Sculpting a Seahorse Garden Post

Drawing & Tinfoil

A seahorse is made in two halves that are joined together. It is much easier to sculpt these two halves separately because you can see both sides at the same time. Find some excellent seahorse reference material and have it on hand while working.

• Draw a full sized version of the seahorse and place it in a ziplock bag.
• Trace the outline in permanent marker to transfer the design to the ziplock bag.
• Pre-build a galvanized wire support to hold the sculpture to a final garden post later.
• Use foil and hot glue to fill in a core. This will support the surface of Pal Tiya Premium.
• Take the time to shape this accurately. The quality of the finished piece is determined by how good the foil core is.
• Remove the paper drawing for the first bag and repeat the process of transferring the pattern to another ziplock bag.
• Make the foil core for the second side of the seahorse.
• With this done, you are now ready to cover these cores each with a layer of Pal Tiya Premium.

Sculpting with Pal Tiya Premium

• Once the foil cores have been made, place a PTP layer 3/8 inch thick (4mm) over one of the cores. Take care to stay within the lines so both sides match up.
• Shape the surface into distinct facets, top and sides, to show the edges clearly.
• Roll out snakes and place these so they line up with the points on the illustration.
• Stitch down these snakes thoroughly (both sides) to form the pattern of ridges down the body.
• Brushing will soften the tool marks on the surface
• Use your fingertips to press up the edges so they become sharper. Fill in where needed
• For the tallest points, pinch up the ridges with your fingertips.
• Add the eye and stitch it on carefully.
• Repeat this on the second side making sure to match the pattern of ribs to the illustration.
• Wrap both sides and cure overnight till firm.

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• The next day peel the PTP Seahorses from the plastic and remove the foil cores
• Rasp the edges to make them rougher and expose some of the fibers.
• ​Bend a piece of galvanized wire to make a support and shape it to fit within the hollow core.
• Make fresh PTP to butter the edges and fill around the galvanized wire support.
• Press the two halves of the seahorse together till the soft PTP squeezes out of the sides.
• With your fingers, fill and blend the edge till the seam is invisible.
• Pounce with a brush to finish the texture.
• Add the fin on the back, support this with more foil and texture it with details.
• Place the whole sculpture within damp towels to cure overnight.
• The next day check for a fit with a galvanized pipe for mounting in a garden.
• Allow to cure wrapped in wet towels and plastic for at least a week, or you can submerge the sculpture directly in water. ​

Painting your Seahorse Garden Post

• Begin by establishing all your colors and patterns with color pencils directly on the sculpture.
  
• Water based concrete stains are used in the same way as watercolor paints, by applying many thin washes.
  
• The first wash is a yellow white to cover the entire piece. While this is still wet, blend a mid-tone orange along the back and front. Then, while still wet, blend an even darker orange to the spine. A final mid-tone green is added to the tail before completely drying with a hair dryer.
  
• For bold details, a bright yellow is drawn onto the ribs and a portion of the side
  
• This is followed up with a whitish-yellow on the highest part of the ribs
  
• Pure white is then used for a detailed stripe down the middle and the highest rib tips
  
• For darkness, a reddish brown is drawn on as details, spots and stripes.  
  
• For additional spots a bright whitish-yellow is painted into some of the darker areas.
  
• This loud and colorful seahorse is then fully dried with a hair dryer
  
• The final coat is a burnt umber wash. This dark chocolate color is brushed on into all the details and then quickly wiped off most of the sculpture. It will blend all the colors together beautifully and settle into only the deepest details.
  
• Once the Pal Tiya Premium sculpture has cured for 28 days, it can be sealed with a concrete driveway sealant. (The best) This will keep the colors vibrant for years. The painting can be done at any point during this cure. ​

Enjoy!

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