Having a little fun!

So after a year's worth of working on these two items as I could (between moving, surgery, yard building, kid surgeries and daily 'Mom' stuff...not to mention a whole lot of other 'little' items!) I'm finally finally done! Woo! So with that under my belt, I trekked out into our semi frozen backyard to the dirt pile left from the pond excavation to take some fun pictures of the two sets I will be sending out this week. I've also included a picture of a Royal Show halter I created as part of a package that includes the costume on the left below...it turned out well I think.

I have noticed a certain pattern in my work, and maybe other artists/tack makers can relate. In the beginning, I was slow, things took forever it seems, but as I got better, I got fast, really fast, and now, that I find my attention for detail increasing in large leaps, I am back to slow again, does that make sense? Things that would take me three days take me a month, things that used to take a month take much much longer. I suppose it's just a natural progression, putting more and more detail into each piece and being ever more picky about what you send out into the world, it sure does impact the quality as well as the quantity, which isn't all bad, just kinda confusing. :0)

Well, back to the grindstone...there shall be more to come this week if it kills me!

Ta da!!!

Just a few quick pictures of Oberon all wrapped up, then I must go to bed (2:34 eek!) He won second place in an "other draft" class at a show in Boise ID on the 18th, I'm pretty proud of him!

I have so many more things wrapping up this week too, it's going to be crazy, but I'm working towards everything that is not for myself, or a sales piece in the works, to be out of here by Thursday the 20th! Wish me luck...:o)

Oh, and for fun I've included a pic of the Mindy I have been working on for my own collection, she turned out just how I had hoped!

Flow

There are times when 'it' just comes to you, for whatever reason, things just become more effortless, lately that has not been the case for me at all, until this week. I am seeing things differently for the first time in a long while, having lots of great nights of great progress, and that makes me feel so much better. My laundry pile has suffered due to this great burst of creative energy, but my commission pile is getting smaller and smaller! I'll put up a few pics of the most recent completions and good old WIP's, a few of which should be finished by next week, what a relief!

I think I know what I'm doing...:0)

At least it is starting to feel that way around here, lol. This little guy has been the single most difficult thing I have done in regards to finishwork, but will be one of the more rewarding tasks I have completed...when he's completed that is.

I received Mr. Oberon in the mail from England in December of last year (my that's embarrassing!) and he immediately began giving me troubles.

He had a few layers of primer and previous color on him, and needed a few tweaks before I could be satisfied enough to put my finishwork on him (mostly because I'd be horrified to have a customer find something I missed while prepping, eek!), but nothing too major. So he received a Power dissolver bath and a new prep and prime, and was ready for action...or so I thought. We received word that we would be moving, so I needed to pack up my models to get the house ready for sale, so mister Obie in his fresh new primer coat was placed away in a tote to be brought to the new house, where he would begin coming to life finally in May!

I began his coloring in a way I thought would give me good tone and balance, by pastelling a base coat, as I was aiming for a roany look at first...but he had different ideas for sure! I'm going to let the pictures do the rest of the talking (it's past 1am again...tee hee..) but I think it's a neat transformation to see the various stages he's gone through to get where I'm fairly happy with how he looks! He's still far from finished, but has come a really long way so far, finished pictures should be up within the week! Stay tuned!

(top is first pic, they get more recent as you scroll down!)

Why pictures are wonderful

I was so excited to have the seat on the blue Egyptian Dancing horse costume put together, I neglected to look at the size of the seat, so it's been changed, thank goodness for pictures! The pics also revealed that I knocked a stud or two off somehow... :0)

Off for more fun...

More fun stuff this week...

I must be on some kind of major roll this week, I have three more bodies prepped and ready to paint, along with some solid progress on an EDH costume I've had going for forever and a day!

The Egytian Dancing Horse costume is one of those things that once you sit down and get cracking on it, it can go fast! It's just wanting to sit and stare at 1.5 mm dots all day that gets me most of the time, they make my head hurt!

The bodies are for a SM painting contest I hope I will have time to get at least one of them done for, they include an OM SM Arabian stallion, an OM SM ASB made into a stallion, and an OM SM TB mare with new mane and tail and reworked ears and eyes. I'll post pics of them soon, for now I'll leave you with a pic of the EDH in progress! Off to bed! (so early for me!)

Progress, sweet progress...

Wheeee! Just finished a new piece last night- an AA Arabian Knight in Dapple Bay, and am getting closer on the other one, (that is trying to break me, but it won't work!) a leopard appy Oberon, both pieces are trade paintjobs in exchange for other minis! Once they are done, I will be once again painting for my own collection, which consist of a lot of nekkid bodies right now! It will also free me up to work on the final 4 commission tack pieces I have taken, which will be wonderful to have all done! (2 EDH costumes, a halter and a halter collar set!)