Anna's customs and repaints, NEW Irish Sport Horse Mare

Thank you so much Anna and George for so much information, that is really helpful and interesting!
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] That's really useful to know, thank you! I currently use Daler-Rowney acrylics but I suspect they are more for canvas's/ big paintings rather than models! Very interesting about the pigments too and I suspect this is the case with mine as well, they weren't that expensive so I definitely see your point of buying fewer, but better quality acrylics! Ohh yes they probably are heavy-body acrylics, that makes sense, I'll definitely look for more fluid acrylics in future and thank you very much for the brand suggestions!
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Would completely agree! It will certainly take a bit of experimenting to find the paint that works best, and I can definitely see how different painters would prefer different paints, and also interesting that you've found the same with acrylics designed for canvases not working that well for models. Thanks for the link too, I'll remember to have a look at some point!

I will vouch for the Golden light body acrylics- expensive, but worth it. I have used the regular 'craft's type acrylics, but they look/feel 'dead' to me, if that makes sense. Heavy body canvas acrylics are too dense and clumpy. The Golden light body paints almost have the depth of oils to me, and are easy to work with.

I must add that I have little experience painting models- this is from painting cast gypsum art sculpts.

pipsxlch wrote:

I will vouch for the Golden light body acrylics- expensive, but worth it. I have used the regular 'craft's type acrylics, but they look/feel 'dead' to me, if that makes sense. Heavy body canvas acrylics are too dense and clumpy. The Golden light body paints almost have the depth of oils to me, and are easy to work with.

I must add that I have little experience painting models- this is from painting cast gypsum art sculpts.

Thank you so much Kelly, really good to hear from someone else who has used this paint too!

Thank you all for the nice comments! [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], I hope you can find perfect acrylics for your needs

I've finished my horses on time I submitted my entries last night, so, super last-minute but yay, they are painted!!
You can see the size difference between Pierre and Shire foal
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And micro Shires  
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Dolls with their "Minis painting minis" challenge e;)
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And for fun, one more in-progress photo from earlier. But I thought you may like it

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Wow!! Stunning! Pierre is gorgeous and those micro horses are so small! I love the shots with the dolls painting their horses, great work as always!

Pierre turned out fantastically well, I love how you've given the black so much depth and he isn't just literal black. I'm in awe of anyone who can manage large surface areas and a big breed at a big scale is a LOT of horse!
The shire is my favourite, though, really like the light touches to bring that shedding coat to life.

The chap in a hat has to be given a stern talking to, though, sticky candyfloss near model horses?!

Congratulations on finishing them, and such amazing models! I just loved the photo showing the size difference and the dolls, it looks so realistic to have everything to scale!

Superb!!!!!!

Pierre is amazing. His subtle shades of black and bay are beautiful, they show great skill. I guess you needed industrial quantities of paint for such a large horse.

Hurray Anna and you even found time to share your magic with us. Good luck!

Thanks so much for all the comments! I'm really happy to hear that you like them

George wrote:

Pierre turned out fantastically well, I love how you've given the black so much depth and he isn't just literal black. I'm in awe of anyone who can manage large surface areas and a big breed at a big scale is a LOT of horse!
The shire is my favourite, though, really like the light touches to bring that shedding coat to life.

The chap in a hat has to be given a stern talking to, though, sticky candyfloss near model horses?!

Thanks so much! I used very little of pure black paint, only on his mane and tail, and some in eyes. And, true, he is the largest model I've ever painted!

But yes, I think the Shire foal is my favorite too

About the man with cotton candy, hahaha, he just wanted to celebrate finishing his first repaint I agree it might have ended badly for the model  

Bonnie wrote:

Congratulations on finishing them, and such amazing models! I just loved the photo showing the size difference and the dolls, it looks so realistic to have everything to scale!

Thank you! I like to see the two next to each other too

rogerpgvg wrote:

Pierre is amazing. His subtle shades of black and bay are beautiful, they show great skill. I guess you needed industrial quantities of paint for such a large horse.

Hahaha, no industrial amounts of paint needed    Really the layers of paints are rather thin, so it was fine. I did run out of raw umber at some point though, but it was an old bottle anyway.

Holy smokes, the murghese and Pierre are jaw dropping. That roan/dappling is masterful but also the detail of the face, he looks so incredibly alive and like all the correct textures are there of the soft skin and fine hair. The way you convey precise details without overwhelming and cluttering the entire piece is a skill you have in spades. And I agree with everyone, that dark coat on Pierre is so full of luster and depth and light. Breathtaking, really! I'd hang just the photo of him.

Silver instead of Golden

what a size difference! I would never have guessed if it wasn't for your photo!
I love the glint in all their eyes it really makes them come alive.
Excellent work! I hope you receive prizes/credits ? for them all :)


oh! I forgot to add - the doll sure drinks a lot of cups of tea

Simply amazing !!!!

Unbelievable fantastic

And now we know some of your secret : Tea, tea, snacks, tea, and more tea
But the gentleman should know better than eating candy floss near a lively foal !

Very impressed by Pierre!   and I love the last picture: no scale distortion in this alive scenery exept the real cup in front that allows comparison scales! even the wooden floor is at scale!

Jill wrote:

Holy smokes, the murghese and Pierre are jaw dropping. That roan/dappling is masterful but also the detail of the face, he looks so incredibly alive and like all the correct textures are there of the soft skin and fine hair. The way you convey precise details without overwhelming and cluttering the entire piece is a skill you have in spades. And I agree with everyone, that dark coat on Pierre is so full of luster and depth and light. Breathtaking, really! I'd hang just the photo of him.

