Catherine the Great

[Bassman]

Hey everyone. Starting a new painting project. It is Michael Miniatures Catherine the Great. It is sculpted by Aaron Brown, and the casting is very good. Here is a few pics of the face, and hair
so far. All done in acrylics. Comments are welcome, and thanks for looking.

Best Regards,
Rod

 

[FigureLover]

Wow!!! That is a great start, love the tones, great for an aging woman and not overdone
Ben

 

[Nap]

Hi Rod .

That is stunning skintones , can you share your mixes please , really like the way the hair is looking

Thanks for sharing

Nap

 

[Blind Pew]

Smashing stuff there. When doing subjects like this, you have to be amazing subtle or it won't look right. You've certainly accomplished this. Well done mate.

 

[megroot]

Beautifull work on the face. First time I see this figure.

marc

 

[ChaosCossack]

Wow Rod, that is so real looking it's a bit creepy. Skin tone, hair, great... but above all, the eyes have it!!!

Great likeness too the portrait too... Cheers to the sculptor

Colin

 

[arj]

Rod,
Your outstanding painting has brought this bust to life, and really enhances Aaron's sculpting.
Andrew

 

[clrsgt]

Great start. The face is superb. I would second Nap's request for your flesh formula.

 

[Michaelminiatures]

Rod, wow what a face , this is a very impressive bust when you paint it

 

[tomifune]

Wow, Catherine is looking.............well..........Great!!

Bob

 

[ellie]

Wow that is very well done indeed love the skin and the hair welldone to you.

ian

 

[Bassman]

Thanks everyone for the comments, and kind words! Another subject that I normally would not do, but when I saw the sculpt, well I had to take it on. Women's faces can be a challenge, since I haven't done many I had to take a different approach.
Nap, for this face I used flat flesh, with a little olive green mix as my base coat. For shadows I added scarlet, and violet to the base in small quantities applied in very thin coats to the basic shadow areas. I keep adding the color until
I get the effect I want. I add more scarlet, and violet for a darker shadow on the neck area, around the hair line, around the nose etc. Next I'll use scarlet with my base to add a little red to the cheeks, nose, chin. For my highlights I add basic
flesh color, with white. I build up my highlights like the shadows. I keep doing that until I get the desired results. I hope this helps. Everyone has there on way of doing it, and this was mine. Oh the paint I used was Vallejo, and Andrea.

I'll post more pictures as I progress with her.

Best Regards,
Rod

 

[Joe55]

This is coming out nicely Rod. I have no doubt that it will be an exceptional piece when done!

Joe

 

[Bassman]

Here are a few pics of the progress. The face, and hair are just about done, along with the frills of the dress, and fur on the collar. Finished the dress with help from Mike Cramer, who sent some close-ups of the dress. Applied the base coat of the
rear, and sides of the robe, which in the photos are shown much darker than it really is. Finished the St. Andrew's cross on the bottom of the necklace, and early colors block in on the rest. A lot more to do, but I can see the finish line.
More pictures to come. If you have any questions, let me know.
Thanks for looking,

Rod

 

[tonydawe]

Wow, that's exceptionally good painting Rod. Lovely skintones.

 

[Colin_Fraser]

That really is good. The sculpt is terrific and your painting really picks it up.

Colin

 

[Michaelminiatures]

The dress is exceptional! WOW

 

[Nap]

Rod ,

That is brilliant work on those fleshtones ..as others have said ..well ...just great

If I may the hair and eyes are for me what really brings this out

The dress is wonderful

Tempted to get this one

Any chance of showing the dress pictures you have

Thanks for sharing

Nap

 

[Zastrow.cuirassier]

Great ! and what about a Potemkine Bust. Grigori, not the Ship !

Prince Grigori Alexandrovich Potemkin: Russian statesman; born 24 September 1739 in the village of Chizhovo, Russia. As a member of the Chevalier Guard, he participated in the palace coup that ousted Peter III. By 1774 he had become a favorite of Catherine the Great, and for the next 17 years he was the most powerful man in the Russian Empire. Potemkin died 5 October 1791.
Potemkin was appointed governor general of New Russia by Catherine the Great with instructions to open and settle the newly acquired territory in the South. Potemkin accomplished this task by resettling Russian peasants and settling foreign pioneers, by founding cities (seeKherson and Ekaterinoslav [now Dnipropetrovsk]), developing roads, and planting forests and vineyards. The war with Turkey, which broke out in 1787, came inopportunely for him, but the acquisition of Crimea in 1783 was one of his achievements. Upon the suggestion of Count Peter Rumyantsev (1725-1796), a Russian general, Catherine sent George von Trappe as her plenipotentiary to invite foreign settlers, with an especial commission to the Danzig Mennonites, whose pioneering capabilities had come to the attention of the Russians in the Seven Years' War. As governor general of Little Russia Count Rumiantsev was much interested in agriculture, and in 1770 he had permitted theHutterian Brethren, who had been designated as Mennonites by the immigration laws, to settle on his Vyshenka estate in the province of Chernigov. After Rumyantsev's death the Hutterian Brethren established a Bruderhof at Radichev. In other respects also the Hutterian Brethren were the forerunners of the Mennonites in settling in Russia.
Potemkin, whose colonizing achievements have been described by Theresia Adamczyk, in 1786 received in Dubrovna on the Dnieper Jakob Höppner and Johann Bartsch, the delegates sent by the Danzig Mennonites to examine the land offered by Catherine. In the spring of the following year the delegates were received at Kremenchug by Catherine in the presence of her dignitaries, and also, on the return journey, by Paul, the heir apparent to the throne. They had selected the region of Berislav, not far from Kherson, for settlement, but "on account of warlike events" (Heese) were compelled by Potemkin to settle in the Chortitza area in the district of Ekaterinoslav, the capital of which Potemkin was planning to make the center of the Black Sea region.

 

[Bassman]

Thank you for all your comments. It's been awhile, due to the holidays since I've posted. The face, hair, and crown are done, and I re-painted the cloak. I have posted a picture of the Order of St. Andrews to show the type of detail is involved.
That has been completed, and I think it came out ok. All that is left of this project is painting the eagles on the rear of her cloak....another challenge. Here are a few more pics. As always, comments are welcome.
Rod