A vain attempt to dust off my brushes

[Wings5797]

Hello one and all,
Having not posted anything for a while and sitting on a stack of sculpts waiting painting I decided that I should make an effort to get the brushes out and do a little figure painting. I picked up this French cavalryman from Bonapartes at Euro a good number of years ago. The casting is made mainly from a porcelain like resin and white metal. For the paint I have used water soluble oils and only five colours; yellow, red, blue, white and black…….oh and satin gold enamel.
The figure is built straight out of the box with the exception of the Sabretache which is made from scratch.

All the very best,

Keith

 

[zane666]

Well done for only 5 colours, my hat goes off to people who can achieve this.

regards Zane

 

[Wings5797]

Hi Zane,
Many thanks for your comments.
It is pretty good fun using the colour wheel to see what can be achieved.
All the best,
Keith

 

[Nap]

Hi Keith,

Good to see those brushes swirling again ..and a real nice result ..and using water soluable oils as well ...how did you find them to use ?

Come on now ..get those sculpts you have done in line on the bench

Hope all is well

Thanks for sharing

Nap

 

[Blind Pew]

Good stuff mate - keep 'em coming.

 

[Wings5797]

Hi Keith,

Good to see those brushes swirling again ..and a real nice result ..and using water soluable oils as well ...how did you find them to use ?

Come on now ..get those sculpts you have done in line on the bench

Hope all is well

Thanks for sharing

Nap

HI Kevin
Yes all is well with Me, l have been traveling around a bit this summer which is ok for Milliput but a tad difficult for oil paint,drying time and brush cleaning.
I am pleased that you like this effort with water soluable oils. I found them good to paint with and easy to mix when using a limited colour pallet. I tested them out on a canvas painting and got on well with them so I ventured on to this old figure camping out in the rear ranks of of my grey army.
Always good to hear from you Mate, Speak soon and all the very best,
Keith

 

[Wings5797]

Good stuff mate - keep 'em coming.

Many thanks BP.
I am more than a little rusty in the paint laying department but hope to do better with practice.
All the very best Mate
Cheers
Keith

 

[megroot]

That's a incredible result for only 5 colours.

Marc

 

[Wings5797]

Thanks for looking in Marc.
I got the five colour idea from a French Guy here on pf. He is a real master at this method and gets more colours out of the five than I can dream of.
I would reccomend it to anyone of only to see if what you can produce for highlights and shadows.
So get the colour wheel out and give it a go.
All the very best Mate,
Keith

 

[ChaosCossack]

Well done Keith! Way to go after the 5 colour challenge... you've pulled it off in (5) flying colours!

Never seen this fig before... Is it still in production and what is the scale? I assume 120mm.

What's next on the bench?

Colin

 

[Wings5797]

Hi Colin,
Many thanks for your more than generous comments.
I tried to get a fix on when I bought this figure and it must be circa 12 years ago. He measures up at 150mm and sadly is no longer on the Bonaparte's web sight. They may still have the kit to cast it again.
Details
Bonapartes
46 Queens Road
Westbury
Wiltshire
BA13 3LZ

TEL: 00447964 679880
EMAIL: [email protected]

For My next piece(s)...........
Sculpting- Bust of SAS in Afghanistan 2007 and contemporary bust fro le Tour de France.
Painting list- far too many to list, sample from the list; duo 7th Royal Fusiliers 1812 200mm sculpt , duo 17th Lancers 1854 (one mounted) 120mm conversion.
Thanks again Colin its always refreshing to hear from you,
All the best,
Keith

 

[Richie]

Hello old mate,
That's some going Keith with a "limited palette", we know you can mix just about anything from those colours, but still a great challenge and from what I can see from the photo's very well executed.
Did you get frustrated or was the helping hand of the colour wheel a good friend? I think I would get frustrated. Nice to see you back on the brushes again, got to say not my area, but the sabretache looks well done.

Looking forward to the next finished project, with all those you've got on, sounds as cluttered as my bench.
cheers
Richie

 

[Wings5797]

Hi Richie,
Thanks for your supportive comments Mate.
It was good fun using the colour wheel to establish all of shades needed for every colour on the figure. I did have black in my colours but could and should have eliminated it from my list.
As for my studio it is 3 x 4 M and is full to breaking point; modeling materials, paints, tools, reference matter...all medias and WIP=60% Musical instruments and associated kit 20% and 10% sitting down space to use all of the above. Not good I know but within a little I can pretty much lay my hands on what I need at any one time (ish).
I hope that all is well with you my Mate.
All the very best,
Keith

 

[swralph]

Nicely painted Keith.
Ralph.

 

[smudger1960]

Congratulations Keith on an extremely difficult looking figure,you've captured the colours very well,congratulations mate

 

[Wings5797]

Congratulations Keith on an extremely difficult looking figure,you've captured the colours very well,congratulations mate

Many thanks for your kind comments Brian.
I have to say that the sculpt made the braiding very paint brush friendly.
It was a lot of fun just using 5 tubes of paint and a colour wheel........nowhere near to your level Mate but I'm happy.
All the very best,
Keith

 

[Wings5797]

Nicely painted Keith.
Ralph.

Hi Ralph
I hope all is well with you.
Many thanks and I am pleased that you like this old boy.
Always good to hear from you my friend,
Keith

 

[Eludia]

Very nicely done Keith

WMO are my weapon of choice too, I find them very forgiving but I haven't been brave enough to try such a limited palette. I've been using W&N Artisan range (i.e. the whole range...don't laugh) but I also have a Holbein Duo Aqua starter set knocking about somewhere (Yellow, Red, Blue and White) which I'm keen to try out so, taking inspiration from you, I'll lock the Artisan away somewhere and just use the Holbein for my next project. I think I'll miss my beloved Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber though

As a matter of interest, would you mind sharing your palette and also how you got your skin tones from the limited palette?

 

[smudger1960]

Many thanks for your kind comments Brian.
I have to say that the sculpt made the braiding very paint brush friendly.
It was a lot of fun just using 5 tubes of paint and a colour wheel........nowhere near to your level Mate but I'm happy.
All the very best,
Keith

You've done a very good job mate,don't under sell yourself,this figure looks a real challenge,When it comes to napoleonics I think chassuers and hussars are some of the most difficult to paint

 

[malc]

Limited pallet, what a great idea, however if you have developed a style using everything under the sun then stick with it a develop to even finer detail, however if just starting out what better place to start.