WIP Veteran British Para

[Cannonball]

This is my take on one of Gordon Mitchell’s recent releases, a bust of a veteran Para, sculpted by Pavol Ovecka. It’s very early days yet with a start made on the face and beret. The bust is an absolute cracker, the detail is crisp and the face is superbly sculpted. The oils on the beret are still wet at present and I’ve tried to portray a paler skin tone on this one but the pictures don’t seem to convey that quite as well as it is in the “flesh”. I’m running this alongside another of Gordon’s busts, the other being Pavol’s interpretation of the French leader, Charles de Gaulle. I picked both of these up from Gordon at the recent Bolton show and if anyone’s contemplating purchasing either you won’t be disappointed, particularly if faces are your thing.

Thanks for looking,

Neal.

 

[francis]

very nice already

 

[Cannonball]

very nice already

Thanks Francis.

Neal.

 

[Chris Oldfield]

Excellent work, Neal - I like the way you've painted the face, & the maroon beret colour is spot 0n.
Continuing to watch with interest.

 

[misfit151]

Wow Neal that's a character and a half..... Looking great already...Mike

 

[Nap]

Hi Neal

Hopefully the PO will deliver mine very soon...it's a subject I am surprised has not been released before so all credit to the company

Great start on the piece ,what's the colour mix for the beret ?

The facial features look good

You going for a dark blue/ black or a maroon jacket ?

Following with interest

Happy benchtime

Nap

 

[Steve Ski]

Woof, you wasted no time getting rolling on this beauty. Beautiful start and I love the color for the cap!

 

[Cannonball]

Excellent work, Neal - I like the way you've painted the face, & the maroon beret colour is spot 0n.
Continuing to watch with interest.

Really appreciated Chris.

Neal.

 

[Cannonball]

Wow Neal that's a character and a half..... Looking great already...Mike

Really appreciate the comments Mike. The sculpt on the face is superb, like you say, so full of character.


Neal

 

[DaddyO]

What a fabulous character and great bit of work by the sculptor (A really nice start on the painting too Neal)

Busts and not really my 'thing' but occasionally one comes along . . . .

Paul

 

[Cannonball]

Hi Neal

Hopefully the PO will deliver mine very soon...it's a subject I am surprised has not been released before so all credit to the company

Great start on the piece ,what's the colour mix for the beret ?

The facial features look good

You going for a dark blue/ black or a maroon jacket ?

Following with interest

Happy benchtime

Nap

Thanks for the comments Nap. I think I’m going white shirt, grey jumper and black blazer. I’m still trying to work out if the pocket badge on the blazer is a shield with the Para’s emblem on and if it is should it be black or maroon background. As for the colour mix for the beret I used Vallejo 70.926 Red as the base then an oil mix of Cadmium Red and Madder Brown with the addition of some Purple Lake and Alizarin Crimson then a touch of Naples Yellow. The shading was the addition of more Madder Brown and a touch of black to the base colour and Naples Yellow for the highlights. It was a bit of trial and error for the base colour but quite pleased with the way it’s turned out in the end.

Neal.

 

[Cannonball]

Woof, you wasted no time getting rolling on this beauty. Beautiful start and I love the color for the cap!

Thanks Steve, really appreciated.

Neal.

 

[Cannonball]

What a fabulous character and great bit of work by the sculptor (A really nice start on the painting too Neal)

Busts and not really my 'thing' but occasionally one comes along . . . .

Paul

Thanks Paul. I must admit that I’ve only gotten into doing busts in the last 12-18 months or so but there are some really great ones out there and I couldn’t pass up the chance of having a crack at such a beautifully sculpted face.

Neal

 

[Grod]

Great start Neal.
Gordon

 

[Henkm]

Great detail in the face, you're bringing it out nicely.

 

[akaryu]

What a character! Excellent work on the beret too!

Pierre

 

[Nap]

Thanks for the comments Nap. I think I’m going white shirt, grey jumper and black blazer. I’m still trying to work out if the pocket badge on the blazer is a shield with the Para’s emblem on and if it is should it be black or maroon background. As for the colour mix for the beret I used Vallejo 70.926 Red as the base then an oil mix of Cadmium Red and Madder Brown with the addition of some Purple Lake and Alizarin Crimson then a touch of Naples Yellow. The shading was the addition of more Madder Brown and a touch of black to the base colour and Naples Yellow for the highlights. It was a bit of trial and error for the base colour but quite pleased with the way it’s turned out in the end.

Neal.

Hi Neal

Thanks for the beret details

Like the gray jumper idea , nice contrast with the tie

As for blazer ..this is from the Para museum shop



There's also these after a Google ..



Saw this as well ..

some great pictures of veterans with badges and of course medals ...RESPECT

Happy benchtime

Nap

 

[Steve Brodie]

awesome start, fantastic face painting and sculpt. respect to them all.

 

[Cannonball]

Great start Neal.
Gordon

Thanks Gordon. That face is a joy to paint, Pavol’s done you proud with this one.

Neal

 

[Cannonball]

Great detail in the face, you're bringing it out nicely.

Thanks Henk, really appreciated.

Neal