a productive week in Troy...

The Iliad inspiration continues.... While I've had these figures for quite a few years I've never managed to complete more than four or five. So, I'm feeling pretty proud of myself for getting 32 figures across home plate in the past week! Most of these, I believe are Redoubt figures, though there may be a couple Black Tree Design figures in the mix, too. 

Only 111 foot figures and 2 chariots to go. Actually, this my be my 'project' for 2022.

Ares in the house of war...

My gouache experiment left me a bit flat and unmotivated. In addition, the 'main' project on the painting desk (32 plastic hoplites) doesn't provide much inspiration either. So, I needed to complete something to regain my painting momentum. 

I don't know where the inspiration came from but I dug out some 28mm Trojan War figures I've been hoarding away forever. The Iliad has been a long term plan for me including representing the various gods and goddesses with larger figures. In fact, the old Ral Partha Titan has always struck me as appropriate for Ares, the god of war. And, there he was, with an old paint job on an unfinished base. Inspiration hit!

A little shot of mojo goes a long way. Now I've got 20 partially finished Trojan war figures on the painting desk awaiting shields and basing. And... they inspire me!

Oh, gouache... that was pretty bad...

So... I think I've learned all I need to know about using gouache paints for figure painting. I don't think so! 

The first issue is the thickness of the paints.  I knew that with a paste-like consistency they'd have to be thinned to avoid an impasto effect and to achieve any sort of flow at all. Thinning with water led to the paint beading up on the surface--something I've seen occasionally with acrylics when using gesso as a primer. But it was much, much worse with the gouache. So, I tried thinning the gouache with acrylic floor wax. (Pledge is my favorite.) That certainly took care of the beading and greatly improved the flow. But it also diluted the pigment density. Now, the high pigment density of gouache is, to my mind, the only real advantage it may have over other water soluble paints. Having to apply multiple coats of thick paint to achieve opaque coverage just isn't something I'd look forward to. STRIKE ONE!