Weekly Update

Not too much to show this week, I had to wait to spray some things and have been sick for a couple of days, too. I'm getting some work done, but I've been moving around the studio in slow-motion because of it.

Here's the reiner from a different view so you can see his face. I also decided to make some of his spots a little larger. You can't really tell in this photo, though.

I'm still working on Jezebel's tail, I'm happier with it now. Note the new kitten's foot in the background!

The Apple Techie's color is close to where I want it now, I think. I'm going to work on her mane and tail a bit and then start on her blanket soon.
That's about it for this week. Alvaro has had work done to him but still looks about the same, and I should have some final pictures of the Lajjina resin next week (hopefully).

Brush Review

Here are a couple more brushes I found that I really like.

This is the Black Gold by Dynasty 20/0 filbert brush, I didn't even know they made these. Filberts are oval shaped and are good, all-purpose brushes. When they're new, they have a dull point to them, and as you use them they spread out and become good blenders. As you can see, this one is well-used and paint has dried into the ferrule. This brush is great for painting small areas on minis, painting around spots on blankets, and small detail areas on larger pieces. I just love this brand of brush, I buy Black Golds all the time. You can get them at Dick Blick and the price is right at $2.80 a piece.

These are Silverwhite 1503S filberts. I like the long handle Silverwhites, too, but these short handles are a little smaller and easier to handle on small models. These were pretty pointy when I got them. I really like this brand also, the white nylon brushes are very nice for scrubbing color in, and I can also use larger sizes for glazing. I happen to be partial to the filbert shape because it seems to last longer for me. I don't take care of my brushes very well, and flats and brights tend to get hard at the base pretty quickly (for me). Anway, these are excellent all-purpose brushes for either oils or acrylics. They're also pretty cheap at Dick Blick.

I've been lax about posting photo updates, but I should have something next week.

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

I am playing with the lights and darks of Alvaro's dapples now. I made the smaller dapples on his back a little darker and put a few more layers on him, and also a glaze of burnt sienna to warm him up in some areas.

 Here's another view of the Patty reiner. I'm still working on whitening up the blanket. It won't be that white when I'm done, but I like to use a more opaque white for covering on the lower layers. I'm also giving him some roaning around the edges of the blanket.

 I'm not sure what base color this horse is. The reference photo I'm using looks like he's got a silver mane and a dark chestnut tail. His body color looks like a dark liver chestnut. I don't know if a chestnut horse can have silver in it or not, or if that is something that happens because of the appaloosa genes.

Thanks to Cece and Jenn for giving me advice on Jezebel, I have torn her tail apart again and am trying anew.
That's all for this week!

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

Thanks everyone for your kind words about my cat. I'm happy to say that I got back into the studio after a couple of days off.

Alvaro is coming along. He was slightly floppy on his base, I know he's not supposed to be completely perpendicular because of the movement he's doing, but the hoof that goes into the base was pretty tilted, so I beefed up the bottom of the base and now he sits on it much more securely. I've been fooling around with colors on the base, it looks pretty gaudy right now, but I'm still experimenting.

Lajjina is getting some final overall work and I still need to paint her base. I'll probably have pictures of her in the next week or two.

That's it for this week!