“Royal” is a convergence of a seemingly unrelated event and a thought.

The event was a trip I made to the ruins of the house I grew up in on Roberts Island in the California Delta. In what had been my parents bedroom, I found the LC Smith typewriter that we used when I was a kid.

The thought part of the convergence was how a resume is like a self portrait. I imagined that the page of the resume is the person. This led to a representation of the figure being the page of the resume rolling up out of the platen.

The typewriter is primarily fabricated steel with some concrete, wax, and gold leaf elements. The figure is cast bronze.

An optical illusion is achieved with this sculpture in which the figure seems to turn toward the viewer as they move. Still photos can’t convey this effect but it can be seen clearly in the video on the right.

The apparent movement of the figure in “Royal” and other new pieces bring to life my early memories from the farm.

                                                          David L Phelps