Weekly Update

I have been so absent-minded lately! I meant to do a brush review this week because I found a couple of brushes I really like, but I forgot to take pictures of them when I was doing my weekly photography, so I guess that will have to wait 'til next week. So here is the reiner I've been working on, I've added some more roaning to him and put a couple more layers of white on him. Soon I will start dulling that white down and working a little on his body and legs.

I'm still in the process of re-doing Jezebel's tail. I'm never sure whether I should add little bits at a time or try to do the whole thing at once. Usually, when I add a lot of material and try to do it at once, I end up rushing through it and it doesn't look as good, so this time I'm trying to go slow and build it up in smaller segments.

I'm adding layers of white to Taboo. I'm using oils for the blanket on this one, very thin layers that I'm scumbling into the coat. If I need to, I finely sand the layers with 600 (or is that 6000?) grit sandpaper.

Here are a couple of Mini Nahars with a simple airbrushed basecoat. One will be a straight bay and one will be a bay pinto.
That's about it for this week, I've been enjoying watching the WEG this week, thankfully they're showing it live on Universal Sports channel so I don't have to watch the dreadful NBC regular coverage. So many gorgeous horses!

Weekly Update

It's problem-solving day for me today!

Previously I had said that I thought Jezebel's tailbone was a little too long, so I dremelled it down and re-sculpted it and the result came out exactly the same (see top photo). I thought that was funny.  In the second photo I have Photoshopped some of the tail out, I think the second photo looks more realistic as far as the length of the tailbone, though the top photo has overall more balance. I would love to hear others' feedback. Disregard the weird lines on the second photo's tail, that is my poor Photoshop attempt at the clone tool.

Here's the Apple Techie I've been working on. This is another example of a problem I'm trying to solve. Generally, I will do 3-4 layers of oil paint, let that dry, then spray it with Dull Cote to see what the effect will be. When I do this, I almost always find streaky areas, causing me to go back in with oils and repeat the whole process again. This is one of the things that takes a long time, fixing these little areas that don't look as blended as I want them to be. Here's a closeup of the leg to show you an example of the streaky area (right above the knee).

I don't know, maybe it doesn't look that streaky, but it bugs me and I just have to go back and paint over it. I almost feel like I have OCD sometimes! Part of the problem might be because of the transparency of the paint and/or the medium that I use that causes more transparency, thus requiring more layers. It could possibly be the lighting too. I haven't had good results when I've tried painting in thicker layers, so until I can figure it out, I will just have to slog through with this slow, time-consuming way.

I have been given the opportunity to paint a couple of Brigitte Eberl's Sushi resins that were cast for Tom Bainbridge, I thought I'd post a couple of photos of her at different angles since most of Tom's angles are straight on. The casting on her was superb, what a relief to get an Eberl that will be easy to prep! One will be painted for Tom and the other I will paint for sale. She is really nice, beautifully proportioned and she has a sweet, type-y look. I'm not sure what color I'm going to paint mine, I'm open to suggestions! I was thinking of possibly a rose grey, or maybe a pinto. I just don't know yet.


Okay, next week I'll have more progress shots.

Weekly Update

Lots of updates this week!

I'm still working on Lajjina here but she's getting very close. I still want to fiddle with the dapples a little, work on her hooves and eyes and the base.

The reiner is starting to get a blanket, but he's still in that hideous-looking stage. I'm not sure if I'll keep that patch on his hindquarters or fill it in.

This little foal has a playmate that is mostly done. I notice some streaky areas on the bay section of this one, so I'll have to do some more work on him.

I am happier with Jezebel's tail now, though I need to refine it a bit more. It looks like her tailbone is too long. I didn't notice that until I took this picture.

Alvaro has had a couple of glazes and a little work done to the mid-tones on his dapples. I need to do his other side the same way, then I think I'll work on the lights some more. I haven't done much with the base.

I actually forgot to take a picture of another model I'm working on, she can wait 'til next week I guess.

