Kirk McGuire is a talented bronze sculpture artist – we’ve covered some of this work in the past few months, and he is one of our supporters here at California Diver. We’re excited to share with you some of his latest work, shown below.
From Kirk: “Flying fish amaze me like so many of our oceans creatures! They are a symbol of freedom to me. You can hear stories about flying fish from many people who spend time sailing or boating about standing on deck and suddenly being bombarded by huge schools of leaping, gliding flying fish.. some smacking the boaters in the face to wake them up early in the morning!
The flying fish is Barbados’ national symbol, but are found around the world flying fish can make powerful, self-propelled leaps out of water into air, where their long, wing-like fins enable gliding flight for considerable distances above the water’s surface. From 1900 to the 1930s, flying fish were studied as possible models used to develop airplanes. I just think they are cool!
This is another of my ‘free standing’ pieces and can be places almost anywhere! I studied photography and film and as always the real deal when possible, to sculpt my flying fish. I created them first in wax, then made my silicon rubber molds to reproduce the originals in wax to cast in bronze. Each is poured in the ‘Hot Cast’ ‘Lost Wax’ method of casting bronze still done much like it has been since the ‘Bronze Age of Man’ started. Then of course many, many ‘meta finishing’ steps had to be done to get them ready for their coloration, known as the ‘Hot Patina’.
These flying fish are colored in a ‘Silver Patina’ containing real sterling silver in the coloration. There are only 30 in each limited edition to ever be created. Each is signed and numbered by Kirk McGuire.
Please take a moment and visit Kirk’s website here and see some of his other work. Each piece would make a wonderful addition to a home, as a part of an ocean-enthusiasts collection, or in a professional space.