Lawrence Murley is one of the gallery's most popular sculptors. In the two years since his last one-man exhibition here he has continued to refine his techniques and the work in this show, utilizing diverse types of stone, is of the very highest quality. .

Last time, his marvellous lizards, frogs and turtles were carved mainly from Picasso marble which Murley had brought over from America, and a few pieces in Cornish Serpentine. Here we see a few pieces in Picasso and Utah marbles -- the last of Lawrence's store -- but the majority of his sculptures are in Serpentine from the Lizard peninsula and Connemara marble which he selected personally from the Streamstown and Barnanoran quarries in Ireland. At the time of writing, Lawrence is also hopeful that he will have finished some pieces in red and green marble from Turkey -- if it arrives in time!

When I am looking at sculpture I often find that there is an obvious viewing angle, i.e. one side is stronger than the other. With Murley's work there is always a contrast between the rough stone and the finished creature and this may dictate how the piece is presented. However, I have rarely seen a piece that has a weakness in the sculpting.

Lawrence starts by picturing the animal and the position in which he wants to capture it on the stone before choosing a stone of the right shape and colour from his large collection. The base of the stone is then cut flat, the body outline is chalked on, and cut to depth above the limbs. The shape of the limbs is then chalked on and cut and the piece is turned and adjusted as the cuts get deeper.

Once the basic shape is cut, the detailing begins. The large waste areas are removed between the limbs, tail and body. Then the small areas of waste are removed from between the toes and undercuts are made around the body and head. A small chisel and hammer are used to remove the waste and diamond bits and cutters are used for detail. Small details and definition are achieved with hand files.

The whole creature is then sanded, working through from coarse to fine grade abrasives. The sculpture is buffed up using a polishing compound and a wax is applied. The perimeter is scratched or roughed up with files or burrs to define the boundaries and a final waxing is applied to achieve a lustrous finish and the beautiful contrast between life and stone.

Lawrence is firmly established again in his native Cornwall, having spent five years in California where he still has residency. His early work in the geology department of a local tin mine fostered his interest in mineralogy and this stood him in good stead when he took up full-time stone carving about twelve years ago. Serpentine from the Lizard peninsula is in very short supply but his "local knowledge" ensures that he never runs out!

His sculptor mother first gave him a piece of green stone and he instinctively carved a frog from it. As he widened his subject matter, he came to realise that there were thousands of reptiles and amphibians. After years of research, Murley's knowledge of frogs, lizards and turtles is, to say the least, extensive. He hopes, through his carving, to raise awareness of these animals and their easily upset life support systems. "My sculpture is a celebration of the animal in a medium which we live in and on", he says.

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