Gerd

I picked this bust up from Zaba (https://www.zabaart.com/) at SMC a few years ago, because there were a lot of elements that appealed to me. Over time I don't remember what especially stood out for me, it certainly wasn't the frustrating feathers, deep lines on the face, or curious chest design. The face and volumes are a delight however.

The blankness of the helmet and clothing were an interesting challenge, especially when comparing my potential ideas against the box art, which is also painted by Mr Zaba, who's an excellent painter as well as being a great sculptor. The box art is a copper helmet and dark furs, but naturally I need to make my life more difficult and opted for light furs and steel.

Painting the fur was a fun challenge as I haven't done this before with any real enthusiasm, but it's unavoidable on this sculpt. Lots of browns and yellows and then picking up a large brush and painting the letter "j" repeatedly in darker colours, then repeating the process with a smaller brush and lighter colours. Very happy with the effect and feeling more confident about this on other projects in the future.

The helemet is the brightest and most obvious element, deliberately, and went through a few iterations. If you'd like to look at my inspiration, then here you go (https://www.puttyandpaint.com/projects/55752-polosh-cuirassir-xvi-ic-1-10) and enjoy the work of Kirill, a master of the art, producing the most beautiful work, then look at mine to see how someone with significantly less skill approaches a similar challenge.

Here's the first attempt I was happy to photograph as a progression. Initially I was much too linear in my colour progression and it felt like someone had painted a hat in rudimentary shades of grey, not anything approaching metal.

The second version was closer, with less regularity in the shine, but still broadly where it needs to be. However even the introduction of desaturated blues into the colour wasn't doing a lot. It was only by the addition of yellow in the brighter elements and green in the shadow area that I felt it was more interesting.