www.artinsteel.co.uk - www.artinsteel.co.uk

www.artinsteel.co.uk a website highlighting the work of Ross on Wye based sculptor Alan Ross.

Here we have a picture of a wall sculpture of a brown trout 3m long.

wall mounted sculpture

I use a variety of techniques in my work many of them industrial these are discussed at some length on their own page avoiding practical information interfering with descriptions of individual sculptures. A lot of my work is made on 'spec but I do also work to commission, and I find the making of a piece of sculpture to commission a fascinating process as I watch somebody else's idea turn into reality. On this page I have included a few images to illustrate the range of work.

But first, a picture of my latest and largest project. Titled 'The Earth Dwellers', an installation of giant ants for Longleat Safari park. To see more on this go to the web page titled Longleat.

ant sculpture

I work in a style best described as 'Direct Metal Sculpture', which uses a variety of techniques, and is not bound by any tradition or history. As opposed to the traditional styles of metal working eg Blacksmithing, which are bound by centuries of tradition built around the heavy metal practices typified by forge work and use of applied heat to shape metal to suit the artist's needs. This tends to lead to work that both looks and in practice is very weighty.

Another example of this lightness, here is a sculpture installation I have just completed, a Jazz Band 8ft tall made as a private commission.

music sculpture

Whereas by following a direct metal approach I can allow the material to speak for itself, making use of it's , naatural textures and colours. I can bend, twist and weld it to get the results I need, I make use of a lot welding both structurally and decoratively, I also use fabrication techniques to build my sculptures. This allows my work to stay light both in both appearance and in reality.

I also like to explore the relationship between the space and the object, rather than making solid looking structures I like to define the space occupied by the piece of work, and allow the observer to fill in the gaps by using metal bars and strips. This has allowed me to develop a distinctive and flexible style to my work. It also facilitates catching a moment in time, allowing pieces to have a feel of movement and life, best typified in the series of life sized human figures.

fish sculpture

Regards surface finishes, I much prefer to allow my work to oxidise, and produce a thin rust layer to painting them. I feel this gives a much truer finish, it is natural and also it varies with the light, this can be seen on the two images below, the Redkite is glowing almost bright orange in the sunlight while the rainman is very dark ,almost black in response to the ambient light.

I work mainly in mild steel taking my inspiration from a variety of sources particularly nature and I have made large body of sculpture based on fishes, all of these styles have their own sections see index. The Sunfish pctured above provides a good example of how my work can fit into a garden environment.

I bird sculpture

A recent development in my work is making life sized human figures, working from photographs or customers ideas, these have been very popular, possibly due to the enormous popularity of Anthony Gormley' series of human figure based installations. Below is a customer photograph of The Rain Man in his new home in Nottinghamshire, rumour has it that he is responsible for the series of storms that drenched most parts of the UK in June 2007.

human sculpture

I started metalworking about seven years ago as a way of occupying my creative side and keeping me out of the way of my family. I first started using 'found objects' such as bicycle components and old tools, this led to a series of sculptures based on the weird world of fantasy such as the Daemons shown below.

monsters

As my skills developed I began to work on the human form, making sculpture ranging in size from a few inches to life sized, below is a personal favourite titled 'A Walk in The Park'

human sculpture

Another area of my work is in media storage. I make CD racks, DVD racks and other media storage systems to commission, I have another website http://www.coolshelving.com/ dedicated to this area of my work. including customer shots.

CD rack

For more information feel free to contact me by email at

artinsteel@tiscali.co.uk

Big thanks to the following people for their help in my work over the years.

My Mum and Dad for realising that this was something that I had to do, and buying me my first welding equipment.

My wife jennifer for sending me on a night class in welding, and encouraging me over the last few years.

My son Cedric for unbiased critical advice, and useful ideas when I am stuck for inspiration.

Hereford Tech' college for the initial training in welding.

Rowena and the staff at Ross Cottage Hospital for dealing with numerous self inflicted minor injuries.

Tim and the crew at ABT Products of Ross on Wye for help in sourcing small components and materials.