ARTFULLY yours
BY DAN CRAIG
P
Richard Stark
Metal Sculptor
Extraordinaire
78
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
ainting and sculpture are two forms of creative
expression with very different processes to achieve the
resulting work of art. Michelangelo, who was more
than proficient in both disciplines, reportedly said that
good painting is the kind that looks like sculpture.
Painters typically apply paints to a canvas or other two-
dimensional surface using brushes and palette knives, whereas
sculptors create three-dimensional forms and shapes typically
out of wood, metal, or stone and employ tools that are vast and
varied, depending on the medium.
The chosen medium for metal sculptor Richard Starks
is sheets of steel and his tools are welders, saws, benders,
grinders, plate rolls and drill presses, to name a few. In fact,
his studio-workshop in the west Gilroy foothills has the
appearance of a full-blown metal fabrication shop.
“I have been collecting tools, equipment and skills since
high school – almost 55 years now,” Starks reflects. “I wouldn’t
consider my shop fully equipped but I do have what I need to
do the work I am currently doing.”
And what splendid work it is. Viewers of his finished
art pieces would never guess they weren’t created out of a
solid steel beam. Starks begins with sheets of twelve gauge
COR-TEN steel that he bends, welds and sands to a smooth,
seamless finish. COR-TEN, a U. S. Steel brand, is a metal made
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017
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