Duke — Cartoon Horse at a Park Entrance, Wellington

Duke stood at the gate of a public park in Wellington where riders come through all day. The brief came from a community group who wanted something cheerful at the entrance rather than another bronze dignitary.

What they asked for

A cartoon horse at park-entrance scale — big enough to read from the road, and stylised enough that children would want to be photographed beside it. Roughly 2.4 m tall, with a mane that reads in silhouette.

Building it at full size

At 2.4 m the steel frame is drawn rather than improvised, and this is the point where a project stops being a sculpture and starts being a small engineering job. The sculpture was built in three sections and assembled on site. Getting a piece this size wrong at the frame stage is the most expensive mistake available, which is why we spend the time there.

The finish

Gloss-painted fibreglass in chestnut with cream markings, airbrushed and then sealed under a UV clear coat. At this scale the paint work takes almost as long as the form.

Installation

Three sections craned onto a prepared concrete pad at the gate, welded and finished on site. Total install was two days, which is quick for the size.

What it cost

Above 2 m, surveyed fibreglass runs $3,800–$15,000. This commission came in at $11,200 delivered and installed, twelve weeks from 3D approval.