If your garden is more of an estate and your house more of a mansion, you might like to think beyond the everyday birdhouse or garden gnome, and decorate your landscape with the beautiful steel wildlife sculptures of British artist Andrew Kay.
Andrew Kay gives new insight into his creative process in a behind-the-scenes video showing the making of one of his striking steel wildlife sculptures.
Described by Lord Shuttleworth of Barbon Manor as “..a moment in nature, frozen in time and steel”, Andrew Kay’s beautiful, ethereal work ranges from a herd of giraffe to stags and does and leaping horses.
The award-winning sculpture business based in Cumbria was founded by sculptor Andrew Kay in 1993 to make original, handmade, stunningly beautiful wildlife sculptures from solid mild steel. Andrew creates his sculptures alongside his wife Anneley and three Labradors in Beckside Studio, a converted barn set in the wild hills of his native Cumbria. The work of Andrew Kay Sculpture can be seen gracing the landscape throughout the world and his client list of both private collectors and public bodies includes British peers and celebrities – from counts and viscountesses to Richard Curtis, Sir Tom Stoppard and John Bishop.
See also: Living Apart in a Plurt
Anatomy and movement
Striking silhouettes on the landscape, Andrew Kay’s sculptures masterfully capture the very essence of some of our most beautiful and elegant animals, using clean and deceptively simple lines of steel. The artistry of the sculptures is in their ability to instantly communicate the character, powerful anatomy and movements of our favourite wildlife through carefully placed, architectural curves and lines.
“I first choose a subject that appeals to me, predominantly animals native to Britain.
Then, with the help of anatomical drawings and photographs, I work up some preliminary sketches. Once happy with the form and posture, this is drawn up full size on a wall in the workshop.
Normally starting from the feet up, I offer cut lengths of steel up to the drawing and the sculpture starts to take shape as each piece is welded together.
The works are normally made in ¾ inch square solid steel bar. Each piece is cut roughly to size and then is cold forged in a press until the right shape is created.
There can be eighty or more components to a sculpture, and each specific piece needs to correlate with the next.”
Andrew Kay
Andrew graduated from Leeds with a BA Hons in design in 1992. He then toured Scandinavia extensively on a travel scholarship. From this experience he acquired a respect of the pure, clean design ethos that is so apparent in Scandinavian design. Following a period as a set designer for The Franz Kafka Theatre in Prague he returned to England and established a sculpture studio near Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria in 1993.
A three-dimensional line drawing set against the landscape, the sculptures combine a stunning sense of presence with a delicacy which seamlessly blends with their surroundings. The sculptures also transform and evolve over time, the grey natural mild steel from which they are created, developing into a rich ochre colour. Due to the thickness of the sculptures, they will last on the landscape for many decades.
The Watchful Stag is the heaviest studio work weighing 100kgs, with the Alert Hinds and Does weighing 65kgs each. Therefore two able bodied people can easily install the sculptures. For the larger works, for example the Shire Horse or the Angus Bull, and some bespoke work alternative delivery arrangements will be made.
If your sculpture is to be sited on grass, Andrew provides stakes that can be driven through hidden brackets in the hooves to secure the work. If the sculpture is to be sited on hard standing then a suitable plinth can be made. If you are concerned about security, then concrete pads can be cast around the stakes to permanently secure the work.
Unique and original
Each Andrew Kay Sculpture is unique and original, handmade to order following discussions with the client. Completely new and bespoke commissions are also available, and Andrew is now working on new designs for Christmas. Delivery is available both within the UK and abroad and is expertly organised direct to the clients’ preferred site.
Watch the making of one of Andrew Kay’s sculptures here and visit the website to commission a sculpture, or call Andrew Kay direct on 07740 306412 or fill in the Contact Form on the website at
www.andrewkaysculpture.co.uk.
So if your garden is more of an estate and your house more of a mansion, you might like to think beyond the everyday birdhouse or garden gnome, and decorate your landscape with the beautiful steel wildlife sculptures of British artist Andrew Kay.
