A clean desk. . .

The freshly cleared off painting table here in Zum Stollenkeller.  Let's see if this helps keep the painting fire going over the next several months.

A clean desk is the sign of a sick mind.  Or so goes the saying seen commonly on those cute little stickers and among personal effects/paper weights/dust gatherers that reside on the desks of paper pushers throughout the English-speaking world.  Or at least here in the United States.  Well, might I be so forward as to suggest that maybe, just maybe more of us might get more accomplished with a little less clutter on our respective painting tables?  I know I feel more productive with a clear workspace.  It's certainly food for thought.

So with that very idea in mind, I've spent a pleasant hour or so this afternoon figuring out future painting projects, sorting through things, and putting away various bits and pieces that have been living on the painting desk for MONTHS here at Stollen Central.  Ahhhh. . .  Looks better already.  A little dusty maybe, but it's amazing how you can focus your painting energies once all of that extra stuff has been organized and put carefully away for the time being.  I don't know about you, but it's difficult to do all of one's painting in 10-12 square inches of space.

But let's talk about what's coming up during the next few months.  The "painting plan" for the remainder of 2012 if you will.  Next in the queue, a two-figure vignette of King Frederick II and von Seydlitz by Minden Miniatures, followed by the two new Valliere 4pdr. guns, and then another two-figure vignette of an English general and his aide.  The guns and latter pair of mounted officers are from the new Fife and Drum American War of Independence range.  I'll try to slap on a couple of coats of white acrylic gesso this evening time permitting.  The Grand Duchess rode her bicycle 100 miles today in her first "century" since 2005, so I fully expect the evening will be all mine once she tucks Young Master Paul in for the night and shortly thereafter collapses into bed herself.  

Anyway, after the guns and two command vignettes mentioned above, I'll either turn my attention to the regiment of RSM hussars converted to uhlans at the far left of the photograph, or take a crack at painting the third company of 15 RSM/Minden Croats mentioned in my previous post from this morning.  We'll need to see how the fall term shapes up and how beleaguered I'm feeling after a few weeks though.  Sadly, my first classes begin meeting on Wednesday, August 22nd.  Sigh.  Seems like the summer has only just begun, and here we are already thinking about updating and finalizing course syllabi.  There ought to be a law. . .