Jeff
A Fixture
I just wanted to take the time to thank everyone here at Planet figure who have made me feel welcome. I have gotten a lot of kind words regarding the things I have posted so far. Seeing the work of some of the people who have made positive comments on my work truly humbles me. There are some true masters here.
I have always tried to be kind to people who have asked me for advice over the years. I started to gain a bit of a reputation as a figure painter back in the 80's. Back then I painted 25mm gaming figures. My best friend and I would sell figures at local Cons and once at Gen Con. I had won some contests, so I started to have people come up to me and ask for advice about painting. Even back then I always tried to be kind to people when they asked for advice. I especially liked when they would bring me something that they had painted for me to see, and ask me how they could make it better. When someone did that you could almost always be sure that they genuinely wanted to get better and really wanted to know what they could do to improve, but there were those times that it did go sour on me. When you would tell them something that they could do to make their figures better and they would get mad at me and tell me it looked great to them and storm off. Luckily those times were few and far between. I got a good sense of when some one might not really be ready to hear any thing that could be considered negative. I always started out telling people what they were doing right before I ever told them what they could improve. They were usually very grateful and my kindness would some times equal a sale of one of my figures. I never gave advice because I thought it would equal a sale. It was always something I thought I should do. It always felt right to give advice freely.
As time went by I started to get in to 54mm figures and I did fewer 25mm pieces. I discovered SCAHMS in about 1993. I got to meet people like Bill Horan and Steve Weakley, Peter Ferk in person and to see first hand how they did what they did. They were always ready to help and to teach you how to do what they did. It was like starting over getting in to that club. I had been a big fish in a small pond and now I was just a little fish in a big pond. I was made to feel welcome and got the chance to take Shep Paine's painting class. My first SCAHMS show I got a silver medal. I felt really great about that. In SCAHMS I found a lot of people who felt the same way I did that there were no secrets but that knowledge was meant to be shared.
I have tried to continue to share what ever I can with people in the hobby and have also learned to put my ego aside. To understand that there are always going to be people who are much more skilled then myself and to learn what I can form them. I have found one or two places on the web that seem to embody the same sort of feeling that knowledge is to be shared and passed on but now it is to a Global community not just a local one. The Planet is one of those places. I am very gald to have found it and I hope that I can be of service to this community.
Again let me say thank you to everyone one who has made me feel very welcome here. I still have a lot to learn. It looks as if I now have the eyes and ears so to speak of some of the best in the world.
Best
Jeff Cupernell
I have always tried to be kind to people who have asked me for advice over the years. I started to gain a bit of a reputation as a figure painter back in the 80's. Back then I painted 25mm gaming figures. My best friend and I would sell figures at local Cons and once at Gen Con. I had won some contests, so I started to have people come up to me and ask for advice about painting. Even back then I always tried to be kind to people when they asked for advice. I especially liked when they would bring me something that they had painted for me to see, and ask me how they could make it better. When someone did that you could almost always be sure that they genuinely wanted to get better and really wanted to know what they could do to improve, but there were those times that it did go sour on me. When you would tell them something that they could do to make their figures better and they would get mad at me and tell me it looked great to them and storm off. Luckily those times were few and far between. I got a good sense of when some one might not really be ready to hear any thing that could be considered negative. I always started out telling people what they were doing right before I ever told them what they could improve. They were usually very grateful and my kindness would some times equal a sale of one of my figures. I never gave advice because I thought it would equal a sale. It was always something I thought I should do. It always felt right to give advice freely.
As time went by I started to get in to 54mm figures and I did fewer 25mm pieces. I discovered SCAHMS in about 1993. I got to meet people like Bill Horan and Steve Weakley, Peter Ferk in person and to see first hand how they did what they did. They were always ready to help and to teach you how to do what they did. It was like starting over getting in to that club. I had been a big fish in a small pond and now I was just a little fish in a big pond. I was made to feel welcome and got the chance to take Shep Paine's painting class. My first SCAHMS show I got a silver medal. I felt really great about that. In SCAHMS I found a lot of people who felt the same way I did that there were no secrets but that knowledge was meant to be shared.
I have tried to continue to share what ever I can with people in the hobby and have also learned to put my ego aside. To understand that there are always going to be people who are much more skilled then myself and to learn what I can form them. I have found one or two places on the web that seem to embody the same sort of feeling that knowledge is to be shared and passed on but now it is to a Global community not just a local one. The Planet is one of those places. I am very gald to have found it and I hope that I can be of service to this community.
Again let me say thank you to everyone one who has made me feel very welcome here. I still have a lot to learn. It looks as if I now have the eyes and ears so to speak of some of the best in the world.
Best
Jeff Cupernell
