Un soir à lui...(An evening to himself)

For Atlanta this coming year, I really wanted a 120mm figure that would stand out; one that I could pour my heart into in respect to my long time mentor Bob Knee, Jr.

Bob's influence on me not only as a person, but as a painter is something I treasure; Atlanta will have a different feel for me this year, and I'll deeply miss my friend. This 120mm Swiss Grenadier Officer from Verlinden was the last figure that Bob talked with me about, and he was looking forward to working with me to bring him alive... So this winter, I'll bring him to life just as Bob had planned.

I started out working in components, since I've found that with these large 120's the upper and lower torso's when split from one another are a lot easier to paint. I started as I usually do with the fleshtones undercoating with JoSonya acrylic paints (tanner yellow) and then after letting it sit a couple days, I applied the oil base. Using a mix of burnt sienna, mars yellow, cadium red and a touch of titanium white. I mixed this to a flesh tone and added just a touch of green to the mix in order to tone it down just a touch. Once I was happy with the base coat I started to add the highest highlights and lay in the eyes.

I wanted this Officer to have a veteran feel to him, so I decided to go with greying hair. I started with an undercoat from JoSonya that was mixed from brown earth and black. Once it had dried, I mixed a small amount of burnt umber and lamp black together and that became the base color for the figure's hair. I took some titanium white and just worked in the color right on the mustache and eyebrows to get a grey tone. I added some violet to the oil base color and used that for shading and contrast. Once the fleshtones are compeletely finished, I'll go back over and bring out the highest high points on the mustache and eyebrows. Here's a quick shot of the fleshtones after a couple session working the hightlights and shadows:

The plume came from my spares box, and is painted in black and then drybrushed with varying tones of red and white. My technique for the bearskin was to start with a dark tone, much like the mix I used for the base for the hair, and then bring out the contrasting browns as highlights. I shaded with lamp black.

The gold cords are done using Lou's technique for painting non-metallic metallic's adapted to oils. I started with a brown mix of mars yellow and gold ochre with a touch of burnt umber. Once that was on, I let it sit for a day, and then came back with gold ochre and napels yellow (hue) and started to bring out the contrasting gold tone. After the gold tone was laid on, I went back in and deepened the shadows to give the contrast to the colors.

The metal crown and eagle were painted in the same manner of the cords, but I added just a touch of brass and gold printers ink to the mix to simulate a brass plate.

Up next, setting the scene.