Completed Officer Anglo-Zulu War 1879

[NigelR]

Looking very good so far, I think your technique turned out to be very effective and the tones blend very nicely.

 

[Nap]

Hi Malc

Catching up on this a little , I like the flesh on him and the moustache has added much , stabilising the flesh work nicely.

Eyes look good as well

You've gone for the plain headdress without the plate as well

Looking forward to seeing more

Happy benchtime

Nap

 

[misfit151]

Hi Malc been following with interest. I'm an oil man myself but have been dabbling with acrylics on and off and trying to get it right via YouTube videos. Do you use acrylic retarder when mixing your colours to help with the feathering and blending.. cheers Malc .... Mike

 

[MalcC]

Looking very good so far, I think your technique turned out to be very effective and the tones blend very nicely.

Thanks Nigel.
The only downside was that the feathering in, left a sheen, but some matt varnish can remedy that.

Malc

 

[MalcC]

Hi Malc

Catching up on this a little , I like the flesh on him and the moustache has added much , stabilising the flesh work nicely.

Eyes look good as well

You've gone for the plain headdress without the plate as well

Looking forward to seeing more

Happy benchtime

Nap

Cheers Nap.

I wanted to paint him as though he was on campaign, so wanted the flesh tones to look as though he'd caught the sun,
Thus the choice of helmet.

Malc

 

[MalcC]

Hi Malc been following with interest. I'm an oil man myself but have been dabbling with acrylics on and off and trying to get it right via YouTube videos. Do you use acrylic retarder when mixing your colours to help with the feathering and blending.. cheers Malc .... Mike

Hi Mike

I was an oil man myself until I got arthritis in both hands, and at that time found it easier to paint with acrylics.
I don't use a retarder, just water to thin the paint to varying degrees.
The glazes I was applying were thinned to the maximum, and built up gradually.

Malc

 

[macuk]

A great start Malc, I really can't wait to see the first one fully painted

 

[misfit151]

Hi Malc many thanks for the reply. Thanks for the info and whatever technique you are using it's certainly paying dividends... I'll keep dabbling and hope I get something near to your results...cheers Malc and take care.... Mike

 

[Canoehead]

Late to the party on this one but it’s looking amazing so far, Malc. Love the bust, so I’m eager to see how it comes out.

Cheers,
Brian

 

[eppi]

The skin is fine painted. I'm not sure I've understood your technique.
When you say:

blending in the edges with a dry flat brush

you mean in the short while the paint is wet?

Cheers,
Eros

 

[MalcC]

The skin is fine painted. I'm not sure I've understood your technique.
When you say:

blending in the edges with a dry flat brush

you mean in the short while the paint is wet?

Cheers,
Eros

Hi Eros, yes while the paint is still wet, seems to help with the blending.

Malc

 

[MalcC]

I contacted a fellow club member, another Malcolm who is very knowledgeable on this subject, and what would be the correctcolour for the jacket, as my research was coming up with varying shades of blue.

Malcolm kindly sent me a photo of an original jacket.

I thought that may be of help to those of you who are going to paint this bust.

Malc

 

[Briggsy]

Nice jacket, the frogging and lace is rather faded as it is meant to be black.

The blue is I believe not as dark as the usual British Army Blue as in No 1 dress or full dress trousers.

Cheers Simon

 

[MalcC]

I've been working on the jacket, but I felt I had to make the shade a tad lighter then I wanted so the black lacing wouldn't get lost.
I'm going to use black glazes in oils to give the lacing more depth and re do the highlights.
The straps will be painted once I've completed the lacing.



Please click on the thumbnail for a larger image.

Malc

 

[Briggsy]

Looking very accomplished there, reckon the black will stand out nicely on him.

Cheers Simon

 

[MalcC]

Looking very accomplished there, reckon the black will stand out nicely on him.

Cheers Simon

Cheers Simon, fingers crossed it works.

Malc

 

[marco14]

it is looking very great Malc,very smooth painting
keep it up

Mario

 

[NigelR]

I think that's looking good. The real patrol jacket is a dark blue-grey, so I think your approach is working nicely.

 

[MalcC]

I think that's looking good. The real patrol jacket is a dark blue-grey, so I think your approach is working nicely.

Thanks Nigel, I've taken the shade of the jacket down a notch, and I'm happier with the colour now, although making the black lacing
stand out wasn't easy.

Malc

 

[MalcC]

As I decided not going out in Storm Ciaran I thought I spend some time at the bench.
I've taken the shade of the dark blue jacket down a notch using a glaze of Lamp Black and Indigo oils.
The lacing has been repainted in oils.
Unfortunately the lighting has made the jacket look lighter in the photo than it actually is.


Please click on the thumbnail for a larger image.

Malc