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

Thank you so much, Jolie!

Wonderful again,especially the Drum horse!

Fantastic horses Anna, The 1/64 horses are really impressive, I know how tiny they are

Alkonost is shining just like only Akhal Teke can be

But, as Jolie, my heart belongs to Jealous of Roses

Really nice jobs and I'm looking forward to see the diorama.
I listened the song, it is really distant from my likings but I got surprised with the cool chromatic chord progression after the "pause" and also great bass lines.

Thank you so much for your kind comments, friends!

And thanks Rogerio for taking the time and listening to that song! I wouldn't say it's my top favorite but I like it and the title was fitting. Bibio is a one-person band and he creates a lot of different songs and never sticks to one genre. Which I like

Forgot to say I listened the song too

Ana wrote:

And a birthday gift for a friend, another M. Bennet sculpture.
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that is a beautiful Akhal Teke and I really like the silken colour on him Anna! Well done Anna.

and I've never seen such tiny and beautiful horses before - these M.Bennet sculptures are exquisite.

I really like both feet off the ground and your painting is very beautiful!
Congratulations on them all including your first large one :)

my favourite though is the present for your friend!! I LOVE it so much! those white socks are beautiful and the pose is perfect
Such a lucky friend

So beautiful, the Akhal-Teke is one of my favourite breeds and this colour really is superb on him, it suits the sculpt and the breed and has a softness and subtlety, too. Sooty palominos and buckskins are so tricky to get right, the yellowness with the hint of dark mixed in is one of those things which works much more naturally in horse hair than when we try to copy it with paint, finding the right point between too brown and too grey is such a tricky thing.

The drum horse is gorgeous too, his markings are delicate and so realistic.
I think the US drum horses look a bit different to the UK ones the cavalry use at the moment, those are usually purebred Shire or Clydesdale now. I haven't been to meet them in person with my army friend for a few years cos of covid, but I've seen the drum horses out on tv for various ceremonial things, and even in these last couple of years they haven't added another piebald/skewbald partbred one since the retirement of dear old Spartacus (Sparky).

The American drum horse seems to be pushing heavily for the colour, from what I can tell the breeders' aim is to get the tobiano and thick feather of traditional cobs onto a full size draft type, which is just what Sparky and some of his predecessors were. So they're trying for the iconic 1990s/2000s drum horses which were famously pinto, rather than the current ones which are purebred draft and all sabino bay/black.

Amazing repaints. All of them, but Jealous of Roses is the star for me. I love the way you can almost see the individual black and white hairs in his mane. The jagged pinto patches are great too; lovely "droplet" of white on his left side.

Very very cool

WOW Anna, I love them so much !
Amazing result with your tallented hands and these so beautiful models.
And of course with your wonderful photos !
Really well done

Thanks so much everyone! It makes me so happy to read your kind comments

Sunny, I think this gift horse is secretly my favorite too He was a pleasure to paint.

These are absolutely stunning! You have such an amazing talent for repainting, I could look at these horses for hours!

Thank you so much

I finished painting another horse yesterday. This one was such a troublemaker! I started him back in January in oils. But it wasn't a good idea, a color I struggle with, and a new technique, that was too much of a challenge. I decided I can probably finish him if I switch technique to my usual.

The oil paint had to dry for several months before I could apply the varnish and continue with my pastel+acrylics. So, this month I came back to this project and I was able to finish him.

Believe it or not, he is my first Lusitano in the collection (unpainted models not included)! And he's buckskin, one of my favorite colors. But NOT my favorite to paint! I had to correct his shade so many times, it was too yellowish, too pinkish, or generally too saturated, so I had to add multiple layers of pigments to tone it down

When the body color was right I struggled with the outlines of the mane because with such big contrast, every shake of hand results in a very visible shaky line
He kind of made me tired, but I'm glad to see him finished. And I like the end result so, yay!
I'm looking for a Portuguese name for him, any suggestions?


The model was sculpted by Josine Vingerling and called Encanto. I resculpted his head and neck (new nose profile, new eyes, ears, some other details) He's 1/10 or 1/9 scale.

