Self-Timer Test Photograph. . .

The latest vignette in the series. . . a generic Austrian cuirassier officer (Minden) and an equally generic infantry officer (RSM95).

Yours truly spent a wonderfully quiet and still winter's day today down here in Zum Stollenkeller, working on the small scenic base shown above. We had light snow all day, which meant there was little to no traffic on the street, and The Grand Duchess made us special Mexican-style French Toast. She sliced up a left over length of baguette, soaked it in the egg and vanilla mixture overnight, and, once cooked, we enjoyed it with butter, cinnamon, and sugar on it late this morning. Can't recall when I've had French Toast as delicious. And then, bless 'em, The Grand Duchess and Young Master dressed and headed out to the Winter Farmers' Market downtown and then onto some indoor children's things in the same general area. The house was remarkably still for hours, and it was absolutely great. I make no apologies for liking my peace and quiet.

So, after brushing my teeth, dressing, and heating some leftover coffee, it was down here to the painting table with cats in tow -- They love hanging around and sleeping in my office with me when I'm in it -- where I pressed on with these two figures, doing most of the detailing and clean-up this afternoon, adding two coats of gloss just before supper. The groundwork followed the Young Master's bath and bedtime, going quickly. Last of all, I just could not wait to try my hand at the self-timer on my Sony Cybershot camera, hence the painting table shot rather than shooting (ha, ha) for a more finished picture with the foamcore board lightbox.

The self-timer on the camera was much easier to use than the instructions in the owner's manual made it seem. Two seconds don't quite seem enough though, so I've opted for ten here, which gives Mr. Accident-Looking-for-a-Place-to-Happen ample time to back well away after pressing the shutter button. Apparently. My all thumbsness notwithstanding, the photo looks pretty crisp and sharp to me. But I'd appreciate your feedback and (polite) constructive critique since I really want to improve my photography skills and results, so I'm open to suggestions. Thank you in advance for your time and reflection.

-- Stokes

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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