Thank you so much for your words, Jill!      

pipsxlch wrote:

Silver instead of Golden

Yes, thank you for noticing!  

sunny wrote:

what a size difference! I would never have guessed if it wasn't for your photo!
I love the glint in all their eyes it really makes them come alive.
Excellent work! I hope you receive prizes/credits ? for them all :)


oh! I forgot to add - the doll sure drinks a lot of cups of tea

Thank you! Yes, my doll drinks a lot of coffee and tea

There are no prizes for Namopaimo or they are sometimes given at random. The real prize is the model you finished. And the cheering from other participants, technical tips and tricks, etc.
A challenge with a deadline is a real gift for procrastinators like myself. I have so many unpainted models, so an event like this is really a perfect occasion to paint some of them

This is the whole group of my Namopaimo horses from previous years. They would probably still be blank if not for this event
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SUSANNE wrote:

Simply amazing !!!!

Unbelievable fantastic

And now we know some of your secret : Tea, tea, snacks, tea, and more tea
But the gentleman should know better than eating candy floss near a lively foal !

Thank you, Susanne!
My doll is probably a tea or coffee addict I suspect she even drinks from my cup  

Caracal wrote:

Very impressed by Pierre!   and I love the last picture: no scale distortion in this alive scenery exept the real cup in front that allows comparison scales! even the wooden floor is at scale!

Thank you so much! I'm really glad you like the last picture!

Ana wrote:

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WOOOOOOW

A stunning group of horses in that last photo!

What a absolutely superb group of equines!

Those are all absolutely stunning!!

Ana wrote:

There are no prizes for Namopaimo or they are sometimes given at random. The real prize is the model you finished. And the cheering from other participants, technical tips and tricks, etc.
A challenge with a deadline is a real gift for procrastinators like myself. I have so many unpainted models, so an event like this is really a perfect occasion to paint some of them

I find it the opposite, when there's any kind of deadline it forces every last scrap of motivation and creativity out of me, and I don't paint at all, while feeling very stressed and guilty about not being able to

But I'm glad it works for some people, cos anything which helps motivate and inspire and push creativity is a good thing!

Ana wrote:

This is the whole group of my Namopaimo horses from previous years. They would probably still be blank if not for this event
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This is what I mean, the fact you got so many horses completed, and did things which might not have got painted otherwise, is what makes it such a rewarding event for those who can do it.
I forget which month is Namopaimo cos it's such a Facebook/socialmedia thing I'm not aware it's going on unless somebody I know shares their results, but that way even people who aren't in on the event still get to see just a little bit more painted horsey goodness from the painters we do know on forums or blogs.

Thank you all again for such nice words about the horses!

George wrote:

Ana wrote:

There are no prizes for Namopaimo or they are sometimes given at random. The real prize is the model you finished. And the cheering from other participants, technical tips and tricks, etc.
A challenge with a deadline is a real gift for procrastinators like myself. I have so many unpainted models, so an event like this is really a perfect occasion to paint some of them

I find it the opposite, when there's any kind of deadline it forces every last scrap of motivation and creativity out of me, and I don't paint at all, while feeling very stressed and guilty about not being able to

But I'm glad it works for some people, cos anything which helps motivate and inspire and push creativity is a good thing!

Ana wrote:

This is the whole group of my Namopaimo horses from previous years. They would probably still be blank if not for this event

This is what I mean, the fact you got so many horses completed, and did things which might not have got painted otherwise, is what makes it such a rewarding event for those who can do it.
I forget which month is Namopaimo cos it's such a Facebook/socialmedia thing I'm not aware it's going on unless somebody I know shares their results, but that way even people who aren't in on the event still get to see just a little bit more painted horsey goodness from the painters we do know on forums or blogs.

Interesting that it works so differently for different people I can imagine that too much pressure can ruin the fun, for sure! Or even cause an art block. Maybe I just don't experience Namopaimo as particularly stressful, no one would be angry at me if I didn't finish

It's been a long time without any update but I finally painted something new this month.

I painted this Barley sculpted by Leah Peretz (Canyon Spring studio). This model is around the 1/30 scale or a big stablemate size. I decided to go with bay tobiano for this guy and chose Drum Horse as his breed. American Drum Horse is a relatively new breed, it's often pinto patterned and has a big Clydesdale and Shire influence.
His new name is Jealous of Roses (after a song I like). I thought it would suit him maybe because he's such a red bay

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My second victim was Ozan, an Akhal Teke stallion sculpted by Amy de Waal (Zoraida Equine Art). Ozan is quite an old work of Amy, I had this model for a few years but couldn't decide on a color for him. Finally, I decided on a palomino. I found a nice reference picture and tried to go for a similar shade like HERE

I called him Alkonost (after a bird-like goddess from Slavic folklore)
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I also painted some micro mini (1/64) horses.

This foal was sculpted by Maggie Bennet. It's from the same set as the one I painted earlier this year. I'm also working on a little diorama for the two of them. His new name is Woody Woodpecker.
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And a birthday gift for a friend, another M. Bennet sculpture.
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These are gorgeous as always Anna! I think Jealous of Roses is my favorite, I just love those patterns

I'm always amazed you can paint those 1/64 scale horses so detailed! They look like they are stablemate size or larger with your paintwork