My First Hour with Murphy

I started this one tonight...decided to take photos along the way:

 

 

 



Acrylic on canvas...20 x 20, I think





Then and Now

Here's something old: an unfinished piece from the late 80's.  I've got no desire to go back to it so I'm leaving it the way it is.  To me it's been finished for a long time now, and I'm actually very happy with it this way .

The Pony is my favourite part - still have him and the bear somewhere

Here's the promise I have for something new...the "Now".  I have big hopes for this.  It's a studio space that I'm renting for the winter to see if it will help me kick start myself to get painting in my spare time.  Much more than I have been.  I'm trying not to hope for miracles, but you never know...nothing wrong with having high hopes for yourself!

 

First things first though - I need to finish moving in...

I Can Hear Clearly Now, My Ears Are On

Done! 

Since starting this project I wondered how I could get 3D ears on this little guy, but nothing workable came to mind.  Papier mache, plastic, modelling clay...anything I thought of, I was better able to imagine how it wouldn't work: they would crack, be too heavy, tear easily, break/fall off.  Last night at the eleventh hour a friend suggested using fabric. 

Why hadnt I thought of that?!?!?  I'd been having such a difficult time painting them, and he looked so bald...it was the perfect solution!

I grabbed an old pair of jeans, and after figuring out the basic shape and size with paper, started cutting.  After that, I painted on a coat of white acrylic and shaped them as best as I could, then laid them out to dry overnight...hoping they would "set up" well enough to work.



Test run - tacked on before painting or gluing

Fortunately, they did, and so I carried on today adding coat after coat of paint, gluing them on with a glue gun and then a few coats of Mod Podge (love that stuff!)

Stuffed paper in ears to help them keep their form while drying



Now he's just hanging out to dry...upside down so help the ears keep from sagging down too much.  Fingers crossed he'll be okay to pack up and ship to True Patriot Love Foundation tomorrow for their 4th annual tribute dinner/fundraiser on November 1st!

Finished Face





The "collar" - at the back/base of the helmet



Now I just need to figure out the ears