Hi Richie,

I appreciate your very kind words and thanks for sharing them. I try to capture something of the spirit of the soldier in every bust or figure that I do, which is why I don't mind putting dirt and mud over a meticulously painted face. To me the true character of a soldier is what I'm seeking to capture. The uniform details and all that stuff comes second to developing and expressing character.

Hi Mike,

Thanks for your comments mate and thanks for inspiring me to go the extra mile in terms of detailing textures into my bust.

In regards to the balance between artistic expression and historical accuracy, I have no fixed position on this subject; my thoughts swing between the two extremes and often are contradictory.

Certainly when it comes to contemporary military subjects there is no excuse for inaccurate uniforms and colour schemes as almost every item of equipment, uniform and weaponry is available in high definition colour photos or video on Google Images or YouTube. The only reason you would compromise in this regard is to illustrate a dramatic or artistic point, or where the subject is open to your own personal expression (such as the camouflage scheme I painted the SR25 on this bust).

As per my previous comment, for me the artistic goal of any military figure or bust is to try to reveal something about the character of the fighting man, and to reveal his character through his facial expressions, weathering and other effects. You can do this perfectly well, even if the uniform isn't entirely accurate, and still do justice to the subject.

I can't help project some of my own experiences into the painting of these military subjects, and try to interpret the experience of these miniature soldiers through my own eyes, and then try to paint them as the men actually were, rather than some kind of heroic, romantic, stereotype version of themselves. To me this is a more honest way to honour the service and sacrifice of the men themselves. I see you doing the same thing with your Charlie bust, which is one of the reasons why I think its such a powerful piece of artistic expression, as well as a damn fine piece of technical brilliance.

Hi Tony

The final results look fantastic and are a credit to your skills.

I love the way that the weathering has brought everything together but yet the individual colours are evident. Truly inspirational. You mention the use of pastels,how do these differ from Modeling pigments?

Looking forward very much to your next project.
Peter.

Hi Peter

Thanks very much for your kind comments mate. I'm no expert on weathering pigments but the pastels I use are effectively sticks of powdered coloured chalk. What I do is scrape the chalk into a pile of dust and add a few drops of white spirits to create a muddy paste. I then apply the paste to the model with a wet brush, create splatter effects etc. and then let it dry. If you don't like how it looks you can wash it off with a brush dipped in white spirits. I would recommend pastels called Earth Tones, if you can get your hands on them. I know nothing pigments, but I'm sure they work in a similar way.

Hi Tony.
Many thanks for your explanation on pastels. I have a few earth colours in pigments I just may have an experiment at some point in the future.

Thanks again.
Peter.

You keep raising the bar with each bust, Tony. Top work mate, beautifully painted.

Super work Tony.
It has been a brilliant masterclass following this chap taking shape to his amazing conclusion.
Many thanks for sharing this Mate.
All he very best,
Keith

Hi Carl,

Thanks for your comments mate, greatly appreciated.

No worries Peter, good luck with the pigments. let me know how you get on with them.

Hi Nick,

Thanks mate. I'm not sure I've raised the bar at all with this bust but its kind of you to say so. I always look at these pieces and see what's wrong with them, so I'm never really happy with the way they turn out. Rather than feel like I've finished a piece, I just reach a point where I decide to stop painting and say "That'll do".

Hi Keith,

You're very kind and generous to say so mate. I'm not sure this is a master class, but if you've gained something from it then I'm happy.