Ecophant - this year's adventures in sculpture trails begins

[amberdreams]

This seemed to fit Drawesome's challenge #53 - Alternative surface rather well! The surface being primed fibreglass, of course.

This one is another Asian elephant for a trail in Southend on Sea. As always, don't repost this anywhere, as we're not supposed to show any details of our designs before the trail is launched.

The theme is endangered species in Asia - this side includes Cat Ba Langurs, an Asian elephant and the wee orangutan on the trunk. I was pretty pleased with the amount of progress I made today.I sprayed the base coat a few days ago, and today I spent about 4.5 hours on it. I'm hoping I can get it all done by the end of next week, so I can go see my mum.

None of these animals are completely finished so bear with me.

Comments

[goss]

Ooooh, so cool! And the baby orangutan is really cute! What a great way to fulfill the challenge. :)

[amberdreams]

Well it's an economical way to do the challenge since I had to paint this anyway, but I'll take it! 😂

[apachefirecat]

All so cool!!!!!!!! Wherever you are, if there's more to be seen like these, I would LOVE to be able to join that trail ride!

[amberdreams]

This trail will be in Southend on Sea, in the UK - but I know there are other trails like this all over the world so it's worth checking out where you are. They are a lot of fun.

[tally]

AAAH this is so amazing!! What a showstopper! My favorite part is the foliage, I think. I just looks so lush!

[amberdreams]

Thank you! Lush is good for a jungle. 😂

[alias_sqbr]

Wow! This looks great. How big is it?

[amberdreams]

I'm 5ft 1"

[alias_sqbr]

Oh, I can see that looking nice all painted up!

[facethestrange]

Wow, this looks like a HUGE project, and it's so lovely and colorful! ♡♡♡ I adore the baby orangutan's cute pose. :D And I would love to see it on the trail when it's finished - maybe you can share it to the comm again. ♡

[amberdreams]

I will do a post when it's completed - the trail goes live in the summer. I've also got a giant hare to paint which will be on a trail in Aberdeenshire, and am still hoping to get one or two more sculptures for different trails round the country. The designs are in but me and my friends are waiting to hear if they get picked or not.

[meridian_rose]

Beautiful! I love the cheeky orangutan on the trunk, fantastic placement. The colours are amazing and it will stand out and draw the attention of passers-by :D
I've seen some trails locally (West Mids); Bear Hunt, The Big Hoot (Owls); Penguin Parade Trail this year, and I didn't see it but I think Wales had a wolf/snow dog one. I think it's such a great experience for artists to create, to highlight charities/issues, and for the public including visitors to discover the sculptures and the places they're situated.

[amberdreams]

Oh I agree about the trails - we've had three in my home town and the whole atmosphere seems to lift when the sculptures are out there. The auctions at the end are nerve wracking for the artists but usually get big sums for the charities, which is great.
I've painted for over 20 trails in different locations now (though sadly not the ones you mention! LOL). This year has been a bit slow - so far I've just got this elephant (Southend) and a hare (Aberdeen), and a Labrador dog for Suffolk Libraries. The Labrador isn't a giant one though, just a little under life size.
Last year my designs were a bit more successful - I painted two giraffes for Edinburgh, a duck for Hastings and an Elmer for Belfast. It's a lot of fun coming up with the designs - if you're an artist, you might fancy having a go!

[meridian_rose]

Wow, that is a lot of amazing work you've done! I'm no artist (I'm currently working my way through a very basic how to draw book!) so I really admire how talented others are :D

[mific]

Looking great so far!

[amberdreams]

Thank you!

[mekare]

Love the shades of colours you used for the elephant.

[amberdreams]

Thank you! Hopefully it will stand out on the trail!

[adafrog]

Oh wow.

[amberdreams]

😍

[seleneheart]

That's amazing! Some much bigger than I expected when I clicked the preview! Love the orangutan on the trunk.

[amberdreams]

Thank you!
The elephant is taller than me (about 1.70m), so I need a step to stand on to do the top of his head and back. 😂