And introducing:

Smoky! We decided to adopt a kitten sooner rather than later after our older cat's death. We didn't want our other cats to get too territorial or set in their ways before introducing a new cat. We got Smoky from an awesome shelter in West Seattle, isn't he adorable? Unfortunately our other two cats got fevers (and Smoky had a cold) after we brought him home, so I've been shuttling animals back and forth to the vet for days. One is still not feeling well yet so it's really causing a lot of upset in the studio. Hopefully they'll all be back to normal soon and I can return to an even keel of working.

Weekly Update

I added light color to the dapples, and also worked on his face. The dapples will kind of morph and change for a long time before I feel satisfied. So far I've done the light base coat, then the dapples mapped in with darker paint, then more light dapples added in.

I worked on this reiner's head, body and legs. I'll want to refine the body color a little more, then I'll let him dry and start on his blanket.

I dremelled most of what I didn't like off of Jezebel's tail. I really didn't like the way it was droopy at the tip, and I cleaned off all the ragged detailing so I can try again. This time, I'm going to try really hard to wait for a while before I go in with the detailing of the apoxie. This is a problem I have; I get very impatient and want to be able to work with it immediately, and I think that causes a lot of problems. But at the same time, I don't like to wait because I get involved with something else and then it's hard to pull myself away from that. So, still experimenting with this one.

Remember this little gal? I still need to gloss her eyes, I might do a little bit with her white markings, too, but otherwise she's done. I'm not sure if I'm going to sell her or not. I just love these SM foals.

I'm trying a lot of different things with this Taboo. For instance, I tried the initial base coat in oils rather than acrylics. I think that was a mistake because I have a hard time thinning the oils down for such a small scale.

I was very ill yesterday so am taking it easy for the next couple of days. Hopefully I will still have some pictures to show next week.

Weekly Update

I'm starting to block in Alvaro's dapples, and put a layer of dark markings on to see how that will look. I usually start my dapples with pretty loose brushwork like this, I think it adds depth as I progress through many layers.

The Patty reiner has another layer of paint, I've also darkened his legs.

Here is Jezebel's third tail incarnation, still unhappy with it. I wish I felt more comfortable handling the sculpting material, it's like something foreign. I never know what tool I should use, how long I should wait before working into it, and I can't seem to get any detail. I don't know if I should wait 'til it dries and then dremel into it for detail? When I try to work with it "wet", I can't get any detail, it rips and tears and blobs up. When I wait for it to cure a little it seems to get too hard to work into. I don't know if it's my hands, the tools I'm using, or just my general inexperience. No matter what I do I can't seem to "get it." I will probably try dremelling this tail a little to see what it looks like, then chuck it and start again. A lightbulb will have to go off at some point, right?

Weekly Update

I hope everyone is enjoying NAN! I was watching the results but unfortunately the photos haven't been posted yet. I love to see what won, and I also like looking at how the judges placed their pieces and how different the placings can be.

Okay, on to some progress pictures.

Alvaro got another airbrush coat on him. I actually had to go backwards with him because I found a couple spots that needed to be filled. I will probably do one more airbrush coat on him and then start on the oils.

The Patty reiner is looking rather hideous. It's painful for me to look at pieces when they are at this point, knowing that I have to wait for the paint to dry before I can do more to it.
I'm going to spray Finn tomorrow, and I'm hoping that he will be done and that I can show a final picture of him next week.

And here's a Jezebel that I've been working on. I can't remember if I've shown a picture of her before. My goal was to re-do the tail so that it was shorter, but still had the same "style" as the original. I really struggled with this and frankly I'm not happy with it, especially the tips of her tail. This is the second version. I'm embarrassed to say that I've spent 20 hours sculpting this. At this point I just want to chuck the whole thing! I didn't want to re-sculpt the mane, but I will probably end up doing that and re-doing the tail some other way. I don't think I have the skill at this point to get the refinement and gracefulness to match the mane. If anyone has any suggestions or advice for me I'd be happy to hear it! I know my advice to myself: Carol, stick to painting lol!

Weekly Update

Here's Vixen, she's getting there. I tried giving her a sock on either hind foot, but it just didn't look right. I'm adding some warm highlights in her mane and tail right now, that's why it looks shiny.

Finn got another layer of paint, and I started refining the color of his mane and tail. I'm going to work on his legs next.

