Painting Area and Progress

Somehow it's Sunday again and I haven't posted in a couple of days . . . I have made some progress though! I got a late start both Thursday and Friday nights. It took both of those sessions just to get the gloves finished, though I think they look pretty good.

It occured to me that with all of my talk of cleaning and re-arranging I need to follow the gaming/painting blogging tradition of posting a photo of my work area. So here's the roll top in it's new location, both closed and opened. The large vase in the center was made by our friend Hamilton Williams. The two flanking it were made by Betsy Gray. Both are fellow S.H.C. Guild members.

Still in keeping with tradition, here's a shot of my actual painting work area. I like to use a wooden folding TV table. Since I still haven't found the perfect chair yet, I took this while seated in Pat's glide rocker.

I spent a good part of Saturday morning checking out Ral Partha auctions on eBay. That made me feel good, since I found some of the early orcs and goblins that I like so much. I also found a bunch of the Ral Partha medievals that are the same line that Tim the Elder uses with his Castle! Besides just being so cool I'm wondering if I like his games so much because we get to play with his collection of Ral Partha figures! For me those Ral Partha figures from the Seventies are the definition of beautiful wargaming figures!

Pat went to a tea at Marlein's church, so Saturday afternoon I puttered around and then got some painting time in later while watching Shakespeare in Love. It's a perfect background movie for me. Unfortunately I slipped Friday night, and painted this AElf's face and hair and halbred staff! I hate do-overs, whether painting or in our work. But I do them gladly to make things right.

So Saturday's first job was to fix him! I' not sure what I'm going to do about his face though. Or, for that matter, any of their eyes. The eyes on these figures should be do-able. They're well cast and the detail is there. I'm not sure if I'm going to paint them in our do shadows in the eye sockets . . .

By the time Pat got home I was finishing inking all of the hair. I got a start on drybrushing some of them with lighter shades. But I decided to put them aside and we watched an episode of the brillant new PBS Sherlock Holmes series on PBS.

As soon as I run to the store today I'm going back to knocking out the hair!

Set Up & Consequences.

It's been a haul, but the living room is essentially finished. Well, there's a couple of stacks of books tucked into the coat closet, the speakers need to be moved and I need to clean the glass and put them back into the display case. Other than that (and cleaning the windows and blinds) our living room is cleaned and re-arranged!

I even got the two hall book shelves emptied, cleaned and re-loaded yesterday. That added a few more books for Mr. K's!

The living room looks and feels much better. My roll top desk holds my paints and there is a perfect place for my new painting chair ~ once I find it!

After dinner I, once more, borrowed Pat's glide rocker, pulled the lamp over and got some painting time in. I was all set to finish the last three heads of hair . . . But for background we turned the TV on and Monarchy was on PBS. It's such a well done show and so interesting that Pat put her book down and I laid my brushes down to watch.

Once it ended, I was ready to knock out the hair and move on to touching up and highlighting gloves . . . Pat decided that Across the Universe would be fun to have on in the background. (We both had Dear Prudence running through our heads all day.) Great music and visuals, and a really well done musical.

I only got the hair finished, on the last three figures that needed it. Too much visual stimulus in the background! Still, it was fun and the figures are coming along. I took a couple of photos before last night's session; which is why one of the figure's hair is only primed.
The figure second from the right has an odd reddish/brownish color showing on some areas of his mail. I'm not sure what it is! At one point I thought it might be a symptom of lead rot coming through the paint (and it might be, I don't know). But I have been able to scrub some of it off with the tips of toothpicks. I'll clean it up as much as possible and touch the paint up.

Detailing their faces, painting their lips and eyes, may be next rather then the gloves. By then the hair should be ready for inking and highlighting. Then onto some metallic ~ I think all of the rivets need emphasising and the halbred blades could be brighter, shiney-er. I still have to decide how I want to paint the knotwork pattern on the scabbards.

There is more to go, but I feel like I am over the hump now.

And, at least as important, I'm really enjoying my painting time. It is becoming a positive pattern or habit. This is Fun!

Oh, the consequences part of all this cleaning and re-arranging . . . now I have all sorts of clutter and piles of magazines, and ten plastic shoe boxes of painted Ancients figures, waiting for me to find a new place or way to store them . . . But the living room looks and feels Great!

Re-Arranging Progress.

I didn't get any painting done Monday. But I did get a lot more done on re-arranging the living room! I had hoped to get it finished, but of course didn't. So that's today's project ~ after I get our materials order in!

We decided that by switching the roll top desk and the larger book case (which holds many of my cookbooks and a some of our pottery collection) we could open the living room's area up more. This should make enough room for me to put a comfortable chair for painting in the living room!

The roll top has been holding my paints for some time now; well, since I began slowly painting over a year ago. I can free up some room in the book case for storing the figures I'm currently working on.

I took some before photos of the living room. The area I did last Monday still looks good and we are both happy with it. I can't wait to get this finished ~ not least of which because that means it will be time to find the right chair! And then paint even more!!!