Idle musings

[Ron Tamburrini]

I certainly do not consider myself an artist ,I am a model maker and painter of figures .
Now there are some guys on PF who can and do paint on canvas and are artists ; semi professional ie they sometimes get paid for there work .
The Pierre Conrad plates are art and he also painted historex stuff many moons ago .
Most people you show your models to don't see past the toy soldier in front of them and are oblivious to the skills required to get a professional finish.

I have seen in modelling clubs the guys who struggle to get a decent finish on anything they do , and actually look away from the quality stuff in there club , but thats a different story.

Just some thoughts

 

[TADATSUGU]

"I was thinking far too hard about what it is that we do the other day" and it led me to a couple of questions.

Isn't that the problem kenshin? We're all getting too worried about creating "ART".
Nothing wrong with "reaching for the moon" of course, but by thinking of the hobby as high art, we are forgetting it is a hobby, and as such, it should be fun, not stress-inducing.
I make models for my own amusement. I don't care if it achieves somebody else's Gold medal standard or not. I just take on board other peoples advice and try to improve my technique a little each time.

"Now, here's a difference, varnishes and mettallics. Not a lot of mettallic paint used in a Vermeer, van Hals didn't use a satin varnish to bring skin tones to life".

Vermeer or van Hals had nowhere near the range of product we have easily available to us. My point? - they had no choice but to use a limited palette, we do.

I started modelling figures in the 1970's when it was enough to simply suggest shading with a few basic tones. Things have now become more sophisticated, and quite rightly so, but I've always thought the hobby has evolved into two quite different mind sets;- that of Modelers, and that of Painters; not mutually exclusive, but each demonstrating different priorities.
"Painters" (as I call 'em) seem keyed into the idea of using paint technique exclusively to represent everything. I've seen them rant about people using decals! but nobody ever goes to an AFV or Aircraft modeller and complain that their roundels or information signage isn't hand painted; so why should we?

Those pics posted here by Forte are superb. To me they do demonstrate successful attempts to portray an artistic idea, ( i.e. the suggestion of a virtual landscape surrounding the figure), but that doesn't mean we all have to go that way to create a figure that we will be happy with for ourselves.
As far as I'm concerned, I consider myself a modeler, not an artist. It is the final look of a figure that is the important thing to me, not how it has been achieved. I will always try to paint something if I can, but I am still happy to use any number of pre-printed sheets (no-one ever used a Verlinden map or poster?), decals, varnishes or metallic paints if they achieve a better finish than my wobbly old hands can manage.
Just enjoy it, do it for yourself no someone else, and don't lose any sleep over it.

 

[Eludia]

It's a tough one, sometimes it's art, sometimes it's just colouring-in (posh, expensive colouring-in but still colouring-in nonetheless)

I tend to agree with Adrian that most of the time this is a skilled craft rather that an art form. We don't really create anything, we just add colour to something that's already been created, a bit like painting a house. We just try and posh it up a bit with some dark bits here and there, and some lighter bits here and there.

I say most of the time because there are a few examples where a sculpted miniature/bust has been used as a blank 3D canvas for some amazing freehand work which are works of art in their own right and would still be the same regardless of what they were painted on.

 

[Eludia]

But if you sculpt your own stuff.......

 

[Ray Stout]

One of the main problems of lighting, and Highlighting, is the Judging Area!! What looks great on your bench, can look completely diffrent on a Competition Table. We, have the control of the direction of light on our benches when painting, but no control at all on a Competition Table!! Hence, some figures look completely diffrent. The ONLY way to maitain this control, is to box it. I remember viewing Shep Paine's Nightwatch, and then saw that there were controls to change the intensity and direction of his lighting, built in, so, if required, it could become, The Dawnwatch, or indeed ANY time of day!! I honestly believe if a figure is well painted, it should stand up to MOST lighting conditions, except full sunlight. As for the Old Masters, I believe, that most painters in this Hobby are creating "Tomorrow's Antiques". Ray.

 

[rossbach]

Fully agree about painting descriptions in magazines...I rarely find them helpful, except when they list the colours used. Sometimes they even make me smile...when the author thanks his family for example..like the article were the result of years of hard work...

And I thought I was alone in smiling when reading that an author thanks his family......................

 

[Forté]

And I thought I was alone in smiling when reading that an author thanks his family......................

Well, I suppose it's thanking them for keeping out the way and not asking silly questions while painting is happening.

 

[peedee]

Well, I suppose it's thanking them for keeping out the way and not asking silly questions while painting is happening.

.

I most enjoyed the moment when they stopped asking why have you bought another
..you've already got one...I suppose I could thank them for that.

Paul.
and

 

[billyturnip]

.

I most enjoyed the moment when they stopped asking why have you bought another
..you've already got one...I suppose I could thank them for that.

Paul.
and

WHAT!!? When do they stop asking that?

 

[Forté]

I'm still trying to find an answer for the "so it's painted. Now what are you going to do with it?" question.