World War II Diorama - Part 2

My disappointment in the realism of the two tanks in this diorama led me to do some more research. What I discovered was a wide range of specialist ageing and weathering products, specifically designed for this purpose. However, I have also seen some remarkable results created just with paint. So for this first model I decided not to use any weathering products and rely entirely on what I could achieve using acrylic paint. 

To begin with, having constructed the partially demolished cottage on the base, I have simply painted the scene to give the impression of grass, mud, stone, brick, etc.

I quickly saw that paint alone wasn't going  to be good enough so made myself some materials. Scale model rocks and stone can be bought but I decided to make my own. I collected a selection of stones and pebbles from my garden and crushed them. They made perfect 'rubble' for spreading around the demolished cottage. I simply daubed PVA glue where I wanted rubble, poured on the crushed stones, and then shook off the excess loose stuff.

After I'd put down a reasonable mix of rocks, stone, brick and rubble, I set to work painting some of the military equipment. Oil cans, Ammunition boxes, a bicycle, and my first infantryman - the radio operator.

For the first time I'm starting to believe that making a realistic scene is a possibility but my efforts are grossly inferior to models I've seen on the 'net. That doesn't detract from the fact that I'm enjoying this immensely.

Previous posts about Models

D-Day Diorama
Part 1

A toy that's never
been played with

Boys and their
toys

World War II Diorama - Part 1

Recently I have seen some Diorama models made by a very skilled member of my forum, and found the realism he is able to create quite breath taking. In awe of his work I felt inspired to "have-a-go" for myself.

Around the same time, following last years 80th anniversary of D-Day, memories of my late father's war time service have been stirred, in particular his landing on the Normandy beaches during Operation Overlord. My thoughts aligned and the idea of building a D-Day diorama were born.

I discovered a scale model kit called "Operation Overlord" that depicts the D-Day beach landings, and that was perfect for what I wanted. After I'd bought it; studied what you get in the box; pondered where on earth to start; and reflected on how good (or bad) a job I might do, I decided I'd like to start with something smaller and less important - I wanted to make the "Operation Overlord" diorama as good as I could get it and didn't want to spoil it by using it as a practice piece.

Another smaller kit called "D-Day Battlefront" provided the perfect solution, not only because of it's smaller size and simpler construction but also because it wasn't as meaningful to me and it wouldn't matter so much if I messed it up.

I haven't made a plastic construction kit since I was about 13 years old and back then it was a case of slapping glue on everything and leaving it unpainted. This time I am attempting to create something more realistic. The kit comprises of a flimsy plastic base with all the components necessary to create a realistic landscape, a couple of tanks, sundry military equipment and a few dozen soldiers.

I decided to begin with the Allied Forces Sherman tank. Once constructed I painted it in the standard olive and added the decals. Next I made a deliberately messy job of adding brown and grey paints to create the illusion of rust and mud. I soon learnt that creating realism is much harder than I had expected. 

My version of the German Tiger tank looks as if it's just come out of the showroom - I certainly need to do a lot better than this.

Rose Hip

 

In my Art Forum we run a few projects and challenges every month, as a bit of fun. Most members of this very small  online community join in and it is nice sharing our work and seeing how others have tackled the same subject. It's not a competition to see who's painting is the best, but a sharing of approaches and techniques that widen our own appreciation of our chosen medium. 

Another big benefit, which I for one appreciate greatly, is that it puts before us subjects that we wouldn't otherwise consider tackling. Take this Rose Hip for example. Left to my own devices, a subject such as this wouldn't cross my mind - it's just not my cup of tea. Also, some subjects are well outside our comfort zones as I suspect most artists stick with what they know they can do. 

Tackling new subject matter and being dragged outside our comfort zones may not sound like 'fun', but it is, and I'm convinced my art has improved as a result.

Some previous forum projects

Cannon

Kitten on a fence

Turtle

Combining Marquetry and Pyrography

It has occurred to me many times that it ought to be possible to combine my two new interests of Marquetry and Pyrography, so I decided to have a go. I grabbed the next draw from my small unit and drew out a design. I chose a piece of very plain veneer for the middle section, and a grained but similarly coloured veneer for panels either side. My plan was to burn an old Oak tree onto the plain middle section and cut some shapes to create acorns in the side panels. I chose a grey veneer to use for an edging. 

The initial burning of the tree went well and I glued all the pieces to the drawer but as I sanded the wood for a smooth finish I found the tree getting fainter and fainter. I'd half expected something like this to happen but, as a novice, I needed to see the effect unfold before I could decide what to do about it. The answer was to go over the tree again with the burner and darken it throughout. Though it was much harder burning on the raised draw front rather than a flat surface, I achieved an acceptable result.

The French Polishing process has yellowed and darkened the wood much more than I would have liked, which is disappointing, but overall I found the process quite successful and I'm now happy that I can add 'pictures' to my marquetry designs.

Previous posts on Marquetry

Pyrography
Wood burning a Lion

My First Box
just to work out how.

