your comments on Northern Warrior

[peter bourke]

Hi all,
This piece is of Jim an old mate of mine; we sailed together for a few years in the Australian Merchant navy before he returned to his peoples ancestral home in northern Australia.
The sculpture Northern Warrior is not cast it is carved from solid steel using Hot & cold chisels in my Blacksmith shop. I would like to find out what you all think of this piece, any comments will be very welcome as I see so few people connected with the art world out hear in the bush.
Kind Regards,
Peter Bourke

[ladysculptor]

I've never seen any piece where someone carved steel before; that's impressive! Do you do this all the time to make your living or do you do functional blacksmithing to support nice works like this? I'm curious if you have done a lot of chiseling of steel this way before or if you usually create sculptures with different techniques. Nice work!

[Aurora]

I find it intriquing on its own, and even more so to know that you smithed that. Very nice...

[peter bourke]

Hi Leslie and Aurora,
Thanks for the kind comments; it is tremendous to get other artists views. As for what I do I work mainly in forged steel but switch to other mediums in summer as I live in Queensland with a very tropical climate I have a site set up with some of my works if you would like to have a look click the link below. I have just started taking photographs so I have only a small sample of my works on line as yet. I work as a Merchant Seaman so I get 6 months of the year to dabble in art as to mediums I work in steel, wood, pewter, wax, resin, plaster and mixtures of most of these and others. Currently commission works fill much of my time so I require another three life times to finish the works I have floating in my head.
I would love to see some of your works do you have them on line?
Cheers and peace to you all,
Peter Bourke
Sculptures by Peter Bourke

[Araich]

Hi Peter, wish I was up North, Sydney is cold, rainy and full of cold wet people
I like the work, how deep are the cuts?
That looks like a heavy block.
I see your selling your house... now if only I had some money.

[peter bourke]

Hi Robert
The cuts vary in depth, the chisels are reforged and tempered to suit the need for the most part I get away with about ten chisels. The main features are forged to shape and then welded in the forge to the main body of the work prior to final shaping with chisels.
Don’t tell me its cold n wet down your way as it looks like I will have to move back down south to fit in with the new shipping company I am joining not looking forward to it but money is good.
Like your work the colors bring out the shape well
Cheers mate,
Peter

[jsimms]

I've done some kinda similar carving using a gouging tip on my plasma cutter. Mostly on 2" thick stainless steel. Pretty interesting results, especially if followed up with glass bead blasting.
j

[fritchie]

Hi, Peter - I was very impressed with your piece when I first saw it 2 days ago, but this is the first chance to reply. I have seen a little forging, but nothing like this - mostly some fairly elaborate furniture. I thought it was all cut from the background. I take it the base is a half-cut from about six inch pipe. Then, you cut and hammered a shape for the face, and the others for brow, nose and so on, right? As to chiseling, for those who have seen little of this, do you do chiseling at red heat, yellow, or what?

[peter bourke]

Hi Fritchie,
Glad you like my work and sorry I am slow at replying, but I just had to keep working on a chunk of wood and steel I re-started last week.
You are close to the mark it is an 8” pipe 10 mil thick I forge the features from solid stock and weld them on in the forge to give a seamless finish when a cut goes below the surface of the pipe. For the heavy carving of the steel I use hot sets (soft tempered chisels on a handle) with the steel at a bright cherry, the finer work is mostly done with a variety of cold chisels at room temperature these have to be kept very sharp and require re-tempering regularly to maintain a good edge (sharp enough to cut skin if you are not careful).
The skin texture is achieved by overheating the surface in a very hot oxidizing coal fire. For the finish I heat it to a very bright red and quench in a mix of oil and wax and flame off in the forge it used to be called carburising it is a finish used by by the old smiths.
The next piece I am about to start similar to Northern Warrior will be on 10 mil plate rolled in a wave form with three faces from the one family it looks good in my mind so far I will post pics as it goes.
Cheers
Peter
Ps, do you have pics of your work on line

[fritchie]

Peter - Thanks for putting up this info. It will educate many people, and it’s clearly original and an impressive bit of work. Thanks for asking about my work. I don’t have my own web site, but here is a link to my work with d.o.c.s gallery in New Orleans. I’m also in the ISC Portfolio. If you’re a member, you are eligible to add an entry there as well. I do figurative work exclusively, and currently only in bronze.