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Philip Hearsey born in 1946 is an experienced British sculptor who has exhibited his work throughout the UK. He specialises in sand casting to make sculptures that engage the quality of bronze as a noble material in its own right. Casting in sand moulds is a simple and ancient method far removed from the sophisticated lost wax operation used by most art foundries. The sand casting process is relentless and unforgiving – the foundry is no place for a delicate original. It denies a complexity of form that imposes a disciplinary and enriching simplicity. Colour is achieved in many ways. The most common and widely used method is to oxidise (patinate) the bronze by employing the same chemical reaction that occurs in nature, but using a combination of mild heat and stronger solutions to achieve a faster result. Patination can be enhanced by the application of a transparent colourwash that maintains the inimitable variegated effects that are possible with oxidisation, whilst producing a more vivid finish. The most usual colourwash is acrylic, but oil-bound washes or coloured waxes are sometimes used. Colouring can also be achieved by painting alone and often this technique is utilised on part of a sculpture in combination with patination. Painting allows a greater range of colours than patination alone. All colouring is finished and protected by a marine grade lacquer and/or wax.

Philip lives and works on the Welsh borders of Herefordshire – a beautiful place, still remote and largely unaltered, landlocked and very slow in change. This is in sharp contrast to the coast that he also loves, where everything changes twice a day with the rise and fall of each tide.

Courtesy of Galerie Bruno Massa