foundry in Sanford, Florida. "ABF" uses shot blasted "873 Alpha Everdur Bronze Ingots" exclusively. This results in 90% pure bronze content (10% silicon & manganese) which is among the highest available purity in the world, providing you the strongest fine art in the world.

    Why are some bronze sculptures so inexpensive? Cheap, mass produced knock-offs of many iconic or even original sculptures found mostly on-line and in gift shops (but never in reputable art galleries), are not only produced to the scale of trinkets in order to keep them cheap, but often contain as little as 40% actual bronze. They can therefore technically be advertised as "bronze sculpture." However, their surfaces will be heavily pitted, they will lack many details that were undoubtedly crucial to the artist when the work was originally created, and the artwork will invariably form cracks that cannot be repaired due to the poor quality of bronze.

    Lastly, it is a virtual certainty that low-grade bronze art will not have been produced in the U.S.A. with much of it originating in China. Without costly equipment, it's impossible to determine the excessive levels of lead and other metals designated as "toxic" by the EPA, that are potentially contained within bronze artwork produced outside of the United States.

    I'm proud of the fact that my bronze sculptures and the bases upon which they rest are 100% produced in the United States of America and are therefore, of an extremely high quality.

    My artwork has been jury selected and purchased through galleries in the Washington D.C. area as well as galleries in Florida.

    "The bitter taste of poor quality remains long after the sweet taste of low price is forgotten." -John David Stanhope

    Check out my other sculpture and original fine art for sale on Artplode online art gallery.

  • Visit Website
  • Price: $3,500.00 USD
  • Seller: Todd Lane, USA

Contact Seller...

  • Artplode ID: 4725
  • Artplode Seller ID: 9310

About Artist:

Artist's statement: Regardless of the medium, I believe it is only art which speaks truth that holds a lasting resonance with the viewer. Therefore, I do demand anatomical accuracy from my work. However, since art is an interpretation, I also believe my work is enhanced by incorporating a judicious degree of exaggeration. These are my goals. 

"...Todd. A fellow traveler in the world of wonders." -Walter Matia 

Polymath Artist: I am an award-winning sculptor, illustrator, a former newspaper comic strip cartoonist and memoirist.

 "Ostinato Rigore" (relentless rigore) -Leonardo da Vinci

I received my formal art training at Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland. There I studied a myriad disciplines to include: cartooning, illustration, drawing (all levels), advertising art, design and sculpture. In addition, I studied human anatomy, physiology and kinesiology for 18 months which has benefited me enormously in giving life to my work. 

Following art school, I served an extended seven year apprenticeship under master wildlife sculptor Bart Walter. I also studied under master sculptor Walter Matia for over one year and briefly under artist Phillip Ratner.

As a result of my years of formal training, professional understudy and consistent work, I have come to understand that creating fine art is fundamentally about developing the ability to see your subject--any subject--with uncommon clarity. You will not be capable of imbuing your art with a true sense of life until you have learned to see in this way.

And to do so, you must consciously be thinking about: shapes, distances (i.e. positive and negative space), mass, movement and symmetry as you sculpt or draw. It's an ongoing exercise in problem identification and problem solving and the completed art is the result of that process.

In addition to my personal mentors, the artists that I've been most influenced by are: Jacob Epstein, Alexander Pope, Felix de Weldon, Henry Moore, August Rodin, Alberto Giacometti, Bill Watterson, Gary Larson, Jim Unger, Wiley Miller, John Callahan, Bill Mauldin and Berkley Breathed.

 

 

About Artwork:

*Jury selected for exhibition by the Marion Cultural Alliance in 2019 and the St. Augustine Art Association in 2020*

An ancient breed, most believe that the pug originated in China prior to 400 BCE, and were called (or were at least closely related) to a breed called "lo-sze."

-Treated Like Royalty
Emperors in China kept pugs as lapdogs and treated them to all the luxuries of royal life. Sometimes they were even given their own mini palaces and guards. In addition, Buddhist monks kept pugs as pets in Tibetan monasteries.
 
A group of pugs is called "a grumble," and in Holland a pug is called a "mopshond" which comes from the Dutch for "to grumble."
 
-The Breed Probably Gets Its Name From a Monkey. Marmosets were kept as pets in the early 18th century and were called "pugs." The name made the jump to the dog because the two animals shared similar facial features.
 
According to the AKC, the perfect pug tail has two curls.
 
-There was a secret organization named after the dog. Around 1740, Roman Catholics formed a secret fraternal group called the Order Of The Pug. The Pope forbade Catholics from joining the Freemasons, so the group formed as a replacement. They chose the pug as their symbol because the dogs were loyal and trustworthy. The Grand Master was a man, but each division of the group had two "Big Pugs" that were always one male and one female. To join, members were expected to prove their devotion by kissing the rear of the Grand Pug under his tail (luckily, the Grand Pug was made of porcelain).
 
Pugs are brachycephalic - which means that their head is broad but short resulting in the smushed face appearance they are known for.
 
-Pugs in history
In the midst of the Eighty Years War against the Spanish, a body of Alva's Spanish troops ambushed Prince William's camp. Upon hearing the enemy soldiers, his pug called "Pompey" licked William's face and barked until the prince awoke. Prince William then grabbed Pompey and escaped to safety. The pug was subsequently chosen as the official dog of the House of Orange in Holland.
 
In remembrance, an effigy of Prince William and his pug Pompey is carved over William's tomb in Delft Cathedral.
 
The pug's motto is "multum in parvo" meaning: a lot in a little, as they are plenty of dog in a small package.
 
On a personal note:
I first encountered a pug when I was a child. Our neighbors two doors away had one they called "Cricket." Like most pugs, Cricket was an affable little beast that brought a lot of joy to the family. I remember Cricket's "mom" preparing, what were to me at the time, veritable gourmet meals of chicken, rice and eggs for Cricket at dinner time and wishing that those meals were for me!
 
Although that was decades ago, today I have a friend who owns a male pug and had mentioned to me a number of times that I should consider sculpting one. Following my initial research into the breed, I decided to use his pug as my primary model. And once I began forming clay onto the armature, I realized what an enjoyable challenge it was to depict the pug face in particular. Mostly because there is no other face quite like it.
 
You can view several additional images of this life size bronze pug on granite by clicking "Visit Website" on the right and then opening the "Gallery."







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