I had to put aside the SM foals for some time while I worked on commissions, but this week I had a chance to paint a little bit on this one.

Lajjina still looks about the same. I had to sand a couple of small areas and re-painted the base coat. I will start painting in oils next.

This is Jezebel's new, shortened tail that I've been working on for *ages*. It doesn't look terrible from this angle, but it simply doesn't flow the way I want it to. This was my second try at it, but I guess there will be another try! This is the reason I don't do custom work -- it takes me months to get anything I can live with. I have probably spent 30 hours on this tail already.

I guess that's it for this week. Ravenhill and Daffyd are both going to be sprayed tomorrow, and I will start patterning Ravenhill's blanket and doing some detailing on Daffyd.

Update

Okay, I've got my head in the right place this week. I turned in my state sales taxes, so now I don't have to worry until I see the accountant in February or March. You'll probably hear some more kvetching then lol!

Swaps is looking pretty good. I'm very happy with his color. I have found a great color called Brown Madder (or Brownish Madder) this is kind of a cross between Alizarin Crimson and Burnt Umber. It's somewhat transparent and creates a nice rich saddle color. I think this is a color that is different depending on the manufacturer. I'm not really happy with the consistency of the tube that I've got (Sennelier), but it's a hard-to-find color so I will have to shop around if I want to change.

I had planned on this Fenwick being a slightly more red chestnut with flaxen mane/tail, but he's looking pretty palomino to me. I'll see how it goes with him.

I can't remember if I showed my original customizing of Jezebel's tail, but I have run into two snags. I had to re-arrange the angle of her tail because it was swishing too far to the right, and then I noticed yesterday that some of the Fixit Sculpt was crumbling, so I had to remove almost all of it. I must not have mixed it enough. I always try to be really careful about mixing properly (and I usually use a slight bit more hardener to it just in case), but sometimes this happens. She will have a slightly shorter tail than the original sculpture, but I want to keep it looking as much like Sarah's original style as possible.

I was invited to donate a piece to NAN this year, and at first I wasn't going to because of time constraints, but I've decided to go ahead and give it a try. I would really like more people to get a chance to see my work in person, I have so few pieces out there :-/ I will be donating a Daffyd resin, painted probably in a sooty, heavily dappled palomino with sabino markings. He's mostly prepped so I will probably start on him this week or next.

I'm also very busy with commissions (Swaps being one of them) and should be able to touch a couple of sales pieces this week, too. I'm dying to work some more on the dapple grey Dinky Duke.

That's all for this week! Hope you all stay warm and dry, it's been miserable here in the Northwest! My sump pump has been working nonstop 8-0

Update for the Week

I've been able to work on a few personal projects last week. This is the PAS I've been customizing. I had to dremel a lot of material off of it, but I think I'm finally starting to get the proportions right. The front legs were too far back, so I've moved them forward, and I made his croup a little flatter. The throatlatch needs to be filled out a little more. Of course this is still at a very early stage.

This model is giving me fits. I have been struggling with the ticking/roany pattern on it for a long time. This picture represents me re-doing it for a third time, and I already see a huge mistake I've made in the shoulder. Hopefully by next week he'll look a little better; I should be able to put several more hours into him by then.

I debated posting this picture because it's at such a mangled stage, but I do like showing how things progress. I'm really embarrassed that this piece was pretty far advanced, and now I've gone almost back to the beginning with it. I had moved the ear on this one, but then the eye looked off, and I started fiddling and, well, this is what happens ;-) I'm still fiddling with the position of the eye. 

PAS

I'm detailing and finishing up my commissions right now, and in between I've been spending a little time with my PAS project. Since I last posted a picture of him, I've dremelled half of him away ;-) His legs are much thinner now and I'm just trying to get a basic shape down right now. I've actually done more to him since this picture, I worked on his topline and filling out his belly a little bit.

