In the midst of applying metallics! Almost drybrushing the gold and silver on over dark brown and black undercoats respectively (less is more, less is more, less is more. . . .), which has given the face plates on the mitre caps some additional depth.
Hot weather here in The Grand Duchy of Stollen. So, what better way to deal with the heat than to retire to the cool, darkened Stollenkeller, after a two-day break, to begin applying Windsor&Newton oil-based gold and silver?
While some might grumble about the perceived drying time of the oils, I think you'll agree that they catch the light in a way that hobby acrylics simply don't. Even when applied pretty sparingly as is the case here.
One thing. With oils, a little goes a long, long way. In fact, I've hardly used any of the very small dabs I squeezed out onto the palette paper earlier this afternoon! I mentioned in a previous post that I have really tried to avoid my tendency of longstanding, which is to say NOT flooding figure surfaces with too much paint. You can always add more later, but it can be difficult to remove pigment after the fact, especially where oils are concerned.
Later this evening, I'll return to apply very thin lines of silver to the musket barrels and firelocks. While I'm at it, I might as well address the various officers' swords and the two drum shells. Strike while the iron is hot and all that.
You'll also notice that I have applied an oil-based wash of Rembrandt 'Sepia' to the mounted colonel's horse, which given some added dimension to the undercoat of tan acrylic. Ol' Dobbin still doesn't look like much, but that should change once the white markings and horse tack are added. I do like the way that the pigment has settled into the recesses of the mane and tail. I think I'll leave things as they are here.
-- Stokes
Here is a second shot providing a clearer idea of how the cartridge pouches turned out. Just a few flubbs with the brush, which were easy enough to correct with some black or dark gray acrylic immediately afterwards.
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