try try..... day three

Well the soldier has a coat of paint and though he looks ok, he has some issues that I will need to address. I noticed that sometimes it isn't until the paint portion that issues show up and with this guy that is exactly what happened. Right around the nose area I have left too much wood and it doesn't look natural. I will address this as soon as the paint dries. A tip to save time and troubles; always make a bigger batch of paint then you will need and then you have the same color for any fixes that may occur. I honestly don’t usually do this but from this piece realize the value of the idea. Speaking of paint, I don’t like the way the painting portion came out either. The color is too bland and there is no emotion from the color. I will come back with some skin tone with a little red added to put some rosiness in his cheeks. I will also address the color of the coat and cap as they appear to me to be too strong in color. I want more of an antique look to this piece and will address this before I put the sealant on.

On the side bar of my blog where I share my picks you will see the 3M Scotch-Brite General Purpose Hand Pad. I take these pads and cut out 1 and 2 inch squares stack two together since they are thinner than the brown one shown earlier and used these to clean off the “fuzzies” from a carving. I can also come back after a carving is painted and gently remove some paint to give an antique look. In the pictures of the hooded face I have taken the pads and removed paint to test the pads and see how well they do. I am happy with the results and like the effect I got on this piece. I will consider doing something like this to the new soldier. After all he’s not supposed to look new; he’s from the civil war. That wasn't exactly last week now was it.