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NICK BIBBY | Peregrine (Lightning Bolt)
Bronze (Edition of 15)
81 x 46 x 25 cms / 32" x 18" x 10"
The idea for a new piece often ticks away in the background for years, even decades, before emerging into the light of creation. Sometimes inspiration comes almost instantly. The birth of Peregrine II: “Lightning Bolt” was a combination of both.
I had in mind to sculpt another Peregrine for years, but without a clear vision of the finished sculpture.
The spark ignited when I was given a copy of The Peregrine by J. A. Baker. The cover showed a stooping Peregrine. The image of that bird was the last thing I saw each night before sleep... suddenly, I knew exactly what I wanted to create!
First task was to construct a poseable, supporting armature, using aluminium wire, wood and copper sheet. Measuring everything. Cutting, shaping and assembling dozens of accurate “feather blanks” for the wings and tail, fitting them to the body of the armature, posing, and attaching it to a steel support.
Starting to add oil-based, modelling clay, building up the basic anatomy and form. Then, a personal thing, I take the head off. I find it easier to sculpt the fine details of the head free from the body.
Once the head is re-attached, it is time for the final stage of sculpting. My favourite - that of slowly refining the form, adding subtle little details and touches that bring my subject to life. A hint of muscular tension here, a tiny fold or flick of a feather there.
Then it is time to step away, give myself a couple of days “distance” to look objectively at the finished sculpt, and if I’m still happy, deliver it to the foundry, to be cast into bronze.
Nick Bibby is widely regarded as one of the preeminent sculptors of his generation. From a young age Bibbys passion has been nature and the natural world.
Fascinated by both form and detail, Bibby models with a fluidity and energy that few can equal, simultaneously and effortlessly combining that energy with a jewel-like attention to detail, resulting in sculptures that look as though they live and breathe. The resulting sculptures are both beautiful works of art and loving portraits, be they bird, animal, or human. Bibbys sculptures range from monumental to miniature, but all show an exquisite attention to detail.
Throughout his artistic career Bibby has received many notable commissions including a scientifically accurate life size sculpture of a Dodo, on permanent exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, and in 2013 he was commissioned by Brown University to sculpt a monumental, life-size Kodiak Brown Bear, which stands in pride of place on their campus in Rhode Island.
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