OCR Text |
Show Bronson Showing Wildlife Art Btfl. Valley Bank Clark Bronson, internationally interna-tionally famous Utah wildlife painter and sculptor, has scheduled the first public showing of his work in Davis County, Sept. 19 through Sept. 27 in connection with the second anniversary open house of Bountiful Valley Bank. BRONSON, a native who still lives and works near the Uinta Mountains where his game warden father first introduced in-troduced him to the wildlife he now portrays, has recently completed several major bronze works. Tops on the list of pieces to be displayed is his work of two mallard ducks entitled "Skyward Bound" his most recent bronze sculpture to receive national attention. "Skyward Bound" won the silver medal at the 1977 National Na-tional Academy of Western Art competition in Oklahoma City in June. BRONSON, who completes about four new pieces each year, has now won the silver medal at the prestigious competition in three of the past four years. Fifteen pieces of Branson's latest work are scheduled to be shown Monday, Sept. 19 through Tuesday, Sept. 27 at the Bountiful Valley Bank, 510 South 200 West. Hours for the showing are 9:30 a.m. through 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9:30 a.m. through 6 p.m. on Friday. BRONSON will personally attend Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 26-27, between 12 noon and 3 p.m. Also scheduled, as part of the show, is a 16 minute color film about Branson's life and work which will run continuously con-tinuously during show hours. AS ADEPT with a camera as he is with a brush or modeling clay, Bronson spends several weeks in western wes-tern and Alaskan wilderness doing preparation work for each piece. Part of his success suc-cess lies in the fact he personally per-sonally observes, photographs pho-tographs and sketches his subjects in their natural state before beginning their recreation in clay. "That's the fun part," he says. 'The real challenge is In thinking of ways to do each piece. The hardest part is coming up with an idea, a situation si-tuation in which to place the subject. There are a lot of animals I would like to do and which people have asked me to do, but I haven't yet come up with an intriguing and practical way to present them." "SKYWARD Bound" is very impressive, not only for its life-like detail but in the natural and effortless way the ducks actually seem to be taking flight. Different color tones in the head, neck and wings of the drake and hen, achieved by heating and chemical treatment of the bronze, add to the reality of the subject. Without studying his work carefully, few people realize the technical considerations which Bronson employs in his subjects. ON THE mallards, for example, he says:"I had to get a different direction of lines on each duck-opposing actionto give them the ap- pearance of really taking off. I used what is called informal balance - one on one side and one on the other going in opposing op-posing directions. "I also used a variety of texture in the mallards themselves them-selves and in the water from which they are rising." ALSO on display will be Branson's latest work of three elk, a bull and two cows, entitled en-titled "Spooked." "If you've ever been elk hunting or hiking and surprised some elk, you can appreciate what I've tried to do with this piece," says Bronson. "Elk kind of burst out of the trees, charging through the brush and making a lot of noise. They seldom look where they're going, they just take off. That's what these elk are doing-running scared." WHAT'S next for the self-taught self-taught sculptor who has completed 40 pieces since he began bronze castings just seven years ago? "I don't really know," he says, "but I've been working on ideas for a turkey and seme racoons. I'd like to come up with something different, something that hasn't been tried before-maybe combining combin-ing bronze and wood." Whatever it is, past performance perfor-mance tells us it will be well worth seeing. |