Western Art Auction -- Phase II Closed (#6955166)

Star Liana York - "Branding Fire" (Range Duty)
20/30, Swivel Base
Bronze Sculpture
Gallery Retail: $7,000
Here a stockman who has come upon a maverick calf while riding the range is trying to start a fire, and as usual the weather is not cooperating. The raindrop spilling from the brim of his hat, the way he uses his coat to shelter the fire, and the application of a dark patina which mutes all colors except the bright yellow slicker - combine to give the feeling that the scene takes place in a windy, drizzly, gloomy afternoon. Star's father is a talented woodworker. As a child she spent many hours working beside him in his basement shop. He would supply her with a board on which she would draw an animal, cut the design out with a jigsaw, and round the edges with a file before painting the piece.

She credits the ability to make things with her hands, in part, to his early encouragement. As a tribute to her father's steady patient way of working with the materials at hand, when Star decided to do a sculpture which depicted a cowboy dealing routinely with adverse conditions, yet gleaning a certain satisfaction and serenity from simply doing his job, she drew on her father as both inspiration and model. Evident in "Range Duty" is Star's affinity for the quiet contemplative moments that are as much a part of life in the West as dramatic action-packed incidents. Also demonstrated is her concern for details which make the piece authentic. Note the short shank on the branding iron, characteristic of "saddle irons", which are small, light irons, more easily transportable on horseback than branding irons used in the corral. The downturned angle on the shank of the man's spurs reveals that he is short in stature. Star's ability to get both the look and the feel right is what gives her sculptures a life of their own.

"The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets for it, but what he becomes by it." - John Ruskin.
"Every man's work is a portrait of himself." - Anonymous.
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." - Theodore Roosevelt.
"Blessed is he who has found his work; let him ask no other blessedness. He has a life-purpose; he has found it , and will follow it." - Thomas Carlyle


Size:
Overall: 31" X 19"
Visible: 86 Lbs