9 - Back on the Horse

It has been another long break from the blog, and painting for the mater.  I have had a difficult time since October sitting down to paint.  Call it painters block if you will.  After I finished up my Justice League Dark last fall, I started to work on my first ever large size bust.  This was supposed to be Christmas present for a friend.  It was a new medium, and I was trying out some new techniques and styles.  Some parts I really liked and seemed to click, while others were frustrating.  It took a lot longer then I expected and I burned out a little trying to get it done (which I still have yet to do, as soon as I am back from Adepticon!).

That is the thing with trying out something new.  You may not be great at it right away.  It will take some trial and error.  But most importantly, you have to give yourself time to practice it.  I tend to get discouraged if I don't get something quickly (especially if I feel that I don't understand the concepts).  I am trying to relax a bit more, and let myself make errors.  Finish the model and move on to the next and keep trying and experimenting. 

The other hurtle I experienced was the sleep regression of my daughter.  I love my daughter, and our bedtime routine.  We cuddle and read some books, then sing some songs.  But when we changed her bed from a crib to a toddler bed, bedtime became a bit of a struggle.  Some nights bedtime would take and hour and half.  By the end of it, I was physically and emotionally drained.  I could not fathom picking up a brush during those times.  Which in itself was depressing, because I always painted to relax.  But then combining this with the above mentioned self loathing at my skill level, it did not create a good creative environment. 

Luckily, my daughters sleep routine is much better.  I have also made a conscience effort to not be as hard on myself (Hobby wise at least).  So it has been a productive couple weeks, as I rush to get things ready for Adepticon. 

I made a new dicebox/display board for my crew for the Batman tournament.  I also made another box for my Malifaux Death Marshals for the Henchman Hardcore.

Last up was to paint some Marvel models.  I did a quick "one sitting" paint up of Black Widow.  I really like her in the game, but I really do not like this model.  But it was simple and a good entry point to start.

I then wanted to try something new.  I set up my airbrush and painted up Ironman.  I did a basecoat of Scale75 Black metal and then did a zenithal highlight with Heavy metal.  Afterwards I sprayed Citadel Spiritstone Red over the whole model to give it the candy red look.  I then picked out some silver and gold and tried to paint the glowing effect.  This felt good.  I was trying new things, it was not perfect (the candy red coat is really streaky and I still don't like how I paint gold), but I powered through and I am very happy with the results.  I think I have learned new things for the next time I try the glowing effect or the candy red too.

I also finished painting the Winter Soldier.  This was a great example of just pushing though and finishing a model.  I was not liking how he was turning out as I was painting him.  I was try out some Citadel contrast paints over a white/black zenithal.  The model was looking very flat and plain (he is a soldier, he is mostly, grey, black and metal).  But once I painted the face/hair and the arm, I started to get excited about it again.  I got a second wind, fixed up a few things, added some more details.  It is one of my favorite things I have painted in a while now. 

Up next is Vison and some more of the Avengers!     

Kevin