...more studio progress...

Work progresses in the studio on schedule ...two completed commissions late last week and the Lirico is now 99% completed.

Completed are a wonderful Michelle Platt "Boise Bound" traditional draft resin and a handsome "Pipsqueak" mini mustang resin sculpted by Kathi Bougucki. Both "Boise" and "Pipsqueak" were a joy to paint and are fantastic sculptures in person.

Here are photos of "Pipsqueak":

...and here are photos of "Boise":

More soon...photos of Lirico!
Have a wonderful day!
C.S.Richmond Studios

Studio progress....

I have three commissioned projects almost completed ....one is 99% completed and the other two not far behind. The "Boise Bound" commission is the 99% completed item. I'm at the stage now where I need to wait for a good non cloudy/humid day to apply the sealer to "Boise"...then it is on to taking his portrait photos.

"Boise Bound" is sculpted by the gifted Michelle Platt.

Here is a lovely little "Lirico" commission..."Lirico" is sculpted by the popular Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig. "Lirico" is approximately 90% completed....

I took the photo of "Lirico" a bit late in the day...too much glare from the window at my back reflecting off of "Lirico".

The third commission nearing completion is the darling little "Pipsqueak" mini mustang resin sculpted by the talented Kathi Bogucki..his paint is too wet at this point for taking photos.

Also here is an updated photo of one of my next sales items...a wonderful "Mr. Shadow" resin sculpted by the gifted Nicole Hatch...."Shadow" is approximately 50% completed in this photo...

I also have a Breyer Andalusian mini resin sculpted by the wonderful B. Eberl slotted for a sales item...he is featured in the previous post here on my studio blog.

In the works for another sales project is a splendid "Vega" resin sculpted by the ever popular Mindy Berg. "Vega" will be a shade of dappled grey.

Have a wonderful day everyone!

C.S.Richmond Studios

Photo Experiments

This morning I experimented with the new backgrounds I purchased a few weeks ago. I purchased three colors of muslin...brown(peach)/green/blue ...blue/green....grey/blue.

This morning I took photos of my Breyer dappled grey in progress project ....I used each of the color backgrounds and took three photos. I did adjust the contrast and warmed the tones a bit...even after the color adjustments you can see the effects the different colored backgrounds had on the color of my horse.

Here is the photo taken using the grey/blue cloth....

Here is the photo taken using the blue/green cloth...

and lastly here is the photo I took using the brown(peach)/green/blue cloth....

Sitting here holding the actual horse in my hand in front of the computer screen the first photo shows the closest-to-real-life color of the horse I'm painting.

The top photo seems to bring out the brown warm tones in the paintwork...even though the cloth is grey/blue it is showing the warm colors in my paintwork.

The bottom photo shows a steel grey horse color while the second photo shows a greenish horse...even with the adjustments the green tint remained. Perhaps a very dark bay or black horse horse would work well with this blue/green background...chestnut?

Practice and experimenting....a learning experience.
Enjoy your day!
C.S.Richmond Studios

Bay roan....

Last week I began my attempt to capture the color bay roan on a 3-D miniature subject....this little guy is "Pipsqueak" ...a mini 2010 Mustang Stallion sculpted by the gifted Kathi Bogucki...."Pipsqueak is approximately 85% completed in these photos.

I have a mini Bitty Bosco and a traditional El Embosco I'd love to apply this color to....I think this color would work well for those.

Work progresses on commissions....I have high hopes of completing each and every commission item by the end of this year....I have my sails set to do so....and my fingers crossed....my lucky rabbits foot and lucky horse shoe :)

Have a wonderful day everyone!
Sandra Hottinger
C.S.Richmond Studios

"Bulls Eye" primer testing part 2 plus a little this and that...

Ok....I've applied the Rustolium "Bulls Eye" primer to the little Breyer Andalusian resin and I must say I am very satisfied with the results. I forgot to mention in my last post that I purchased the "Bulls Eye" primer at our local Lowes home and garden center...

My first several layers of the primer were applied using an air brush (my el-cheapo air brush) and the last layer I applied using a small flat soft paint brush just to see how it would work...I thinned the primer to the consistency of light cream or whole milk for the air brush application as well as the application with my brush.

The "Bulls Eye" primer worked well with the application of my first coat of paint....I might remind readers that I am working in oil colors. Below is my Andalusian project with the first coat of oils....this project will be a sales item...

I've applied paint to several projects this week and I've worked on prepping in the evenings as well. Here is a Lirico pictured alongside of the reference photo I'm using to paint by....Lirico is sculpted by the super talented Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig...

