Animal anatomy is where I became a serious sculptor. At the time, I did not like the idea of working around so many dead animals. Then it occurred to me that where better to learn animal anatomy but from carcasses first hand. I had access to a wealth of resource information about White-tailed Deer and Exotic Animals. The studio was a production studio for a Taxidermy Supply. After investigation there were many distinguished sculptors in the field. Of coure, the father of it all was Carl Akeley. He was a great sculptor and many of his bronze works can be seen in the Chicago Museum of Natural History. There is a wild life preserve in his name in Africa where the Silver Back Gorilla lives. Also, the New York Museum of Natural History is a really large display of Taxidermy wildlife from Akeley.
In the photo above I am working up a running White-tailed Deer. I really came to love the critters and marvel at the athletic feats they can do. They can hide as if they have a cloaking device. More soon on animal anatomy. Stephen Gibson, Sculptor July, 27, 2016