This raw sculpture of the Jayhawk is the form artists had to work with in creating their unique artwork for Jayhawks On Parade. Lawrence sculptor Jim Brothers choose to remove the feet and legs to position his John Brown Hawk standing. Brothers also created armature to add wings to his Jayhawk.
On his way to work, John Jimenez, Lawrence, passes a newly arrived Jayhawk statue at the Lawrence Visitor's Center, 402 N. Second Street.
An early clay model of John Brown Hawk was the first step in Jim Brothers' design for the piece. The inspiration for the unique Jayhawk came from John Steuart Curry's mural "Tragic Prelude," which is displayed on the second floor of the Kansas Statehouse.
At right an early form of the John Brown Hawk takes shape in the studio of sculptor Jim Brothers. At left are clay figures Brothers is sculpting that will be added to his pieces already on site at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Va.
Sculptor Jim Brothers, seated at left, and Chris Rairdon, sand down areas of fiberglass. After foam was carved and sculpted into shape, it was covered with fiberglass mat and resin then sand. A layer of automotive body filler was applied and finely sanded before paint could be applied to the bird.
Chris Rairdon, left, and Tim Copp, repeatedly sand down the fiberglass form of the Jayhawk using fine sandpaper down to 400-600 grit sandpaper.
John Brown Hawk is driven to a new location to get painted in the back of Brothers' 1936 Cheverolet pick-up truck. Riding in back are Alan Austin, left, and Chris Rairdon.
Using an airbrush, Cesar DuBois applies base layers of automotive paint to the John Brown Hawk. The painting was one of the last steps in the completion of the artwork.
Tim Copp prepares to add three coats of a clear automotive varnish to the John Brown Hawk in his workshop in North Lawrence. The clear coating is the final step and is put in place to protect the paint finish.
John Brown Hawk, by Lawrence artist Jim Brothers, is lifted into place on top of a Journal-World loading dock roof on Massachusetts Street near the corner of Sixth Street. Brothers, at far left, and Chris Combs, help guide the piece, one of the thirty Jayhawk sculptures in the Jayhawks on Parade, in place Tuesday.
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