Back to Business (mostly)

Okay so I have a workspace for now until I can get the studio set up. It's really wet and rainy here at the moment, so this'll have to do. The studio is currently a spare bedroom, so I have to remove the bed and clean the floors and re-paint it before I can get the desk in there and put some shelving up. It's quite a lot to do, so I'm thankful I thought to use my computer desk.

It's lined with opened garbage bags, to prevent the overspray of my airbrush from staining the desk and wall. It's doing its job so far.

My day has been filled with thrift shopping and stripping ponies.

I found the non-woven interfacing I've been looking for all week, 5 spools of thin yarn (I use to make lariats and ropes for model horses,) a bag of embroidery floss and more yarn, a pretty cool tablecloth because why not? Electric shears, card stock, grosgrain ribbon, a new mug and glass, and a pretty nifty brief case all for $5!

And I got a free toy snake which is perfect for model horses so I'm gonna paint it up to look real.

I feel accomplished!

On top of that, I have a 5 gallon fish tank filled little more than 1/4 the way up with Mean Green and have had 4 horses soaking all week in there. That Saddlebred I received the day I moved down is still soaking because apparently the artist was INTENT that the paint stay on come Hell or high water, but with my trusty friend, "steel wool," I've gotten 50% off now. 

The stone horse in the first image (if you can see it - they're not showing on my screen) was ruined thanks to some faulty sealer, so I had to strip that as well, and it is now ready to be re-primed and re-done. It will be a sales piece. You know.... if it ever gets finished....

I also had a Classics Quarter Horse soaking in there which is now on cooldown, but will be going back in, in the next day or two. I don't like soaking them for too long, since the material Breyers are made of will easily start rotting under certain conditions, and when they start rotting, you can't do anything with them.

I'm sure you know about this, but if not, the reason why you can't do anything is because the "oils" that leak out of the plastic damages paint. Not only that, but it's contagious, and if you keep it in the same room as other models, they'll start rotting as well. So it's best to prevent it by keeping the temperature comfortable, and making sure they get plenty of air.

Which is why I give them a cooldown after a week of soaking, to allow them to get air and just "relax" so-to-speak. I'm not sure if it does anything, but it gives me peace of mind!

Other than that, there's a clydesdale filly which is mostly stripped and will be one of the first to be put on the work desk, as she's a commission order from a good friend of mine and I'd like to get her done first.

My papaw also fixed my dremel so I'll be making more zombies! I've had so many people asking me if I'm still going to create more, and the answer is YES. I have a LOT of fun sculpting them, because they force me to learn anatomy which helps with "real" horses when it comes to sculpting them. Not only that, but it's fun to explore what I can do with the zombies in the many ways to create them while following the laws of reality - which is difficult considering zombies aren't real. (That we know of.)

I'll write more on those later.

On another note, I have a Big Ben which needs some TLC. His tail is busted off, and although I have the piece, I feel like he needs a new mane and tail. So, I'm going to put that dremel to work and start hacking off his mane and Peewee Herman forelock. I'm going to keep his pose, though - I like how perfect he is for dressage.

He'll be a sales piece as well, so if he's something you're interested in, keep an eye out for his sales listing!

I'm going to Rolex this month, so there will be 3 days I won't be blogging. I hope to start getting more consistent with posting on this blog, so hopefully there'll be more tutorials and other fun things to look forward to! If you have things you'd like a tutorial on, give a holler! I'll do my best to cover everything I can!

Now, I leave you with a potato in its natural habitat. (I found it just sitting on the porch of a community building)

Over and Out!

Happy (Late) Easter!

I hope you all had fun, or at least got your bellies full!

I guess I had a good time. We had a great meal, and then watched Ghost (with Patrick Swayze) and then Dreamer (we can never deny a good horse movie.) My aunt went with her boyfriend riding around on an ATV and found a good spot to go camping this weekend, so I have that to look forward to. They said I'm coming whether I like it or not, but I came back saying it's the other way around - I'm going whether THEY like it or not. I haven't been truly camping since I was 11 so XD As much as they call them "campgrounds," RV parks are NOT camping. 

(Sorry mum.)

Anyway, I'll be back to painting horses soon, and will hopefully get my dremel fixed so new zombies can rise out of the grave. Expect a new piece in the next week or two :) 

Have a good night, everyone.

Over and out!