Yep, I'm Painting Again ... *sigh*

[dawn_felagund]

With the arrival of Spring comes warm breezes, amorous birds singing in the trees, and Dawn feeling the urge to paint. Truly, there are few ways more enjoyable to spend a Spring afternoon than to sit outside with one's husband while you both squint at inch-high models and quibble over bizarre tools. "Do you have the circular file? Do you know where the clippers are? Did you buy a pot of Snot Green for your last project 'cause I need it and can't find it?"

This year is no exception. I started painting miniatures roughly three years ago and, since, have had an on/off relationship with the hobby and a love/hate relationship with the company that makes the models, Games Workshop. Truly, I love painting, but every now and then, I sit back and ask myself whether spending fifty hours on a teeny-tiny Elf is really the most productive way to spend my time. Writing, yes, could develop into something productive. Miniatures painting? Not so much. It is probably my most pointless and self-indulgent hobby, and yes, I consider my Silmarillion obsession when saying that.

My ongoing project is this giant dragon and Elf* (relatively speaking ... the dragon is still only about 5 in/13 cm tall) that I've been working on for the past two years with not too much to show for my efforts. The stupid thing is finally completely put together, modeled, primed, and base-painted; I started outlining some of the scales in a dark green the other day. I was very proud because I got half of the scales on one side of the model outlined after working for about an hour. Bobby also bought for me a rather unique Gandalf-in-cart model that I adore; I started filing the metal parts today. That will keep me nicely occupied when I get tired of outlining scales on the ginormous dragon.

*Because I am a painting snob, then I will stick my nose in the air and announce that I am not using that gawdawful color scheme that they use on the show model but something entirely different that does not involve blue at all.

Bobby and I have even resigned ourselves to go to the Baltimore Games Day this year. Yeah, we make excuses: ticket prices have gone down, we haven't been in two years ... oh, and of course, I get entry into the Golden Demon painting competition free with a ticket. *nodnod* In reality, we're bitten again; Bobby's even talked of getting his Bretonians together and crushing some nerds' dreams at the event. Bobby is frighteningly good at the Fantasy game.

So it seems that I will be again descending into the depths of Nerdom, at least for a short while ... until the pushy Games Workshop salespeople, ridiculously high prices (three buckaroos for a tiny pot of paint?!), and general asocial tendencies of the people who are into this hobby (and by "into" I mean "life revolves around") get on our nerves and drive us away again. Until next Spring ...

Comments

[tarion-anarore.livejournal.com]

I think spring must put art in the air. This time last year, I was getting high on fabric paint and trying to keep my projects from getting blown away by the wind. :)

[dawn_felagund]

Spring is wonderful! Seriously, it might be my favorite time of the year, when all the dust blows off and I remember that I have somewhat of a creative streak ... ;)

So what was your project?

[tarion-anarore.livejournal.com]

I like spring too. I can't say I have a favorite, because school kind of skews summer toward being the best season. ;) But spring is otherwise awesome, except that sometimes the gales of wind make it difficult to do anything outside besides lay there.

My project last year was making these canvas bag things as prizes for the specialty. I cut out eight silhouettes out of fabric of a moving flat coat, and entirely too many letters, and put them on the bags. Then I outlined the fabric in paint. They turned out rather well, I think. And none of my little fabric letters managed to escape. :)

[mirien.livejournal.com]

I admire you, I really do, and you make me feel utterly inadequate! I just spent two days, on and off, painting a 4.5 inch figure of one of the Final Fantasy VII characters, nowhere near as small and fiddly as the scale you are working in, ginormousness notwithstanding, and I'm frazzled.

I've been drooling over some new figures that GW have just brought out, at least I think it's them who have brought them out, I'm not really up on this stuff I will admit. Gil-galad, Elrond, Glorfindel, Erestor, Cirdan and the Peredhil twins. Me wants!

[dawn_felagund]

You admire me?? Pssh. It should be the other way around. ;)

My penchant for miniatures painting has less to do with extraordinary skill and more to do with perfect vision and very steady hands. ;)

A four-inch model would still be tough ... tougher in many ways. Faces, for example, on the scale in which I work are more an issue of getting the right colors in the right spots than trying to re-create any actual features. Also, I find blending much easier in a small space than a large one.

I don't know if the new models belong to GW or not ... I've been out of the loop for a while now. :) I ♥ the Peredhil models that I used for Meryth and Talban for Jenni. I need to get another set and paint them as ... well, Peredhil! :^D

[juno-magic.livejournal.com]

Spring? Spring? I've heard something about that ... *stares into falling mixture of rain and sleet and snow*

[dawn_felagund]

Oh, I hear you! We had gorgeous weather for two days ... then we got a snow/ice storm. Yaaaaay.

It's warming up again, thank Eru!

For both of us, here is an icon of summer nights on the southern coast of Puerto Rico ... *misses*

[juno-magic.livejournal.com]

*longing sigh*

My holidays this year will probably end up to be virtual ones to be spent in the Kingdom of Deira, being attacked by Haratin from the south and by as yet unnamed Vikings from the north. There will be dirt, and lice, and an evil, scheming Lord Seneschal, and the good men will be already taken... hrmpf.