A thin glaze of the alkyd oil Ivory Black over a medium-dark gray acrylic undercoat yields a pleasing basic black horse which can then be tailored by the random addition of white markings, hooves, and the occasional flesh-colored nose or lips.
After a few evenings off doing other things, I buckled down and spent two sessions yesterday afternoon and again in the evening applying a glaze of Winsor & Newton alkyd oil Ivory Black to the rest of the horses in the second squadron with the exception of the trumpeter's horse, which will get a lighter treatment with some additional dappling if I can pull it off. Need to think about how to do that though.
This morning early when I stole down here to Zum Stollenkeller Mk. II with that first mug of coffee before anyone else was up, the air was faintly redolent with the aroma of oils. Ahhhh. Not everyone's cup of tea, of course, but to me, this is one of the most pleasant side effects of using this particular medium to paint figures.
This evening, besides applying black to the boots and bearskins of the humans, I'll apply some antique white acrylic to the trumpeter's horse and then see where things stand with that. Afterwards, for the next few evenings, I'll work on the horses and get those more of less finished before turning my attention back to the horse grenadiers themselves. The new semester begins three weeks from yesterday (Wednesday), so time is of the essence!
-- Stokes
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