Maori Ariki 1840's - 120mm

[Johan]

Tony, just keep on going, I think it's going to work out well; maybe just do the tattoos a bit darker, or is this just the first stage ?

I looked into the Huia feather topic, and it seems that in the time of the figure, 1840, when maori culture was still strong, the Huia feathers were sacred and were reserved only for the elite of Maori society. The Huia was considered by Maori to be the "Guardian of the Forest" and was considered sacred.
By the end of the 19th century, when maori culture declined, and after a visit of the English King, who was presented a couple of Huia feathers, a whole bunch of maori started wearing Huia feathers (you could compare that with the Sioux warbonnets : at first reserved for the bravest warriors, by the end of the 19th century every native american tribe wore war bonnets to pose for photographers ...)
Needless to say, this may have been one of the factors that led to the extinction of the Huia.

So, unless your maori figure would be a King in 1840, better not add Huia feathers

... on the subject of rugby - no thanks, I've no ambitions to play ball against the All Blacks ... ... regardless of what William Lawsons pretends, I believe they would not be impressed at all even by a savage horde of kilted Highlanders

 

[darkeye]

dont be too hard on yerself!

hi Tony,
tough job tattoos! are you using a 'Straight' colour or is it mixed up a bit? me, i treat Tattoos like Tartan and include colours from the background in the mix so they look part of the skin rather than on top of it.
reckon yours are looking fine mate. love oils! wish they dried a bit faster though.



all the best Tony ! ____ tim

 

[Hardy]

Really enjoying seeing this one progress, tattoos look great to me. Hardy

 

[tonydawe]

Thanks for your comments guys.

Marcel, I'm working on the skin tones for the chest, arms and legs at the moment. I'm doing oils over acrylics.

Johan, the feathers will not be Huia but Kiwi. Since the Kiwi is a flightless bird, it probably wont miss those feathers anyway. You're wise not to want to play rugby against All Blacks, not unless you want them to perform free dental surgery on you.

Tim, I used straight Olive Green oils to paint the moko. I'll go over them again with a mix of Olive Green (80%) and Black (20%) for the darker shades.

Hardy, thanks mate I appreciate your comments. I'll post some more pics in a few days.

 

[dinovision79]

Hi Tony,

looks great! I like the tatoo already, sure will look even better higlughted!
I actually like the idea of displaying him with a 'totem', he's in a kind of dominant pose.

Thanks
Denes

 

[tonydawe]

Thanks Denes,

I always appreciate your comments.

I've decided against the "totem" idea mate, sorry.

I want to keep the groundwork and base simple. Just a few ferns should do the job.

 

[dannyk01]

nice painting tony, to be 100% honest, i have liked what i have seen so far of yours (and to be quite honest almost everybodys painting that i have seen on here). Nice work

Daniel

 

[tonydawe]

Hi Daniel,

Thanks mate,I hope you can make it to our club meeting next week. I look forward to showing you my latest work and also looking at your progress with your Knight.

Here's a few WIP pics showing the skin tones. They haven't been blended yet, just laying in the highlights and shadows. The right arm has been undercoated but not painted or attached to the body yet.

I'm working on the body while I wait for the oils to fully dry on the face, then I will go back and tidy up the tatoos.

 

[dannyk01]

well, I hope to see you there. This time i hope nothing stops me because last time I was asking my dad if I could go and he said no cause i was too sick

Anyway, at the meeting, would you be able to show me a the way you blend since i'm gaving a little trouble?

Daniel

 

[tonydawe]

Latest pics

Hi guys,

I've been working on my Maori ariki lately and have attached a few WIP pics to show you where I am at the moment. I've tried to improve the moko a bit and the skin tones. Family, work and the global economic meltdown have all conspired to eat into my modelling time lately but I'm trying to get back into it this week.

 

[megroot]

Excellent work Tony.

Marc

 

[Dan Morton]

Beautifully done, Tony!

All the best,
Dan

 

[Johan]

Looking very good Tony ! The Moko is turning out very neat.

Good work !!

 

[schley]

Looks great Tony

 

[tonydawe]

Hi Marc, Dan, Johan and John,

Thanks so much for your comments guys. They are greatly appreciated. Still a long way to go with this figure, but I'm pleased with the results so far.

 

[tonydawe]

Hi guys,

A few more progress pics.

Head and right arm are now glued on, but right arm still only under coated and gaps not filled yet.

I've been base coating the cloak, which is made of feathers of the flightless native bird of New Zealand, the kiwi.

Once I have all the flesh areas shaded and highlighted, I will go back over all the flesh areas with raw umber oil paint to darken the overall skin tones and give it a sheen.

It still looks pretty rough to me, but I'm getting there very slowly.

Hope you like.

 

[specmod]

Gidday mate, this figure is looking really good, tattoos are very hard to do and yours are looking pretty good so far, looking forward to some more pics as this progresses.
Am now inspired to get out my Japanese Ronin from the same producers.
Cheers Andrew

 

[tonydawe]

Thanks Andrew, I appreciate your comments mate.

I'll be posting a few more pics soon.

 

[tonydawe]

Hi guys,

I've been busy working on this figure tonight. It's still very much a work in progress and there's still a long way to go.

More work has been done on the feather cloak, although the flesh tones still require some detailed highlighting and shading.

The left hand is still only blu-taked in place, but the te moko (facial tatoos) are now finished. To say its been a huge challenge is an understatement. By far the most difficult painting task I've ever undertaken.

I'm very pleased with the results and will continue to work patiently on this figure until I'm satisfied.

Comments are most welcome.

 

[megroot]

GREAT, and again great,
I like what you have done so far.
Looking forward to the finish.

Marc