WIP Darling of the South-Robert E Lee

[Cannonball]

Whilst waiting for a base to arrive to move things on with one of my other WIP’s Into the Jaws of Death, I decided to make a start on this 1/9th offering from Gordon Mitchell sculpted by Pavol Ovecka and Moz Corey. It’s a bust of General Robert E Lee in his Civil War attire. The face sculpture on this one is beautifully done with lots of detail around the eyes and to me it offers a very good likeness of the man himself from the pictures/portraits I’ve seen on the web. I’ve played around a little with my normal flesh mix and gone for a more pinkish base. Although the uniform might seem a little drab at first with the profusion of grey, it’s going to be interesting trying to alter the tones to differentiate between them. Oils are still wet on his frock coat and the waistcoat and shirt are still in the undercoat stage. As always, any comments/critique are welcome.

Neal

 

[misfit151]

Cracking start Neal......looking to the progresss....Mike

 

[Cannonball]

Cracking start Neal......looking to the progresss....Mike

Thanks for looking in Mike, really appreciate your comments.

 

[Viking Bob]

That's a great start Neal, nice flesh tones.

 

[KenBoyle]

Looks good Neal! Looking forward to seeing it come together.

Cheers,
Ken

 

[Cannonball]

That's a great start Neal, nice flesh tones.

Thanks very much Bob.

 

[Cannonball]

Looks good Neal! Looking forward to seeing it come together.

Cheers,
Ken

Thank you Ken, really appreciated.

 

[Grod]

I like the complexion of the face on this one Neal. Looks good.
Gordon

 

[Cannonball]

I like the complexion of the face on this one Neal. Looks good.
Gordon

Thanks Gordon. I played around a little with my normal flesh mix for something a little pinker.

 

[Nap]

Hi Neal

Catching up a bit on things ......very nice choice ..good idea on the flesh

Looking forward to seeing the grays on this

Happy benchtime

Nap

 

[grunt26]

Wonderful start! Love the flesh tones....however, Lee had brown eyes, not blue.

 

[Stonewall123]

Very nicely painted. I love those flesh tones However IMHO there's something off with the shoulders and chest anatomically. The figures left side seems larger than the right. It might just be the perspective.

 

[Cannonball]

Hi Neal

Catching up a bit on things ......very nice choice ..good idea on the flesh

Looking forward to seeing the grays on this

Happy benchtime

Nap

Thanks Nap.

 

[Cannonball]

Wonderful start! Love the flesh tones....however, Lee had brown eyes, not blue.

Thanks for that grunt26. I actually did a check on the web trying to find out his eye colour and the search suggested steel blue eyes hence that’s what I went with. If you can point me to any correct reference material that would be really appreciated and thanks for the kind comments.

Neal

 

[Cannonball]

Very nicely painted. I love those flesh tones However IMHO there's something off with the shoulders and chest anatomically. The figures left side seems larger than the right. It might just be the perspective.

Thanks For the positive comments Stonewall. I don’t know if it’s the “volume” of the left sleeve tucked right in to the body and the size of the left hand that throws things.

Neal

 

[Cannonball]

I’ve done some more on this one to the point where I think I’m going to call him finished. I’ve gone for a blue gray on the uniform jacket and waistcoat, adding a bit more blue for the waistcoat to try and vary the shade/tone(not sure it shows up that different in the photos). The hat I’ve added raw Umber to the grey to again try and give a bit of variation. I’ve changed the eye colour following on from grunt26’s info and gone back and given the the hair and beard some extra highs once dry.

 

[grunt26]

Thanks for that grunt26. I actually did a check on the web trying to find out his eye colour and the search suggested steel blue eyes hence that’s what I went with. If you can point me to any correct reference material that would be really appreciated and thanks for the kind comments.

Neal

When I was painting a Verlinden Lee bust last year, I googled it and came across Lee's records....had all his vital stats in it, and it stated brown eyes. Unfortunately I can't find the bookmark I had for it....