"The Ripper" (bka Divio Juckal)

This posting is embarrassingly L-O-N-G overdue. And while the image that follows is a vast improvement over some past postings, there is still much work to be done in learning the idiosyncrasies of the DSLR.

Be that as it may, and without further ado. . .

Divio Juckal -- Painting (VII): Loping to the finish line. . .

I know this is a bit premature, but after today's work, I can now deem this piece [all-but-] DONE!!! And to hallmark the event, I have moved the thread  to the "Completed Projects" folder.

Aside from final finishing and detailing, all that truly remains is assembly and mounting. Barring any last-minute surprises, this should be accomplished over the weekend. That will then give me a couple of days of "digestion", and two days to correct any oversights. By Friday morning, he should be more than ready for registration. . .

Images will follow sometime after the Show, as I have yet to receive any response to my query re: pre-Show exposure. . .

UPDATE 11.05.2013. . . Juckal is now completely assembled, and permanently mounted on its display base. Once the epoxy has fully cured, I will begin the "final finishing"; but to be honest, save for "punching-up" the fur on the mane, detailing the hind claws, and glazing the eyes, this piece is display-ready. 

A most enjoyable fortnight or so. . .

Divio Juckal -- Painting (VI): Home Stretch

The piece is coming together much quicker than I had anticipated--save for the hands and facial details (eyes, teeth, etc.), domnului Juckal is essentially done!

Which means, of course, that I still have a pack's worth of work ahead of me! The groundwork has been undercoated and is now "curing". I will hopefully begin to apply oils, etc. within 48 hrs. And then there is the final finishing and detailing of the figure itself. . . 

Best get back to it. . .

FOLLOW-UP. . . The hands are now painted, and the first coat of oils is on the base. . . The finish line--he muttered trepidatiously--is now in sight!

Divio Juckal -- Painting (V): Fur

The integration of the "clean" inside of the shirt with its hirsute surroundings is well underway. . . as is now the fur!  

The fur is at once the easiest of items to paint on this figure due to the superb definition provided by the sculptor and the outstanding casting; as well as the most difficult! The fur will determine the success of any rendition of this piece. I am taking my chosen multimedia approach very slowly, and will continue working on it well past the figure being mounted on its display base. The trick is not to overwork it at any one sitting so as to compromise the already-done work. 

So far, I am delighted!!! But this is but Phase 1. There will be at least one more intermediate phase before the final shadowing and highlighting are done (Phase 3). And all this with less than 2 weeks to go. 

Best get back to it. . .

Divio Juckal -- Painting (IV): Shirt

The inside of the shirt is now in oils. I opted for a slightly blue-biased warmish green that will be weathered and stained accordingly once dry and permanently attached. It is currently under the lamp, and hopefully it will be ready for mounting on Saturday. 

On track. . .  

FOLLOW-UP 04.05.2013. . . The shirt has been permanently attached successfully! Very little touch-up work to be done. Once the adhesive has set, I will spend the majority of the rest of the day reworking the shadows to enhance the depth of the additional layer just added. . . 

Once that is done, I move on to the fur and final detailing. . .

Divio Juckal -- Painting (III): Flesh - UPDATE

The flesh, save for the hands, is now done! Well, nearly so. The primary application of paint is done; however, this project will demand constant revisiting and touch-ups/enhancements due to the effect of sparse fur--some sculpted, some not--over "human" flesh.

I will set the figure aside through Monday, concentrating on the accessory pieces: the shirt and the hands. These I will hopefully have u/c'd by tonight. [DONE]

Stay tuned!

Remember Divio Juckal? Painting (III): Flesh

About 15(!) months ago, I decided to shelve a project that, up to that point, was proceeding quite splendidly. And in a rare (for me!) urge to paint while the days get longer and the temperatures warmer, that same project is now front and center on the painting bench!

I've decided to go well off the beaten path with this one. Glazing with "wet palettes" using linseed oil as my "solvent". Instead of opaque/semi-opaque earth tones for the flesh tones, I've opted for transparency, resorting to the opaques only in the deepest shadows--or where I want to create a tonal light trap or an emphatic gradient. You get the idea. . . I'm having fun, where the only thing that matters is the realization of a vision.  

The flesh is now approximately 70% done. The only unpainted areas that remain are the left leg and the hands.

As to images, that might have to wait until [well after?] the piece is completed. First of all, the linseed oil sheen is too "hot". Secondly, I plan to enter this piece in the Road to the Crystal Brush Qualifier at CMON Expo, and I have yet to receive an answer re: the extent of pre-Show exposure permissible. Finally, my camera is currently on its last leg, and I don't know if it is up to the task.

More to follow!

Monday. . .

The prep of ALVH's groundwork has been completed. I may have to fine-tune the putty-work a bit once the masking tape is removed and the one-figure vignette is mounted; but, the overall work is done!

Once that was done, I turned my attention to Herr Schmidt. I began paring away at the seemingly endless "minutiae" that must be completed before I can even begin to contemplate the consolidation of the five pieces of this bust.

Today, I tackled the Waffenfarben of the collar patches, painting them a Giftgrün. By the end of this week, I hope to have the collar patches done--or all-but. I also base-coated the EKII ribbon, lightly shading the folds and blocking-in the black outer columns.

I also decided that Divio Juckal will probably not make it to the Show this year. There are less than three weeks to go, and I do not feel that is sufficient time to realize my vision of this piece with but two full weekends between now and the Show. . .

More to follow. . .

Day 2 of painting. . .

A VERY busy day. . . and tiring.

The face/head on AVLH is now all-but-done. There will undoubtedly be some tweaks here and there in the days and weeks to come, but it is essentially done.

The eyes on the Red Skull are now finished--all the remains to be done is the final glazing. Ditto for the teeth. While I was at it, I went ahead and painted the visible shirt collar. Once the latter is dry, and I paint the collar on the trench coat and tunic, the head will be ready to attach permanently.

I completed the u/c'ing on DJ, so he is now ready for the oils.

Which brings us to the White Ape. As this will be a L-O-N-G bench session, it's the only thing on the slate for tomorrow.

Divio Juckal-Painting (II): U/C'ing Fur

After a grueling 11+ hrs. at work, this evening was spent u/c'ing the fur on our werewolf. Or, at least most of it. While I fully intended to do the flesh in oils before tackling the fur, upon further reflection that would have set me up for some harrowing contretemps down the line.

I now have about an hour or two of u/c'ing left on ol' DJ, and then we can focus on the whole canvas with the oils.

More to follow. . .

Divio Juckal -- Painting (I): U/C'ing Flesh

I am trying to get at least an hour's worth of bench-time per night--so far, so good. . .

Tonight was spent u/c'ing the hairless areas on our vârcolac. I used Reaper's Yellowed Bone and Vallejo's Beige-Red in a loose, free-mixed application. It was more important to get a feel for the topography/ contours of the sculpture than it was to effect absolute coverage. I also took advantage of the "wetness" of the Reaper base colour to block in some salient highlights, etc. Again, as much an exercise in familiarization as it was a warm-up with the brushes.

A very satisfying outing: not too demanding with great results. The next step on DJ will be the hairless flesh in oils with a transitional grisaille along the edges of the fur. . .

Stay tuned!