Thanks Ralph, much appreciated

Hi Billy,
I been travelling around a bit and am trying to catch up .....when possible.
Having missed this post, it has been great to catch up with this beautiful piece.
Awesome brushwork Mate, colour choice is first class. Have you used the 5 colour pallet? If so that turquise blue is very good.
Well done Billy, look forward to your progress.
Keith

Thanks for your kind words Keith, I really appreciate it

I'm still using a limited palette (but not as limited as the Zorn palette for this piece). My main box contains 6 colours (warm and cool primaries) + white but I also have a secondary (comfort blanket) box for convenience colours, mainly earth tones like Yellow Ochre, Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna etc. that I dip into now and again but I stick to my main colour selection whenever I can.

On this project (so far) I've used:

Winsor Blue (Green Shade)
Winsor Lemon
Permanant Rose
Yellow Ochre
Raw Umber
Burnt Umber
Burnt Sienna
Titanium White

So, as you can see, not as limited as the Zorn palette but I'm still not being swamped by a huge selection of paints which is still quite liberating (and very satisfying, I like a simple life)

Nice work Billy, there's a lot to be said for using, or trying to in my case, a limited palette.

Thanks Roger, although, having seen what you do, I think you're underselling yourself somewhat

I need to be more disciplined for painting with a limited palette, I can't help reaching into the paint box and taking the lid off another tube.

Lol, my solution was to start painting in the lounge in front of the telly and leave the majority of my paints out in the shed. If I bring too much paint in then I get a "look" from the long haired General then I know I've overstepped the mark

Actually that's quite an easy solution for me as all my painting stuff goes up in the loft when I come away to sea, perhaps I should try leaving most of them up there.
But what if I don't bring the right ones down?

A little more progress (mainly in her mid section)



Now to decide on a hair colour

Looking really good Billy.
Those colours really work well together.
I am pleased that you are enjoying painting with colour restriction. I am amazed when I see hundreds of colours in the background of some posts on these websites.
As I have been on the move a lot this year I have two small plastic boxes for ten tubes of paint red, blue, yellow, white and black acrylic in one and ditto in the other but oils. I am however thinking that like L S Lowry I may use yellow ochre in place of cadmium yellow.
All the best Mate.
Keith

Cheers Keith

Yellow Ochre is a good choice of yellow, it's excellent for skin tones and it tints really nicely with white to give a nice bright pale yellow. I don't think I'd ditch the CY for it though, there's room in your world (or your box) for both surely, especially considering the price of CY

This is my main painting box in varying states of undress, the 2 jars contain zest-it (one for cleaning, the other for thinning). This is the 6-colour palette recommended by W&N but I don't think the "warm" yellow is warm enough so I'll probably swap that out for CY. Otherwise, there's not much you can't mix from this lot. If I had room for one more paint then it'd probably be Burnt Umber, for mixing black.

For completeness, I suppose I'd better reveal my backup box of extra convenience colours. The 4 in the box hardly ever get used, I just like to have single-pigment secondary colours on hand for when I can't be a***d mixing them, so I have a green, orange and purple in there. I have no excuse for the Cobalt Turquoise, I bought it on impulse and I've not used it yet...£18 wasted.



The 4 in front of the box get used quite regularly and I'll probably shift them to my main palette, when I get a bigger box.

Its taken a lot of time....and cash...and a shed full of paint, to arrive here (if only I'd known this when I got back into the hobby a couple of years ago)

Hi Billy
There has been a huge increase in the price of paint for hobbyists and painters that's for sure. I am amazed that anyone would pay so much cash for ten shades of the same colour in one box.
Interestingly not only is our colour choice similar as makes no odds but our paint boxes are too, though mine have a whiff of French supermarkets about them.
Keep on waving the flag for reduced pallet colours Mate.
As an aside are you planing to visit the Gravesham Military Modelling open day in October?
All the best,
Keith

Its a bit far for me Keith so soon after Euro. And I think I'll still be repairing the damage that Euro will have done to my bank balance at that time methinks. Its a shame though, it would've been nice to have a chat. Will you be at Euro?

A bit more progress on Enchantment....



I've smoothed out some of the blends and base coated the metal bits with Burnt Umber, ready for some more work today. Initial work on the hair is done too, I went for auburn hair in the end. I don't know if that was the right choice (Mrs E doesn't think so, but she's a brunette ) It'll soon be time to decide on a colour for her little pet, anyone would think I'm making this up as I go along

Hi Billy.
Coming along well.
I have to admit that I'm a bit of a paint Junkie.I do mix my own colour's when needed,but most of the time I want an easy life and just reach for a tube.

Beautiful piece Billy. Great subtle colours, the leathers turned out well and its a really nice sculpt.
Curious to see what you do with the wee dragon.

Colin

Thanks for your kind words guys

Don't be fooled Ralph, I literally have a shed full of paint. I'm just enjoying my/our hobby more at the minute by working with only a few of them. It's a great way to get to grips with colour theory, I'm still a relative newbie but I like to think I'm learning something with each figure - and, more importantly, I'm enjoying the journey

At the minute I'm thinking of painting the dragon in red/orange tones Colin, I think it'll contrast nicely with the turquoise/claret/yellow combo of the main figure. I'll see how it looks when the paint is on though - as always, the final vetting will be made by Mrs E (women know all this colour harmony s**t from birth)

I understand Mate.
I don't know why but I thought that you were in Tilbury. I will be here in Cap d' Agde until the end of September but I will be in the UK at the middle of October. Should you have been in Tilbury I could have met you off of the Ferry and driven to the venue. Never mind another time.
Enchantment is looking really good, will you be taking it to Euro?
All the very best,
Keith

No, I won't be taking anything to show at Euro Keith, just a big shopping list. This will be my first year so I'm just going down to enjoy the show. Plus I don't think my stuff is up to the standard needed to show at Euro without feeling embarrassed, maybe in a year or two

On a side note, I got a bit more done last night whilst Mrs E was watching X Factor. I'll try and take some pics after work if the light is good enough.