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Here with another Portuguese breed - Sorraia
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And a close-up with a green leather halter  
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Goodness, he's gorgeous! You may have struggled with the colour (and I know that feeling, buckskins are one of my love/hate colours too - love the look of them, hate creating them ) but the finished horse looks wonderfully well done. I think the shade is just about right, golden without being brassy, cool without tending to grey, and the details like dappling and markings mean it doesn't have the flat look which can often happen with paler colours.
I'm amazed how big he is, I know you do paint all sizes but for some reason I thought he was going to be large Stablemate or that bigger 'mini' resin size I don't know the ratio for. All the more impressive to end up with such a soft and smooth finish on so much more horse!

Ana wrote:

When the body color was right I struggled with the outlines of the mane because with such big contrast, every shake of hand results in a very visible shaky line

I don't know if it helps at all (and it does feel silly offering advice when you're a much more advanced painter than me anyway! ) but for painting in the mane on those scary high-contrast colours, I have a tried and tested technique which takes away some of the fear and shaky-handedness and undoes any errors which aren't quite how I want them : lick the brush! Then touch the black paint so it soaks into just the wet tip of the hairs, hardly any, and have a bit of cloth or tissue to hand so that if the application of paint isn't exactly how you want it first time, you can blot the wet paint straight off and try again.
It seems to not stick to or stain the body colour as long as you use enough saliva (and yes it sounds gross but the texture is better than using actual water, there's a stickyness which means the paint is more translucent, lifts off easily, but isn't watery and flowing out of control ) You do have to go over it with several layers cos of course the diluted paint doesn't cover so well, but I find it's well worth having that 'undo' option of easily being able to take back off any wonky mane outline which isn't exactly where I want it, it takes the worry out of doing those difficult edges.

Thank you, George! It's so nice to hear that you like him And good to know I'm not the only one finding buckskin so difficult to paint

Thank you for the technical advice! It seems worth trying. I'm a bit afraid if it's safe though, my brushes are never perfectly clean, and pigments and acrylic mediums can be rather toxic. But I'm tempted to try this method anyway

Oh no, I'm absolutely certain you are a more advanced painter than me, I saw all the difficult colors and patterns you painted and they were great. Many of these colors and patterns I wouldn't even dare to attempt!
As I see it, I'm primarily a sculptor and just an amateur at painting.

I thought about the name, I checked the word "troublemaker" in Portuguese, and (google translate) says it's Encrenqueiro. Looks like it could be his name but maybe it sounds too negative? Dear [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]  could you help?

Encrenqueiro is a perfect translation to troublemaker.
The problem is that it is pure Brazilian Portuguese. We don't use this word in Portugal so it does not fit a Lusitano horse.
It could be perfect for a Campolina foal in an agitated pose.
I can't remember a perfect European Portuguese synonym.  Maybe tumultuoso (tumultuous) but it is more formal and collective.
but as the idea is that it was challenging to finish. You could use laboroso (laborious).  It means it required a lot of work.
It also reminds (not means) the word Alvoroço (agitation) which is what troublemakers cause, however, Alvoroço would work much better for a rearing Lusitano or at least in a more dynamic pose.
Regardless of the name you use, I'm completely enchanted (from Encanto), with this model, its sculpt and the way it is painted. It is a fantastic tribute to this wonderful Portuguese breed!

Thanks so much, Roger! Good that I asked then! Giving a Brazilian name to him wouldn't be correct.

I'm glad you approve of his looks too! It is a wonderful breed and I'm happy to finally have it represented in my collection

As for his name, I feel like I could go with Laboroso. It's also easier to remember for me Thanks so much for your help!

I find this Portuguese horse very beautiful and I admire your work and your courage Anna.
If this is your first Portuguese animal, I think Rogério Premier could be a good name.
May I ask you something? Next time I would be happy to follow a "Making off" it would be so interresting

Thank you so much, Christophe, and Andreas!

Christophe, this Lusitano is my second Portuguese horse, the first one was Sorraia. It's a nice name suggestion though, thank you!

I'll think about how to share my painting process. Usually, my hands are dirty from pigments when I work so it's not optimal for taking photos (I would feel sorry for my camera or phone ). But I will find a way

Forget Sorraia

Thank you for trying to find a solution

Ultimately, the colour has turned out to be great. I like buckskins too. The horse's face is very beautiful, you have done a good job resculpting it.

He is GORGEOUS! Very nice work Ana!