...and below is a photo of a wonderful Mr. Shadow...sculpted by the gifted Nicole Hatch...Mr. Shadow is also a sales item I will be offering soon....here Mr. Shadow is pictured next to the reference photo I am painting by...I love this color grey!

...and last but not least, pictured below, is the wonderful Boise Bound resin...sculpted by the super gifted Michelle Platt...here Boise is about 95% completed....

As a side note we had a wonderful little snow the other day...it melted so fast but was very pretty...sticking to everything like powdered sugar...even the blooming daffodils received a powdering.....

Have a wonderful day everyone! Time for me to paint!
Sandra Hottinger
C.S.Richmond Studios

"Bulls Eye" primer testing....

Well I tried the Rustoleum "Bulls Eye" Primer and I like it....the feel of the applied primer ..once it is dry...is between the feel of Gesso and the Rustolium "Painters Touch Sandable Primer" that comes in the spray can. I've just applied the "Bulls Eye" and it must dry for 24 hours before I can do any sanding.

I used my air brush...the really cheap one...to apply the primer. Now the can reads that if you want to water down the primer to mix no more than 2.5 oz clean water to the whole quart.

The primer as is in the can is semi thick...too thick for my air brush to use.

Soooo.....I mixed two tablespoons of the primer to one tablespoon of water...making my mixture the consistency of cream...light cream.

The color of the primer after I applied it to my project has a blu-ish tone....looking at the item now on my studio shelf sitting next to another item primed with my old spray primer there is definitely a slight blue grey cast.

I'm sure after I apply the coat of Gesso the end result will be a creamy white. I'm going to be painting this project a dappled grey so the blue tones won't make a difference for this project.

Today is 70 degrees and sunny...I applied many thin coats of the primer and let the wet evaporate before I applied another layer of the primer.

Here is what the can looks like:

And here is my project with one coat of primer:

The label also reads that this primer "works with all topcoats"....mentions that this primer works wonderfully with Latex, oil based paints, oil or oil based enamel paints....and that this primer "flows smooth and levels evenly to a flat, easy to sand finish". Using my airbrush this primer, once applied, does have an even surface.

The primer finish is very flat/matte.

I'll post more when I begin to apply my oil colors to this project ....

Sandra Hottinger
C.S.Richmond Studios

In the studio....

The daffodils are starting to bloom! Looking out my studio window here I can see the trees beginning to bud out as well. Shortly they will have those bright green new leaves sprouting! You know the color...that color that is half way between yellow and halfway between green? Lovely!

Work here in the studio is progressing well....Saturday was shipping day with 5 completed commissions shipped out.

The past two days I've been prepping commissions so that I can apply the primer. I like to have at the ready between three and five items to spray primer on at one time....

I also have a new water based sandable primer I want to try. It comes in a quart sized can and is made by Rustoleum.... it's brand name is "Bulls Eye" and cleans up with water, sands easily, and has very low odor....I hope it works well.

I purchased a really cheap air brush a while back to apply my Gesso to my items to be painted. After I apply the primer I like to give the item a coat of Gesso for a slight "tooth" to the surface to be painted....I use the el'cheapo air brush to apply the Gesso....thinning the gesso to about 60/40 (Gesso/water) I apply thin coats to the surface of each item. Let dry overnight between coats. ALWAYS use an approved mask when spraying with an airbrush..or using any kind of spray applications.....even when spraying outside.

I'll have to do a "test" with the primer before I apply it to an item scheduled to be painted....

Here are a few things I'm working on in the studio....you all may have seen some of these projects in previous posts...

The above photo is of a wonderful "Boise" resin sculpted by the talented Michelle Platt. Here in this photo "Boise" has about three coats of color...with the last coat I've worked in some of the darker areas and the beginnings of the dark dapples.

The above "Rose Reiner" I've posted previously here....in this photo "Reiner" has had the pinking of his skin applied as well as the darker shadows of his white coat. "Reiner" is sculpted by the talented Sarah Rose.

Here you can also see that I have removed this copy of "Reiner" from his base.

Above is the "Wyakin" resin, another wonderful sculpture created by the talented Michelle Platt. This copy of Wyakin is being painted to a detailed snowcap appaloosa. I've applied the first few layers of her dark base coat color and now I've applied the skin pinking and dark shading to the white areas of her coat.

Last but not least is another copy of the "Rose Reiner". This copy will be a pintaloosa color....I am comfortable with his pattern except the area near the poll/mane area...I dunno...might change that...will see.

The above "Reiner" has had one coat of paint applied.....lots lots and lots more to go on this project.
More updates soon!

Enjoy your day everyone!
Sandra Hottinger
C.S.Richmond Studios