“The more I work with an artist, the easier it becomes. “It is difficult to reach into their minds and get what they are visualizing,” Boyer concurs. … To decipher color choices in another’s mind may take years of experience.” The patineur has to be adept at the psychology involved in understanding how the artist envisions the final form of his or her sculpture. In what many consider the Bible of bronze patina books, Patinas for Silicon Bronze, Patrick Kipper writes, “The patineur is probably one of the most important people in the career of a sculptor in bronze. But now I let the experts work their magic.” “I know some artists are there for every step of the casting, chasing, and patination process, and in the beginning, I tended to micromanage. “I’ve relied on the folks at the Boyer foundry for years,” he says. Sculptor Mike Barlow, whose realistic North American and African wildlife sculptures demand patinas ranging from traditional chocolate to deep umber, conveys a similar sentiment about his work and his relationship with patineur Jill Boyer, of Boyer Bronze in Livingston, Montana. “One of the best I ever worked with was an oil painter, and so he understood color.” “Wapiti” by Tim Shinabarger, 19 x 19 x 9 inches

“Patineurs are generally artists in their own right in other genres,” Jones adds. It’s an art all by itself, and I rely on other people who are highly skilled and trained to do the patina.” Jones sends his work to a number of different foundries in Montana, including Northwest Art Casting outside of Bozeman, Kalispell Art Casting, and Art Castings of Montana in Belgrade. “But I am very satisfied with what they do in general. “I’m not always available to be at the foundry when they cast or when they do the patina,” he explains. The Billings, Montana-based sculptor Burl Jones is a good example.

Patina artist Jill Boyer, of Boyer Bronze in Belgrade, Montana, works on “Brown Trout” by wildlife sculptor Mike Barlow.

Art patina definition