NaMoPaiMo 2019

Day 1

Oh what an adventure today has been! I have been on Team Last Minute/am still on it as I start my model for National Model (Horse) Painting Month or NaMoPaiMo. Last year, I was on top of things with my grulla, Nifty. This year...not so much.

(Above: My 2018 NaMoPaiMo horse, Nifty, a grulla, painted in acrylics & details in colored pencil on Breyer's G3 Mustang Stablemate.)

For those unfamiliar with NaMoPaiMo it is an annual event in the model horse hobby where hobbyists/artists strive to paint a model in a month's (February) time hosted by Jennifer Bray Buxton of Braymere Custom Saddlery. The idea of NaMoPaiMo is to get artists to not only finish a model, but to challenge themselves as well. Last year, I painted a grulla for the first time on a Breyer Stablemate (1:32 scale). This year, I raised the bar in scale, going up to a Schleich (1:24 scale) and I said I would paint the model as a dappled buckskin Andalusian (the model is actually called the Andalusian Mare). This came from seeing the Schleich paint job (though good) I wanted to see if I could...improve it, for lack of better words. Remember, Schleich are massed produced figurines for kids, so I do not expect the quality of the paint job to be super great. The company has really up their game these past few years in regards to how their horses look, both sculptural & paint wise.

(Above: The Andalusian Schleich Mare before her makeover. Will she look better or worse after I'm through with her?)

I started off this year well by having my model primed nice and early. There was nothing stopping me from painting her sooner. I just...didn't... I could blame life, work, school, etc. But the reality is that I should have MADE time to paint her, even if it was just a few minutes a day. Instead I left it to the last minute, today (2/23).

Things started off well, the base coat went on nicely, shading went pretty well, we got past the "ugly stage" and got the dark points and mane done...then I decided to go overboard with the colored pencils...and ruined a day's work on the main body...I now have to try and redo the main body without losing the details I added in...karma is biting me in the butt...

The good news is I worked on two chestnut models as well. One for my friend Shannon: ShamrockFarmsInc. who gave me a micro mini pony to paint a fiery chestnut & a Breyer G3 Endurance Arabian Stablemate that I'm doing for a contest that's also due by the end of the month, and this one is being painted chestnut too, just of a different shade. I also made sure I was on Facebook and Model Horse Blab cheering people on as I worked on my horses.

(Above: Shannon's fiery micro mini is coming together.)

Day 2
Oh. My. Goodness! I have never had a model fight me as hard as this one has fought! We seem to have come to an agreement today, but not without further quarreling.

(Above: New base coat laid down. You can see that I will need to redo mane, tail & dark points as I am not a neat painter when trying to cover a large area.)

First we came to an agreement over her new basecoat. It had a bit more yellow ochre then previously. We hit the ugly stage without a hitch...and then came the battle...

(Above: First attempt at dapples: dark dapples)

I wanted simple dapples for my first true attempts at dappling (my mini Percheron doesn't count as he was just simple dotting). But she was having none of it!

(Above: Dark dapples?)

I tried a dark brown/near black spotting method first. BEFORE I put a layer on top of it, I was digging it. Then I buried it under another shading layer, and we hit the ugly stage yet again. I texted Shannon out of desperation in seeking assurance I was on the right track. Before she answered, I told myself, "No, this looks like crap. Try white."

(Above: White dapples by themselves & a photobombing Renji-cat.)

So I tried white with the same results. Out of desperation, I sought help from the Facebook NaMoPaiMo acrylic wizards & they gave me lots of good advice, but unfortunately, I lacked either the tools or materials (retardant, makeup sponges, airbrush, earth pigments, etc.-all stuff I'd like to acquire at some point). They were all very sweet, and offered their advice along with encouragement on continuing to do my original plan. After all, that's the point of NaMoPaiMo. Achieving what you think you can't do. It's why we strive to challenge ourselves during this event.

(Above: Combo of white & base dapples, softened the topline on the model too.)

Ready to paint her as a buckskin and call it good, I gave it one more go. I altered my dotting method from my micro Percheron. With him, I used one color of dots for his dappling. With this mare, I used the base color and white...

