MATERIAL: BRONZE RESIN

MEASUREMENTS: H 49CM L 65CM W 22CM

KING OF THE CASTLE – LIFE-SIZE JACK RUSSELL

Jane Shaw on this sculpture: 
This little fellow was a pleasure to sculpt to create an indoor or outdoor bronze animal dog sculpture.  It was a commission of a lovely Jack Russell, who was small but bursting  with character and charm.

Jack Russell Terrier, also called Parson Russell Terrier or Parson Jack Russell Terrier, developed in England in the 19th century for hunting foxes both above and below ground. It was named after the Reverend John Russell, a keen hunter who created the breed.  Because they have a broad genetic make-up, they do not breed true to type and so are a strain of working terrier and can vary a great deal in looks!

Whilst this bronze animal sculpture of a terrier dog was  based on a wire-haired Jack Russell, he did have quite long legs, so there was definitely a hint of parsons in him somewhere!

As with all my commissions, I began with a small maquette in wax of the Jack Russell Terrier, and then scaled him up and built an armature of a life-size dog for this terrier breed.  I worked with clay, and built a sturdy looking body, but struggled with the head – often decapitating him and beginning again a number of times. My model was a wire-haired Jack Russell, so his face was not clean cut like many short haired dogs, and he did have a rather unique look which I tried to capture, without loosing the overall feeling of Jack Russell!  Because he had sadly died, I had to borrow another Jack Russell who would often run around my studio, never standing still, and playing with my dogs outside as I continued to sculpt this animal in clay.  Not a very good model for a bronze sculpture, as they never stand still!  But his character shone through which I loved.  I had to include the tilt of the head to one side, which Terriers often portray when they are engaged with you but perhaps don’t fully understand the human command.