Art-de-Vivre

Hi folks, Of all entries I submitted in the Femme Fatale contest, my Forest Dryad from Mars Ultor was the entry that received the most positive comments. I learned from this advice and painted a new one that is hopefully better : Is this one better ? :wavey:

Some people requested some better pictures of the Skarrd harpies I had submitted in the Simply Scandalous category of the last contest. Here they are : Comments are welcome as usual.. :kabong:

yeah, they've been out for some time... I 've got six and painted 3 with spears but dare not show them next to the official Rackham pix... On the other hand, I just received 2 ophidian archers and they are fabulous : a bit hard to assemble and pin but great poses and expression ! Cheers PS : I play Kelts and Ophidians for those who had not guessed...

Hello Mick, I like this one very much; the only thing that bothers me is the tight skirt that doesn't seem to fit with the mobility required for a guard or warrior... btw, this skirt does not discourage ventilation, hehehe :reddy: of the 3 weapons, i prefer the helbard, then the warhammer and finally the sword. Cheers !

yeah, I know what you mean... I was also hoping for a special prize from DA as announced... Cheers !

gotta love those babes ! especially n.2 for her attitude and n.3 for the action pose !!! Wappelious rocks ! This a superb painting; love those tattoos.. Cheers !

just remembered : mid june to mid july : soccer world cup ! will be up all night to watch the games (bloody time difference w/ Germany : + 6 hours) and become a zombie at the office... :sleeping: :party: somebody send me a soccer smilie, please... Cheers !

Great news Nathan ! This acts like a lead injection directly through my base...or a nice patch of TCR...it gets rid of the darklining under my eyes... writing, now that is something new, remember having done something in that department, where are my files ?; nobody moves ! running off to the coffee machine to get a refill :dancing2: Cheers !

I don't know about you guys, but I've got a severe case of post natal (post Nathan ?) depression : after painting about 10 figs for this contest and 4 for another one (Fozzbozz) in about 3 weeks time, I'm no longer able to paint anything... I can't even come near my hobby room : all this excitement over the "birth" of my minis and suddenly emptiness, void... Commenting is done, voting is done, nothing left to do but wait and see (no hope to win anything this time though, there's so many entries that are far better than mine !) Am I alone in this hopeless state ? Doctor's orders : I need a new contest ! So Nathan, for the sake of all those who are suffering from the same symptoms, we need help ! Please tell us : when is the next contest ? :pray: :crap:

Finished posting comments on all entries .. Tough job ! I even commented on the entries that were removed ( :AR15firin ) and also on those I didn't really like. I even dared a neutral comment or two on some of my pieces but nothing to give away that I was the painter :umbrella: At this stage I have no chance whatsoever of winning anything (except maybe the random schmuck ?) but it doesn't matter : it was fun painting all that stuff and I'm glad for some of the advice given to me by more experienced painters. Somehow, I don't seem to improve on my technique while others are flying by :kabong: 3 more votes and I'm done for this contest ! Thanks again to Nathan, the moderators and of course all the sponsors, my mother who always believed in me, my father who paid for my hobby, my agent for... hey, wait, this was for the oscars :dancing2: Cheers !

even sadder : it means that I'm lagging behind... :turtle: :turtle: :turtle: can't even find the suicide smilie... Cheers !

commenting on the Femme Fatale entries, I mean. Nathan, this is a great turnout : 142 entries is a tremendous success ! Also, the quality of the entries is very high and it will be very difficult to vote. At the same time, I can't help feeling a bit sad because some of them are not from amateurs but probably from "pros" (by that I mean people who do it for a living or work on commission or simply have a very high rating on Cmon) and gives us amateurs only a minimal chance to reach a place on the podium.... btw did you notice that the initials (FF) of this contest are the same as those of the organizer ? Cheers !

True , but they offer 3 types of beer (strong, light and medium) if I recall my last visit to Stockholm.. This refers to the percentage of alcohol and not to the brands... :thumb: and this is kind of unique !

