In the studio .....the joy of painting!

Chugging along here in the studio...a few of the works in progress include:

My next sales item in progress...a Breyer Andalusian resin sculpted by the talented Bridgette Eberl. I've titled this project "Alejandro" which means "defends mankind"...he is about 75% completed at this point and is being painted to a dark steel dappled rose grey...one of my favorite colors...

...below is a wonderful traditional "Wyakin" resin sculpted by the talented Michelle Platt..."Wyakin" seen here is about 60% completed...I'll be incorporating lots of fine hair detail on this project.

...below a wonderful "Senator" resin sculpted by the talented Bridgette Eberl...here I have applied two coats of paint so far..you can see there beside "Senator" the reference horse color that "Senator" will become....

 ....and here is a very extensive project....a traditional sized Annihilator resin sculpted by the talented Debbi Lermond....I've applied 5 layers of hair detailing so far with about three layers more to go..... you can see behind Annihilator the reference photos I'm using to paint by.

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..and wonderful Lirico nears completion...Lirico is sculpted by the talented Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig...Lirico in this photo is about 98% completed...

The two Rose Reiners are dry enough now to apply the next coat of colors.....more prepping to do on several projects...some application primer as well...and some shipments to go out to their owners.

Sometimes as I sit here painting I think what it is that keeps that "artists spirit" and "drive" going...what inspires an artist?

I can only speak for myself and from my point of view ..."inspiration"..the feeling when I, as an artist, see something that inspires....I can describe it as a wave of inner fire and my mind thinks "wow that would be so neat to create!"....such as when I see photos of wonderful life sized tree sculptures ...with lighted lanterns hanging from the limbs ...sculpted trees on an interior wall of a home....looking so real!

"Inspiration" from seeing a photo of a live horse full of color and fire and I think "wow! Now that color would be a challenge to replicate!".

"Challenge" and "goal"...I think those are my two most prominent words that come to mind ...and "inspire" me and give me the "drive" to create.

GOAL....The "goal" for me is to improve with each item I create..."click it up a notch and add to" ...."improve" with each item I create. To learn and see something new in a reference photo that I can add to improve the final product.

A second and equally important "goal" is for me to provide my customer the highest quality workmanship I possibly can and also to provide the highest quality customer service from my "company" that I can provide. From my perspective and in my point of view, my studio "company" is no different than any other company out there in the public eye.

CHALLENGE....The "challenge" for me is to have a photo placed in front of me....and a 3-D sculpture offered as my canvas...and then asked to replicate those colors and or pattern on that 3-D canvas....and then to find the right "tools" or "technique" that will match the sculpture and replicate the color. Each item I paint seems to require a different application of technique to achieve the most accurate result and color matching. For me there has been no set template for painting a 3-D equine sculpture .....no set application of color layers nor mixing of paint colors ...no rhyme or reason ..each different in its' own creation just as each live horse is different in life.

More soon!
Have a wonderful day everyone!
C.S.Richmond Studios