The Last Few Bits and Pieces. . .

The final few bits and pieces of the wagon train, barring the previously mentioned Colonel von Bauchschmerzen, his coach, horses, and uhlan escort. Von Bauchschmerzen, due to be painted next month, has in the meantime stopped off for several days in Karlsbad, to take the springs, before continuing on toward Dresden. Once there, he is to pick up a large order of porcelain tableware ordered by his wife, Frau von Bauchschmerzen.

Call it an exercise in speed painting this weekend. I've got a bit of a lull for a few days before I am inundated with various student papers and/or drafts thereof, which will occupy considerable time from now until the end of the term in about three weeks. So, I've decided to see how far along I can get with the four-horse team and the various drivers pictured above by Sunday evening.

Cross your fingers and toes though. The Grand Duchess has a day-long regional conference here in town all day today, so it's just the boys here at home. I've promised the Young Master that we will bundle up and go for a walk outside after lunch with, depending on his wishes, perhaps a trip on the side to his favorite cafe downtown for a cookie and some hot chocolate.

-- Stokes

Comments

CelticCurmudgeon said…

My Dear heinz-Ulrich,
Words from a person of a certain age:
Never, never miss an opportunity for hot chocolate and cookies with the young. That is a moment which, once gone, can never exactly be relived. You can always paint a toy soldier -but will you remember it as much as the moment when your son loks over and says "Thanks, dad. This was great!"
Enjoy what remains of the weekend,
Gerardus Magnus
Archbishop Emeritus

9:40 AM

Scheck said…

Don´t worry, I have the same problems with students papers (more: plans and models) and the miniature painting is paused. That´s life. We follow you anyway and are curious to see more of your fine paintings, whenever you find time!
Peter

1:28 AM

A Little More Brushwork. . .

A little more brushwork on the first batch of (my version of) the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment yesterday (Saturday). Taking a different tack this time and addressing many of the details first before the white coats and other larger areas of uniform. The eagle-eyed among you will notice that I've painted the (dark) red stocks of the enlisted men. Always a difficult and frustrating item to paint, it made sense to paint from the inside out as it were and get that particular detail out of the way first rather than try to paint it in later after much other painting has been accomplished. Trying to reduce the need for later retouching of other items on the figures you understand. Hopefully, I will be able to get back to these later today after a second trip back to the Apple Store for help with a couple of new iPad issues and, following the return home, some revision of Google Slides for tomorrow's meetings with my students. -- Stokes P.S. And according t...

Basic Reds Done at Last. . .

S till quite a way to go with the current batch of 20 human figures and a horse (of course), but they're actually starting to look like something after all of the red distinctions. Quite a bit of painting in hour-long sessions the last week as and when time has allowed. Mostly applying the basic dark red to facing areas and turnbacks followed by the inevitable touch-ups to clean up wobbly edges and those misplaced, minute splotches of Citadel Khorne Red. They're looking like so many Austrian infantry regiments of the era at this point, but the eventual flags will turn them magically into the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment, more or less, of the AWI period. But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. One frustrating point (ahem) of sad discovery. I've started trying to use those Winsor & Newton 'Series Seven' brushes (#1 rounds) purchased last spring, and the blasted things simply will not keep a point. Very frustrating since I have heard over the y...

It's Early Days Yet. . .

M aking some early progress with Batch A of the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment over the last several days/evenings. Nothing terribly exciting just yet, but the basic black, brown, and flesh areas are done as are the green bases, and gray undercoat. The latter two areas needed some careful retouching early in the week. Next up, the neck stocks. I might just do these in red for the enlisted men although some of my source material suggest they were black, but I always look for an excuse to shake things up a bit. Any errant splotches of red (or black) can be covered with another application of light gray before I move onto the next step. "Giddy up!" as one Cosmo Kramer might have said. -- Stokes

The Grand Duchy of Stollen

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