Why the doctor? Because with patinas things can easily go wrong. The chemicals just don't jive with the elements.
I often find myself in situations that need a doctor and my attitude is to have quality in the end.
My background is drawing and painting so I have a good eye and I did my first bronze sculpture and patina at 16 in Pasadena, CA. These helped the patina techniques come naturally to me.
The new millenium took me to Santa Fe, NM where I worked with great artists such as: Star Lianna York, Michele wandenHeuval, Mark Roland, Dan Namhinga, Glenna Goodacre, Bret Chomer and others.
2002 took me to Norman, OK, home of the Crucible LLC Foundry and Gallery and Mark and Steve Palmerton, the brothers who made it happen. I had met Mark through a fine sculpter, Bill Weaver, who I had been working on large pieces at his studio in Tesuque such as Star York's 'Virgin' and 'Grandmother' or Mark Roland's giant cougars. The Crucible specializes in monumental sculptures and was working on the "Guardian" be Sen. Kelly Enoch Hanely, designed to represent the 'five civilized tribes' that our government sent to Oklahoma, or "indian territory" as it was called.
The work I was doing kept getting larger. It was truly an honor to be able to do the patina on this 21'7" Bronze which now tops the Oklahoma Capitol Dome in OKC.
I also had the opportunity to work with artist such as: Paul Moore, HP (Tuck) Langley, Rosetta, Harold Holden, Shirley Thompson Smith and others.
The Doctor also came to the rescue for the boys at the Crucible when a sculpture/fountain by artist Rick Jackson needed help. The Grady L. Carter family in Fort Worth,TX were sad to see their beautiful fountain turn all chalky white so the Patina Doctor stripped the old lacquer off, matched the old patina with new and waxed it. I chose not to use lacquer. The wax will help preserve the surface but, water and bronze don't mix. Copper too. Little white spots build, creating a natural patina. Unfortunately, it's not very attractive.
