More pics from MFCA

Here's some more pics from the MFCA show. I was fortunate to be paired up with John Rosengrant and Marijn Van Gils for judging in the OPEN category friday night. Two of the most gracious and insightful artist in the hobby today. I learned much from that experience and will never look at a display again the same.

Speaking of Marijn Van Gils, his display was much visited over the weekend. His two mini box dios were wonderful. His "Reality TV" was not only well done and original but hilarious! There's only a handful of people in this hobby that I would call a true "fine art" artist and he is one of them. All his subjects are unique, well executed and original, traits of a fine artist.

Some MFCA 2010 show pics

Here's some pics from the MFCA show. I have nothing much to say to about the show other than WOW! The large number of pieces displayed, seeing the quality of work, that gets better each year and Bill Horan's retrospective, made for one great time. I honestly could have stood in front of his display the whole weekend and just study each piece. I doubt that many of us will see that much of Bill's work in one place ever again.

I regret that some of the pieces that I photographed does not have a name attached. I always mean to go back and write down the artist name to go along with the piece. From now on...

The two pieces that I do recognize with a name is Matt Springer's "Woodland Nymph" and Trevor Hensley's(sp?) "Avatar". Both excellent pieces that pics don't do justice.

More later.

Couple more pics of the 63rd Regiment drummer.

I took a couple more pics of the drummer before the MFCA show.

Stay tuned, I have some pics from the MFCA show and some sneak peeks at my next project.

Drummer, 63rd Regiment of Foot, 1775 54mm

Here's one for the road. I kinda did this out of order, the grenadier was the last figure I finished. I guess, saving a favorite for last before heading off to the MFCA show.

I really liked how this one turned out and enjoyed building and painting this figure. The drum however was a bear to do. I was going to use a simple spare Historex piece but the molding was horrid. So I stripped the entire shell and sculpted the tension cords with very thin strings of kneadatite.

The inspiration for the piece was Don Troiani's study of same subject. Except in my version the front is viewed prominently. I remember Gary a year ago mentioned that this would make a neat figure and I agreed.

Thanks to all that visit my blog. Please note my postings this spring/summer will not entirely be figure related but will be filler before I really get into my next project. It goin' to be BIG.

Stay tuned.

British Grenadier 10th Regiment of Foot, 1775

Possibly the most frightening site to those early colonial militiamen was the British soldier with fixed bayonet coming right for them. You could place this chap at Lexington and Concord or Bunker Hill. Though few of the Crown's troops had seen action before the American Revolution, they were well disciplined and knew how to use the bayonet with great effect. It would take a winter at Valley Forge to give the American soldier confidence to stand against this formidable weapon.

The head is from Historex. The putties from AVES and Kneadatite. The musket is a Shenandoah conversion. I'd like to thank Anders Heintz for the castings he sent to me. Also a big thanks to Gary D. who is always willing to share his knowledge.

Thanks for looking.

"Attention Ladies...The Blouse Man is on the premises"

Here's the finished piece. I've added some paper cups and a discarded cardboard box. For some reason I had a hard time figuring out on what to use for a box, until Gary suggested using index card. Well, duh on my part! It worked perfect and was just the right thickness. I just so happen to know a little about boxes and their construction so it was an easy build.

I took some pics with the flash and w/out to show the contrast in the fleshtones. I also added a little more mud and splashes to her lower half. Any more would, in my opinion, take away from the overall paint job. I'm sure I'll get a yes or nay on this overal from my peers but I'm still in the camp of "less is more".

Thanks to Gary for the tips! And especially thanks to my mentor and right hand man on these off-the-wall projects. Of whom, I'm sure, have not heard the last of.

Hippie Chick-Work In Progress

Here's a new subject for me! It's EVD's Hippie girl. This chick is 90mm in scale...all white metal. Because of the large scale and weight, I had to paint this beauty in sections. It came in four pieces and each, I swear, weighed just as much as one 54mm!
The stars and stripes weren't that difficult to paint (everything acrylic) once I got into a rhythm. And the hippie radical, Abbie Hoffman on the back of her jacket, was a one shot deal and turned out better than planned. This is still a work in progress. I need to finish her belt buckle and other touch ups. The grounds of Woodstock was needless to say a messy place, so I'll add some "trash" here and there.

Sorry for the washed out look. There's much more contrast than shown. I'll try better next time. Thanks for looking anyway.

I would like to thank my benefactor and spiritual advisor on this project. It's always a fascinating and challenging trip when we work together;)

I added some tunes to the play list. So listen up, tune out and get down...errr something like that.

Nothing new...

...but I'll keep the blog rolling with a pic of my main reference library that I keep close to the workbench. "Yippie skippy", you say!

This is only a 1/4 of my collection. The rest is on cheap book cases in the family room or in totes.

Just finishing up painting a stock figure and also digging up ideas for one or two more projects before the MFCA show in May.

Thanks for browsing.

Bargain book treasure.

I'm fast becoming an illustration book junkie. One I recently picked up is a book on the British artist, Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788). This $60 book cost me $12 at a local bargain bookstore. It's loaded with 254 illustrations and 195 color plates. This is an indispensable reference source for people who paint/model this period. His subjects varied from the ordinary laborer to the men and women of noble classes, with landscape and animals mixed in.
I'll post more of my favorite art/reference books and bargain buys.

The pride of my collection.

As many know, Gary Dombrowski is not only a talented sculptor but a gifted 2-D artist. A couple months ago, I received a pleasant suprise in the mail. It was Gary's study of a Hessian jaeger he based on my original sculpture. No words could express my joy on receiving such a generous gift. This felt better than being given any award, at any show.
Like figures, seeing an original 2-D painting in the flesh is MUCH better than viewing through pictures. Gary put countless hours into this 5X7 painting. And aside from his generous heart it made me wonder if "true" artist feel no real ownership in their work. But it's really about enjoying what you do and feeling that intoxicating rush of creation. Either way, I couldn't ask for a better friend in the hobby. Thanks pard.
It now hangs above my painting table, next to a favorite of mine, Winslow Homer's "The Briarwood pipe".