Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Happy New Year!

Hi there!

I closed my Etsy shop 
for two weeks over Christmas,
and had myself a little Sabbatical.

During this sabbatical
I mostly slept and ate chocolate;
 it was very good and I 
highly recommend having
a little sabbatical if you
can possibly squeeze one in.

I also painted a horse.


I try and tell myself it's actually
a prop for doll photographs,
but it's really a toy for me!

I didn't sculpt it!
This is a Battat horse I bought
on eBay. I think they're sold
at Target or Toy'R'Us.


It was a nice horse, but very yellow
with a frizzy mane and tail.

So I took those off.


Underpainting. Or, how not to paint dapples.


Dapples. Not apples.

I sculpted pointed tips to his ears, a tail-bone
and added some depth to his jaw


(This is the third attempt to paint dapples.)
.
I looked at so many references, and so many horses
I decided that dapples can look any way you want.

So mine look like this.


Then I added a mane and tail.



A suri alpaca mane and tail, 
which is pretty luxury stuff 
for a plastic horse.


Here he is, posing.


He doesn't have a name yet, 
so I'm going to have to work on that.

And he insists I make a lady in a riding habit
so I suppose I better get on with that, too!

(Suggestions for name gratefully received.)