Wildflowers - North Light Information

History

The North Light Studios are located in Staffordshire, England - to be more precise, a midsized town called Stoke-On-Trent. The area is famous for its potteries and figurines, including the well known Wedgwood. In Stoke-On-Trent, which is well worth a visit, the artists at North Light have been producing unique animal figurines since 1978.
Initially, Guy Pocock, the founder of North Light studios, created seven pedigree dog models and pioneered the application of the Kennel Club Breed standard to figurine making. His aim was to produce lifelike animal figures to very high standard of accuracy and quality. With the creation of these seven dog figurines, the North Light Studio was founded. The studio name was selected to refer to the ideal direction from which the light should pour into an artist's studio, the North Light.

Over the years North Light has painstakingly built up 160 different models of pedigree dogs. In the mid- 1980's, the same exacting methods were applied to the creation of fine figurines of true blood horses. Additionally, North Light introduced lines of farm animals, exotic birds, arctic wildlife and a range of wild animals from all climates.

North Light has always set out to represent true-to-life models with great aesthetic appeal and faithfulness to detail. North Light's artistic work can best be described as studio work. Each model is produced by more than one pair of hands and by more than one pair of eyes, under the daily overall supervision of Guy Pocock. North Light has retained many of its original artists and staff members, who maintain a tradition of excellence. Some of the artists and sculptors started directly from school many years ago and continue to have an ongoing working relationship with the studio.

Today, North Light Studio continues to grow but remains ever faithful to the original goals of creating true-to-life, accurate and artistically appealing animal figurines.

Equine Creation Process

The beginning steps to a North Light creation start with the sketching, photography, review of the Breed Standard, and physical measurements of the live animal. From this data gathered, a sculpture is created and a initial mould taken. The sculpting artist checks the masters from the first mould against the original sculpture and if necessary reworks them.

All North Light figurines are made of a porcelain and resin composition, which allows for the extensive mould detailing you see on their horses. The figurines are turned out as a rough model. These rough models are then hand finished, with removal of seams and hand touch-up and enhancement of detailing. They are then sent to the artists in the painting studio, where they are air brushed with the body color and shading required for the particular breed piece. Next comes the hand detailing , which can be extensive, depending on the horses’ color pattern. The pinto, appaloosa and zebra patterns require extensive hand work, and vary greatly from horse to horse. The facial features also receive hand detailing, and that detailing gives the expressive, lifelike heads. Even the eyes, have a final gloss application, which makes them look moist and realistic. Touches of pink are added to muzzles. Nostrils are darkened inside to add depth. Harness details are added by hand, and in the case of the Royal Storm model, teeth are detailed to add drama to the expression.

With this degree of hand detailing, each horse will vary slightly. Throughout the moulding and painting process, frequent inspections take place to insure a finished piece of Equine Art that is second to none.