River Lily

The weather here has been spectacular, so the other weekend my husband and I took our puppy, Lily to Kern River. Not really a puppy, she is around two years old now (she is my baby hence the puppy). She loved the water, must be the black Lab in her, she jumped straight in. We got her from a rescue group last December. I couldn't help showing you guys the photos from the trip.

Dust

Long time on updates. Mainly because I have been busy and my studio had a dust bath.... Yeah thats right I totally forgot to close the window one night and of course that was the night we had a dust storm. *head desk* I was angry at myself and put off by how long it would take to clean up. But I finally got around to it and I now have a clean studio ready to go.

Lucky I had just finished my spooky swap pony for my partner before the dust hit. The sugar skull mare is now happily in her new home.

 

Happiness

For the first time in over a year I have finally finished a model, hallelujah! I have dubbed him Knight of Cydonia, after one of my favourite bands. So happy to have finally completed a project for once. 

And this little guy is for my Blab spooky stablemate swap partner. I did make the photo out of focus because I want it to be a little bit of a surprise when she opens him up. Thats even if she reads my blog! 

   

Airbrushing Fun

I finally bought a hose for my airbrush and set it up over the week. I must say I love airbrushing, pastels always go grainy on me. I thought I would show you the stages of colour on my pony.

He is not finished yet, still needs some shadows and highlights to the muscles. Plus hooves, mane, tail and details!

Decision Making

I finally came to a decision about the hair style of my Whisper resin, the conclusion came from mainly the breed choice. After doing some research on Australian Riding Ponies 
(my chosen breed) I found they have dressage style bob braids. So the choice in the end wasn't so hard.

Subsequently to reading Laura Skillern's wonderful and inspiring blog. I decided to give the floss braids a try, results are photographed below. It was a little tricky but I think they turned out alright for my first go.

My reference photo.

Overload

Have a problem... I can't finish anything! But I'm very good at starting things. I haven't finished a pony in over a year. So I'm hitting my head against the wall in a pile of never finished ponies. Oh well maybe I will just sell them all and buy a painted piece xD

The pile

At least his tail is back on! 

The next victim 

Stripping

No not that kind of stripping get your mind out of the gutter! (Joking) So if you have some old customs with scratched up paint jobs or you made a mistake that cant be fixed you need to remove the old paint. You can sand them but I prefer the soaking in Pine-Sol method. You need 60/40 Pine-Sol to water ratio in a container or bucket. You might want to do this outside and make sure you cover it, the smell is very strong. After a few days soaking give them a good scrubbing, depending on the type of paint used it can take up to 4 days in the Pine-Sol baths.

Results, before on the left and after on the right: