Sneak Peek - "Vincent"

I thought I would post a sneak peek of "Vincent", the Taboo that I am working on. I know in this picture he looks like a mulberry grey, but he'll actually be a leopard appaloosa when he's done. I have always liked the Prince Plaudit type of pattern, and have done a number of pieces with that kind of coloring. (Probably the best known is Melissa Gaulding's Okie, "Asheville".) I thought it would be fun to try it on Taboo where a varigated mane could play up some of the movement in the different strands of hair.

But I do like the look of him with a white body and a darkly shaded face. He reminds me a bit of the white grey Liricos that Joan did some years ago. I'll have to do one of those at some point!



In fact, I'll probably be looking that that type of coloring a lot with this mold. That face, with all it's lovely detailing, presents a big painting challenge. Because underglazes have to be airbrushed, getting the right angle with the brush is really important. To add a bit of difficulty, the paint, once the paint hits the bisque, can never really be completely removed because it stains. The problem with Taboo is that the angle of spray is blocked by his raised shoulder! And it's impossible to hit this side of his face without hitting his mane and ears.

What I've done with them so far is spray the darker facial shading first, before there is any other color on the mold. That way I can remove overspray (at least as much as might be possible) without damaging anything else. And if I really botch it, I have plenty of room to change to a more fixable color. Or, in the worst case, at least I don't have a lot of time invested if I can't fix it!

With luck, this guy and several other pieces will be done at the end of the week. I've been taking advantage of my (temporarily) child-free home to spend some long hours in the studio. There are too many half-finished projects here, so if my blogging is light in the next month or so, it's because I'm determined to get caught up.