I like the minotaur : it is actually better done than the recent releases from Rackham (Minotaur of the plains and Drune minotaur) and would blend in perfectly in the Confrontation game. Also, the filigree has a distinct Rackham flair...did Illyad borrow some sculptors from Big R ? The virgins (what a name !) look alright but I wouldn't know where to place them : for historical games or dioramas, they could be Native American girls, since the haircut and loincloth would fit but the swords look out of place. For Fantasy gaming, they look too much like historical figures IMHO. Anyway, those resin figures are probably very expensive like the rest of their ranges, so they won't fit my budget... Cheers !

Love the color scheme, the OSL, the base, the freehand, actually everything ! For a first try at OSL, it definitely came out real good; :thumb: this is again way out of my league...I dunno why I keep on painting... Cheers !

Yep, she looks too much like a Fianna to me, but she is way taller (65mm if I remember it right from the FB website). I like the pose, the hooves and horns but am not too fond of the wings and the sword : how can she wield a big sword in her back without endangering her wings ? It doesn't seem realistic... Ok, we are not looking for total realism, all of us fantasy freaks, but a little common sense should still apply. So, overall : I'll pass, sorry !

Hi Mick, I like the new model, and it will be a nice addition to your Fathom's Deep range. The only thing that troubles me is that one breast seems to be a bit squeezed... :thumb:

Ok, so I exaggerated a little :vb_tongue The actual figure is closer to 12 or 13, but most will be part of dioramas so I will not have that many entries... now back to work ! I gotta finish painting those eyes; I hate eyes ! Why do we have 2 of those anyway, one should be enough !

A few years back, I lived in San Francisco and was driving a little Mazda Miata (2seater convertible). This car was always parked in my garage at home with the top on cause the climate in Northern California- at least on the coast- is quite humid and fresh.. Anyway, one sunny day, I was able to drive with the top down-but of course with heating turned to maximum- and parked my car like that out of pure laziness. The following morning was foggy -always after a sunny day- so I just put the top back up and drove away to work. :kabong: dramatic pause Upon exiting the freeway downtown with the usual busy traffic, I took a sharp turn to a shortcut known only to me and a few thousand others and was in the midst of accelerating to what qualified as unlawful speeding when something big, black and hairy came dangling from the roof hanging by a thread right in front of my eyes. The sharp turn had destabilized a peaceful eight-legged hairy monster that had probably crawled from my dusty garage back home into the cozy folds of my car roof top. You can imagine my shock and the crazy reaction I had at the same moment : my car zigzagued and nearly bumped into half a dozen of fellow commuters :bump: sparking a flurry of dignified shouting and delicately upwardly pointing digits from a number of them as is common in civilized cities and often interpreted as signs of understanding and commiseration.... :rockon: There was nowhere to stop and I had to wait a good ten minutes before reaching my destination, all the time trying to drive with one hand while the other was busy chasing and fighting off the intruder :AR15firin A hell of a fight it was, and the ghastly creature fled cowardly into the back of my car, away from my heroic shouting and courageous finger fencing.. I left the top open for a few days, and never saw the beast again. Still, my life had been turned upside down, and I was never the same after that.. THE END

Truly loved the show and the movie; too bad it was cancelled so early. The figure is ok :peace:

:thumb: a real treat ... :hahaha: @GS : funny, for me it is quite the reverse : I was born in the UK, am French and now live in South East Asia (Malaysia). @FF : why don't you ask Edgar Ramos to shape a nice meal made of green stuff, have EricJ paint it up nicely (only 2 colors allowed this time :bowsucker ) and present it to your wife ? :gimmie!: Do you think she'll take the hint ?

yes congratulations to Cindy for a well deserved win ! hope you'll show us pictures of the painted Fenryll dragon @ Vike, the entry number is not a rating, it is just a chronological I think. Loved the snow and the freehand on the flag, btw Cheers !