Eureka! We had a compromise!

(Above: Nearing completion! Eyes & hooves detailed!)

So work commenced on the details, started getting the mane and tail done and shaded, dark points on legs, muzzle and ears,as well as the eyes... Oh the eyes. At this point, we came to another quarrel. Apparently, she wanted "eyeliner". So I put the "eyeliner" around both eyes to dry, and then put another layer of basecoat over it. Maybe now she would be content? Nope! I should have put the white down first rather than the black, so white went over the black and then we replaced the black in a smaller spot (to act as the rim of the eye). Now maybe we were good? Oh, I pleaded with her that we would be good friends now & she'd let me finish her without any more fuss!

(Above: Summation of the day)

It would seem we weren't done with the quarreling though. She had one more yet for today... I wanted her to have bi-colored eyes. Well...she has one bi-colored eye (two different shades of brown) and her show side, is a flat brown with a pupil...darn mare!

Hooves were finished without issue though. So tomorrow is just sealing with a matte spray & glossing the eyes...Oh and touching up her dark points! I nearly forgot about them...

On a side note: Finished Shannon's model & the contest entry. Both were sealed today and the contest entry will go out Wednesday to be sure that the sealer is completely dry.

(Above: The finished & newly dubbed "Flicker".)

Day 3
This model has been dubbed Bailando Leopardo or "Dancing Leopard" (according to Google translate), or "Bella" for short. I picked this name due to her "spots" (dapples) and just how much I've fought to get the dappled buckskin to work on her. She's fought like a wildcat, that's for sure!

We weren't done with our quarrels today, as several expletives left my mouth as I somehow managed to mark up her legs above the dark points with the colored pencils (thankfully, they were easy to wash off without damaging anything).

I nearly forgot to sign her, as I'm just that ready to be finished! Thankfully, I'd only matte sealed one side of her, so I quickly signed her and then sealed the other side. Glossing of her eyes went without a hitch, & Bella was officially added to the NaMoPaiMo "I Did It" album.

(Above: Bella in her original finish from Schleich & after I re-painted her."

Reflecting
I know I stated earlier that NaMoPaiMo is about painting a model in a month's time...but it's so much more than that! Jennifer has truly created a magnificent community of hobbyists/painters who come together every year for this event & encourage each other to do their best. NEVER have I seen any negativity on the Facebook page or her blog. People are supportive and encouraging of each other as we all strive towards the same goal. In a event like this where there are prizes, you'd think this would bring out people's ugly sides. Instead, it does the opposite. Painting your model horse in the time frame is reward enough for everyone, a prize is just a bonus. What really makes the event special is the people: those that run it, like Jennifer and her admins/mods, the friends who support you, like my friend, Shannon, or the people on the social media platforms (Facebook, ModelHorseBlab, etc.) Truly, this is a special event that I hope to continue to see thrive. Please go check out Jennifer's blog (link above) to learn more about the event/to see the event as a whole rather than just from one person's perspective.

On that note, I feel I let myself down slightly in the community aspect of this event. Due to my procrastination, I was not commenting enough on people's works. The previous year, I made sure everyone had a comment on their photos in the "I Did It" and the "I Painted This Too" albums. Everyone deserves to have their hard work recognized, and I was not on top of it this year. Which is a serious bummer. I worked to make up for this transgression, but still, I need to do better next year. Be more active in the NaMoPaiMo community. I also regret not being able to host a NaMoPaiMo painting party like I did last year, this can be blamed more on weather/schedules than procrastination though.

That being said, I did ask for help from the community and they were responsive & as helpful as I knew they would be. I got lots of tips & tools I want to try & acquire before next year so that I can continue to improve on my painting.

Next Year?
Next year is still far and away, but I can say that it will be a Breyer Classic scale model (1:12). At the moment I'm thinking a fantasy model, might be the bucking bronco I've been putting off. I have a heck of a lot of time to sculpt/attach his wings though!

As a side note: I am open for commissions if you like my work & would like to commission me to paint a horse for you. You can view more of my work at: https://spyrytfyrestudios.weebly.com/

Till the next time!