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Theodore Roosevelt in the Park

Images and Commentary

The development and prep work for
the proposed monument for Theodore Roosevelt
in San Luis Obispo, California.

About a year ago I was invited to participate in the creation of a monument of Theodore Roosevelt in San Luis Obispo, California. The proposed location is a small park situated near the center of the town. In 1903, when TR was president, he made a tour of the West, visiting and speaking along the way. He spoke in San Luis Obispo, in Mitchell Park, shortly after the new Cal Poly University had opened. 10,000 people showed up to hear and see him. On this tour he began speaking in earnest about the need to protect the wild lands and wonders of the United States of America. Theodore Roosevelt was a complicated character... but the more I read about him, the more I like him. He was refined and gracious; stood up to the corporations, for people's rights; he was loud, hearty, and read voraciously. You can tell by this photo that his horse liked him... There are things he did and said that I don't agree with, but he also was responsible for things that are important to me, such as creating the Antiquities Act which makes possible tthe saving of wonderful places such as Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde, or Yosemite, without having to wait for Congress to decide on them; and saving the Buffalo from extinction by making possible the creation of a series of reserves that allowed the herds to be viable again... He cared about children of all races, and was deeply concerned that future generations have a healthy environment, and the beauty of wild lands and wild life to inspire them. This is a privately funded community art project for the City of San Luis Obispo. Arts Obispo is providing fiscal sponsorship. The following images and comments are about the work I've been doing to prepare for the sculpture: I'll keep adding to it as I go along... the progress starts at the bottom of this page, and works on up...
	January , 2017 This is as far as I'm taking this study. From here I'm going to see what happens when I try doing a couple of small maquettes of the whole figure.

Most of the photos show TR wearing his pince-nez ("ponce-NAY"). His pince-nez glasses case helped to save his life during an assassination attempt. The portrait of him on Mt. Rushmore shows him wearing them, but I like the look of him wearing what was called "Riding Bow" glasses, for active people, that often rode horseback. I used to wear an antique pair back in my hippie days... wait, didn't John Lennon wear something like that too?
	January , 2017 Here he is, nearly finished for this maquette, I think his skull needs to be a bit longer, from front to back, but will leave that for later. Now the last thing I want to tackle on this one is, the glasses....
	January , 2017 Hair! TR wore it styled conservatively but with a touch of the flair of the times, a bit longer on the top, and shorter on the sides. I am reminded by this photo that the ear needs more work...
	January , 2017 Here's the jacket, and more hair on his head. You can see my own bandana as model for how the knot would be tied, as well as the photo close up, taken at Yosemite with John Muir on my trusty laptop.
	January , 2017 Here you can see some of the shapes that will form the hair. I got tired of working on it, so decided to start his jacket and neckerchief. A bit later I realized that he wore it OVER his jacket, so I had to build the jacket up first, it was okay, the scarf gave a good reference for the placement of the collar.
	January , 2017 I've been shown the wisdom of working from the skeleton on out, rather than just working with the surface features... we'll put a jacket on him pretty soon. Here the hair is starting to go on over his skull. I'm looking at photos from various public photos, as well as hair styles of the time to understand it better .
	January , 2017 Here the study is continuing with more shaping, I keep adding, and then taking away, looking for reference at as many photos of TR as I can find from around the time period of his 1903 Loop Tour. Good thing I'm working in clay, not stone. (That's why people do studies before tackling the final piece!)
	October 22, 2016 I liked the lighting on this photo, again, this is a study, so I'm not concerned at this moment with his glasses, or what kind of a hat he might be wearing. (The tall white cylinder to the right is a roll of paper towels, not a candle!) I'm experimenting with showing a smile on his face, not a huge grin like he's known for, with lots of teeth when he's totally dee-lighted, but happy and engaged. This shows the study several days ago. Since then I've worked more on the face and hair. So interesting to me, I love doing this! Next, after I finish the face a bit more, some hair, and I'll figure out how I want to show the round, nearly rimless glasses that he used to wear.
I'm starting to do some nearly life sized studies of his head and face, working from photos, and video footage of him. This is his "serious look". Next I'm working on one with a bit of a smile.	September 13, 2016 Usually my work is more stylized, but for this piece, I want to capture his likeness.
	September 5th, 2016 Here are some of the sketches from photos that have been helpful to do, to become more familiar with his looks. I began by reading about TR, to learn more about him than what I thought I already knew. I've barely made a dent in all there is to know about him.
	August15th, 2016 "Theodore at Harvard" Just horsing around, an embelished photo of Theodore as a young gent at Harvard...He was a stylish, progressive guy, I thought he might of enjoyed being represented so colorfully...