About
Damon Price: Sculptor
Originally hailing from Castleford, West Yorkshire, self-taught sculptor Damon Price now lives and works in Holmfirth on the edge of the beautiful Pennine Hills. He worked as a commercial sculptor for over 25 years, before making the decision to leave the industry and pursue his fine art career in 2018.
Born in 1967, Damon's father died when he was two years old. He was raised by his mother and elder brother by 12 years.
"I always remember my childhood as being a happy time, although it was obviously hard for my Mum, who was raising two children and also worked part-time as a nursery nurse. There was always something artistic happening: from painting reindeers to go on the classroom windows, to making displays for the school play. I was always creating, and never missed anything that 'normal' families had."
Damon's approach to sculpting is holistic, seeing through the entire process from start to finish. His dedication to every aspect of his work, including designing and constructing his own foundry, sets him apart in the art world. This commitment ensures that each piece he creates is a true reflection of his artistic vision and craftsmanship.
Human forms and wildlife subjects feature heavily in Damon's work, showcasing his ability to capture the essence of movement and character in his sculptures. His pieces are enriched with gestural marks, imbuing them with a sense of life and energy that resonates with viewers on a deeper level.
To create his bronze sculptures, Damon primarily uses the ancient lost-wax casting technique. This method allows him to maintain the creative energy and quality of the original details in his work. The final stage of finishing and enhancing the bronze sculpture comes with patination, adding a warm and subtle touch and highlighting the beauty of each piece.
Many of Damon's sculptures begin as quick drawings or impressions that stem from memory, dreams, or real-life observations. He is driven by an inner passion for conveying energy in his pieces. "I cast in bronze because this warm metal can capture the subtle delicacies as well as the dynamics of a piece that no other material can". His sculptures are a reflection of his desire to create something raw and impactful.
As he reworks these initial forms in wax for his bronze pieces, Damon aims to focus on the feeling and emotion behind the piece rather than a realistic interpretation.
Damon Price's work can be found in private collections worldwide.
Sculpting
Damon sculpts in both wax and clay.
Both the mediums have different properties, consistencies and textures, and this affects the resulting work.
His wax pieces make the most of the 'lost wax' method, creating one-off sculptures with unique and beautiful surface characteristics. To make it workable, wax must be carefully heated within a certain temperature range. Varying the temperature allows it to change from pliable and plastic—for creating structure—to fully liquid—allowing more coincidental mark-making and the addition of texture.
Working in clay has a different 'feel'. Its soft pliability allows a more immediate, expressive way of working, from the hands directly into the material, allowing spontaneous manipulation and intuitive creation.
Bronze Casting
Transforming a sculpture into its bronze counterpart is a lengthy and involved process.
With the lost-wax process, the piece is sculpted directly in wax. When completed, a network of vents and 'sprues' (small pipes) are added, so that when casting, the molten bronze can travel efficiently around the mould, and air and fumes can escape.
This whole structure then needs several coats of ceramic-based shell material to create a mould. Firing the shell at a high temperature stabilises the ceramic, and the wax drains out and is discarded—hence the 'lost wax' process. Molten bronze is then poured straight into the resulting mould, giving a truly unique piece.
When working in clay, a mould is made from the original sculpture, and then a wax version cast from this mould. This is then ceramic-shelled and cast in bronze using the method described above.
The raw cast pieces need meticulous cleaning and finishing before the chemical patination process can begin.