Wiley Coyote

Coyote in the mountains hunting

One of my favorite animals to watch is the coyote. He is often a lone hunter but as good at finding small animals as the fox and often watches for quite some time before pouncing (and yes they do pounce just as a fox or even a cat).

This is a view of my work space showing the clay on the armature, always remember when doing a vertical work that you have to not only support the clay but you have to remember to build it strong enough to support the weight of the molding material also.

If you notice I have used a discard cabinet board from Home Depot and the bought armature which I have to admit is better than my pipe creations because of a simple little hinge area to add to the top of the post in order to change the slant of the top portion.  I have bought several of these and they really come in handy with animals because of the movement you want to show.

The cabinet portion is also great because of the finish on the surface allowing you to put the Vaseline or release of some sort onto it in order to be able to pull your mold off after it has hardened. Remember also that you have to add another product to keep the silicon from slipping off the vertical figure unlike your molds you make for something flat such as a relief.

Wiley Hunter

This particular figure is one of the few pieces I created not using Chavant and ended up not ever using it again for the very fact that it did not hold up as well and was way too soft.

This has been a popular piece not only because of it being a fun animal but also because coyote are found almost all over the U.S.

One of the few times I have seen coyote's traveling in groups was in the Rocky Mountain National Park and they were following a lone elk cow that did not look healthy.

Again often I can open my windows onto the Platte River at night and hear them running along the river in packs and crying out in answer or response to others or even neighbor dogs yelping. This is an animal that is a great example of one adapting to civilization and often seen even in alley's or backyards.