You can feel free to make suggestions/critiques, I know there's not much to see yet but I can always use the help and extra sets of eyes. I plan on posting him to some of the boards and bringing him to an artist or two in person to look at after he's farther along. Of course, that could be several years from now at the rate I'm going with him :-0

PAS

I've been working on this guy a little bit, now he doesn't even look like an Arab! The legs are huge now. I tried filling out his belly, but I don't know if it's an improvement or not. I need to change that left rear hoof, I think just the tip of the hoof should be touching the ground. My original reference photo doesn't show the hooves, he's standing in grass, so I've been looking at a bunch of other pictures. Also, I think the "butt" (semitendinosus?) looks too big now.

I don't know how other people can make this seem so easy! I study, I draw horses from life when I can, I take photos and study videos, I took a workshop, I ask questions, but when it gets right down to the point of applying material to the armature, all sense flies out the window for me, or I can't see it, or something. It's very frustrating for me. It makes me question whether I can even see in three dimensions (or if there's something wrong with my eyesight LOL!)

Maybe part of it is because I spent so much time in the 2D world, and have started trying to sculpt after so many years of not doing it. Drawing is easy for me, in fact it's a joy and I look forward to it, but I don't see a light at the end of this sculpting tunnel yet. Everything I try to sculpt looks like crap to me now, and I'm not at that point yet where I feel like there's hope that it will ever get better. Sometimes I think that I should just stick to finishwork, but I really want to learn more about sculpting, at least to be able to do minor changes like ears, manes and tails, maybe a leg movement or something. I think I bite off more than I can chew...

I will probably keep slogging away at this no matter what, it's hard for me to give up. It might take me ten years though!

PAS

I've been slowly working some more on the PAS. I finally broke down and blew up a tracing of the reference photo I'm using for the pose, so that I could block in the basic shape. I'm terrible at measuring and the proportions always come out wrong.

Breyer Shire

I finally finished up the Breyer Shire mare that I've been working on for years, literally. It took me forever to do the custom work on her (face, mane/tail/feathers, moved head and leg). She is painted in oils, too, which also took a long time. I don't know how others can work so quickly with oils, it takes me a long time, even if I use a drying medium. Maybe it's just the way I work, by building up layers and doing a lot of glazing. Also, at one point I accidentally got powder all over her when I was holding her with latex powdered gloves, and somehow it settled in to the paint and I couldn't wash it off, so I basically had to repaint her. I'm so glad she's finally done!

Since it takes me so long to do any customizing, I only do one custom piece at a time while I work on other finishwork. Next up will be the PAS monstrosity, which is going to be a very difficult challenge indeed.

SM G1 Drafter

This is a commission that I worked on all last month, whew, I'm glad he's finished! Cassie Thomas did some nice minor custom work to his forelock and lip, I think it really added to his charm. I really wanted to show a slide show of this model's creation, but I haven't figured out how to make a slide show yet. When I do I'll post it here. More pictures will be on my website soon.

PAS

Yay! I got my studio back in order and was able to do a little work today after cleaning up from making truffles. This is an older picture of the PAS I'm working on, it's from a couple of weeks ago. I did a lot of dremelling to it to lean it out, and whittled down the legs because it will need to have slightly longer legs and the joints are in the wrong place now. I'm trying to decide if I want to buy a set of Kristina Lucas Francis's resin hooves to put on this.

For Sale: SM G1 Quarter Horse Stallion

I think this was my first attempt at oils. I like the color that I came up with, but honestly I don't like painting with oils. I've mentioned this before. However, sometimes I think it's easier to get a certain color with oils than acrylics. I only mix small amounts of acrylic paint at a time, and it's difficult to duplicate the exact shade again, at least for me.

I think this was also one of my first attempts at customizing the mane.

SOLD

Shire

I have just started mapping in the white markings now in acrylics. This will be toned down a lot to fit in with the color of the horse, and I will probably do a couple of top layers in oils to shade it.

PAS

This was getting a little too wonky for me, so I printed out an outline to scale of the pose that I was looking for, and I realized that I was going to need to add, not subtract from this model in order to get the right proportions. So I spent some time sawing the legs off so I can stretch them out.

PAS

I'm back to working on this guy again. The neck was too straight up so I sawed it off and will be reattaching it, and I made the left hind leg move back a little further. I've been dremelling him down to almost nothing in an attempt to get rid of his sausage-belly. Even though I measured this model, the back now looks too long to me.