Another RSM Paiting Update

Here’s another photo update of the second company of RSM95 grenadiers. In the last two evenings, I’ve managed to get a coat of white on the gaiters and a really nice coat of red on the breeches. If you squint, you can also make out the NCO figure at the right rear of the picture. Before I quit for the evening, I painted his turnbacks and the visible parts of the red lining on the captain’s coat. Tomorrow, I tackle the other 16 figures and maybe paint the vests red too. Then it’s on to the white shoulder belts and the light blue coats.

Although the Grand Duchess Sonja is now ensconced in Berlin, my painting progress has remained slow due to the spring term course I’m currently teaching – The Art of Film Noir: German Expressionism, Italian Neo-Realism, and American Hard-boiled Fiction. This is the third time I’ve taught a version of the course -- one I've developed myself, thank you very much -- and judging by the class discussions they have following the film viewing, my current crop of students is enjoying the material.

The rub is that it’s a 3.5 week course that meets for three hours daily, Monday through Friday. We cover a semester’s worth of material (15 weeks) in less than a month, which means lots of reading and preparation every evening. So, I’ve snatched an hour or so here and there, but until June 1^st, it’s not going to be as much time at the painting table as I’d like. Sigh. But, I shouldn’t complain too much, I suppose. After all, in another few weeks, I'll have 2.5 months off to paint and write. So, life ain't all that bad! ;-)

Presenting the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere!!!

Here they are, with the rearmost nine figures still drying, three squadrons of the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere, now in the service of the Grand Duchy of Stollen. And now, it's onto that artillery!

Keepin' an Eye on the World Going By My Window . .

'The Nap at the Palace' by Jose Triado Mayol N ot much in the way of hobby-related activity happening here in the Grand Duchy lately. Sigh. And no surprise there really since there are only so many hours in the day, only so much mental and physical energy to spare, and you sometimes simply just have to give in and know when to say, um, "When!" A glass of wine and/or evening yoga by the hearth with the Grand Duchess (who has practiced for over 20 years), and then off into la-la land. Zzzzzzzzz. More immediately, I'm recovering, mentally speaking, from a grueling Friday in which I was involved with three (online) conference sessions, one right after the other, followed by a 90-minute meeting at the end of the day. Also virtual. My brain has been mush ever since, so an easy, completely unproductive Saturday watching intermittent snow fall outside (no accumulation however) and drinking coffee while the visiting handymen completed some repair work down h...

Having a "No Day". . .

F or the almost 20 years that she lived in Mexico, one of my late mother's Irish friends frequently mentioned having a "No Day." A day with no social obligations, chores, tasks, or other work that interfered with whatever personal interests took one's fancy on the day in question. Since today -- a gray and chilly Saturday -- is Mom's birthday, the Grand Duchess is out with friends, and the Young Master is ensconced on the sofa in the TV room with a cold, yours truly is taking his own such No Day. I think Mom would approve of my decision to make the world go away, as the old Eddie Arnold song intoned, even if only for a little while. So, I will spend Saturday afternoon focused on that first squadron and small regimental staff of Eureka Saxon cuirassiers. These have stood waiting untouched over on the painting table for almost three weeks while we skied and otherwise gadded about with snowy, winter outdoor activities. I hope to share a painting update Sunday...

The Grand Duchy of Stollen

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