Götterdämmerung! Das Phantom. . .

Two down. . .

Just completed the Red Skull bust! As with ALVH, still the pre-Show final once-over to be done in just about a week's time. . .

Red Skull (Bust)-Painting (11): Wrapping-up 2...

The modelling on this project has officially concluded! The cigarette holder has been primed, undercoated, and mounted!! All that now remains is lacquering the holder, touching-up the flesh of the affected fingers, and painting the cigarette.

Almost there!

UPDATE - 09.02.2012. . . The holder has been lacquered and the cigarette u/c'ed.

Red Skull (Bust)-Painting (10): Wrapping-up . . .

The RK has been painted and permanently attached. The usual tweaks remain--outlining, shading, etc., but the most difficult of the "accessories" is now a fait accompli.

NEXT: The cigarette holder. . .

Red Skull (Bust)-Painting: Assembly

Managed to clear-out a little space on an all-too crowded bench with the permanent attachment of the namesake to the torso.

If I can complete the shirt-cuff tonight, this piece might be in the books by the end of the weekend!

Stay tuned!

FOLLOW-UP. . . The shirt-cuff has been completed and the forearm has been permanently attached. Save for the cigarette holder and the RK, the bust is DONE!

Red Skull (Bust)-Painting (9): Home stretch-2 ...

The collar patches and the ribbon of the EKII have been completed, as has the Eichenlaubs of the RK. All that remains to be done are the RK and the cigarette holder. Assembly will be well underway by the weekend. . . !

Red Skull (Bust)-Painting (8): Home stretch. . .

I'm definitely on the home stretch of this project, but it will be a L-O-N-G stretch, as you might have gathered.

In any case, two noteworthy events since the last posting:

1. The non-metallic portions of the collar patches were completed last night.
   
2. The torso has been transferred to the bust's permanent display base.

Slowly, but surely. . .

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. . .

Red Skull (Bust)-Painting (6): The Hand

I am fast approaching assembly time, but as "the devil is in the details", the details are giving me Hell!

To make a long story short, this bust probably won't be assembled until days before the Show! The collar patches have to be completed before I can attach the head. The torso details have to be completed before I can attach the forearm. Etc., etc. etc. Thus, the bench will likely remain cluttered until the very end. . .

But the SHOW must go on! Today, I finished the hand. I fully intend to revisit this once the forearm is attached, and before and after the cigarette holder is in place.

That's pretty much it for today. As I said, a largely unproductive weekend. . . but every little bit counts!

Red Skull (Bust)-Painting (5): Trench-coat

I got up early today so as not to lose an entire painting weekend. . . with less than three weeks to go, time is of the essence!

This morning I tackled the leather on Herr Schmidt. The trench-coat was painted using a "cool-ish" mix of Perylene Maroon and Pthalo Green. The more wear-prone areas were highlighted with umbers; the fresher areas with off-whites.

NEXT: THE DETAILS!

Red Skull (Bust)-Painting (4): Head, etc.

As planned, the head and the tunic sleeve are off the "to do" list. The head will be revisited once it is permanently attached so as to inte- grate it with the overall flow of the bust; but for now, it is done.

Rather than tie-up the afternoon with another protracted, first phase paint session, I opted to leave the hand for later--later today, tomorrow, or some time next week.

Red Skull (Bust)-Painting (3): Rt. Forearm (I)

With the tunic done in oils, it was time to pause and reevaluate the gameplan: would the forearm best be treated as an accessory? Or would the finished piece be better served by integrating it as soon as feasible into the bust?

After much deliberation, I opted for the latter. The forearm was prepped and primed yesterday, and I undercoated the leather late last night. Today, I undercoated the sleeve of the tunic. But not before I completed a small wedge of visible trench-coat lining using the approach that served me so well earlier this year.

On the slate for tomorrow is the head, the tunic sleeve, and possibly the hand. More to follow. . .

Red Skull (Bust)-Painting (2): Tunic, etc.

Anything major/involved will have to await the weekend, but I did have enough in me to tackle the [Feldgrau] tunic on Herr Schmidt. . . and I am delighted! I am very much looking forward to the decora- tions, insignia, and high-contrast "accents". Last, but not least, I glazed the teeth with tinted Liquin. Detailing and texturing to follow as needed.

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.

And now for something completely different. . .

I know some of you had begun to wonder if painting was at all in the cards this "season". . . I assure you that you would be joined by yours truly!

Nevertheless, the [2011-]2012 Painting Season has finally gotten underway, and on Friday the 13th of all days! It is my hope that from these modest beginnings, it can gather momentum with a minimum of setbacks.

To get the ball rolling, it was "Eye Day" at the bench today, with the first phase of the steely blue-greys of ALVH and the Red Skull wrapped-up. These should be completed by the end of the long weekend.

Stay tuned!

Red Skull (Bust)-Painting (1): Priming & U/C'ing

The bust is now primed. Barring any unforeseen reveals, I should have it undercoated by the end of next weekend.