Practice
for Major Project

Daffodil in wood

I've decided to decorate the next drawer of my small storage unit with another flower bloom, and this time I've chosen a Daffodil. I began by finding a suitable photo and converting it to Grayscale as this helps me with the tonal values when I'm choosing the veneers. I then drew out on a piece of tracing paper a very simplistic view of the flower head, reducing it to as few 'pieces' as I could manage. I was quite pleased that I reduce it down to just 9 shapes.

The next job was to choose the veneers. For each 'element' of the flower I looked for a piece of wood that was the right tone, with grain running the right way, that would sit well next to other pieces.

For those interested, the method I use is the "Double Bevel" method. I tried the "Window" method early on in my marquetry journey but couldn't get very accurate shapes. I'm not saying it's a bad method, just that I get on better using Double Bevel.

Once I had all the elements cut out the next stage was Sand Shading. As you will see from the photo, I have a pan of fine sand on a very hot hot plate. I dip each piece of the flower into the sand where I think it needs some shading. The hot sand 'burns' the thin wood, which gives the effect of shading. This is a process that I'm not very good at, so I'm doing it whenever I can, to get the practice. As I mentioned in my previous post, there are many variables involved and I haven't yet got the experience to be sure of getting the right result.

So with the shading done I am disappointed to see a couple of places where the wood has singed, but on a positive note, there are some places where I'm really pleased with the shadow created. All of the pieces I'm making for this storage unit are for practice only, and this is the reason why. If you compare the flower before and after shading, you can see that the shading does add another dimension to the design, so it's worth persevering to get this technique right. 

From here to the finished article is just a case of applying Shellac Sanding Sealer (4/5 coats) and then French Polishing (6-10 coats or more), sanding with a high grit sandpaper between every coat.

Here are a couple of photo's of the finished piece. I'm very pleased with the marquetry side of things, though wood grain choices still need more thought, but I'm still struggling with the polishing process. The shine isn't as shiny as I wanted, nor as even. Much more practice and learning is needed in that regard.

Previous posts on Marquetry

My First Box
just to work out how.

Flower design
for drawer front

Practice
for Major Project

Tulip in wood

It's been quite a while since I last tried doing any Marquetry but a few days ago the urge took me to get out my veneers and have another go. As you may recall, I have a cheap, plain wood, Ikea storage unit and my plan is to use the draw fronts as practice pieces as I try and learn new techniques. 

This time I decided to try and create a Tulip flower and to also use Sand Shading to try and define the petals. You can see the result below. 

The Sand Shading is extremely difficult to master because the sand temperature, depth of sand, temperature of hotplate, softness of wood, length of time wood is exposed to sand, etc, are all variables that we need to try and understand. As you will see, though I've got the basics, some parts of the petals are over-shaded and burnt. Getting the right degree of shading without burning the wood, is the skilful part. As well as a photo of the new draw front I've also included a photo showing it in place in the unit. 

Previous posts on Marquetry

My First Box
just to work out how.

Flower design
for drawer front

Practice
for Major Project

Cannon

I came across this ornate cannon, and others like it, when I visited the quaint and whacky village of Portmeirion in North Wales. Portmeirion sits in the estuary of the river Afon Dwyryd and it's cannons sit along a harbour wall guarding the village from attacks by boat.

Whether or not these cannons are functional or merely decorative is something I've wondered about because they wouldn't be very mobile without wheels, and I wonder how well those curved legs would withstand the forces of the gun firing.

For those who've never been, Portmeirion was built by an eccentric millionaire who shipped in unusual looking buildings brick-by-brick from around the world. They are painted in bright, vibrant colours and the village is more like Disneyland than a regular village of houses. There is a ship semi-built into the harbour wall, so there is no way it could float. The village is a fantasy land, and it is for this reason that I suspect the functionality of the cannons. That said, they are great to look at and made a very interesting subject to paint.

A litle more about Portmeirion

Portmeirion

Turtle

There's not a lot to say about this one. It's from a photograph I posted in my forum as the Monthly Painting Challenge, and this is my attempt. Obviously it's a Turtle and I painted it using watercolours - what else can I say. LOL.

When is a stamp, not a stamp ....

.... when it's a Cinderella. 

Almost since the beginning of postage stamps, there have been 'stamps' produced that are not official Postage stamps. Often referred to as 'labels', these non-postage stamps became known as "Cinderella's". The term was introduced by early philatelists because, like the fairly tale character, these were downtrodden and inferior when compared to proper postage stamps.

Though Cinderella stamps have no intrinsic value, and are essentially worthless, they can still demand high prices by collectors if they are sufficiently rare. To many, like me, the interesting stories behind these 'labels', are what make them collectable. Here are just three examples from my own collection:-

1. Lundy: Lundy is a small island that lies 10 nautical miles (19 km) off the coast of Devon, England. In 1928 the General post Office withdrew it's interest in Lundy so it's owner, Martin Coles Harman introduced his own service, carrying mail free of charge to the mainland. In 1929 he introduced the first Lundy stamps to offset his costs. At first the Lundy stamp charge, or Puffinage, only covered carriage to the mainland but since 1974 an additional charge has been incorporated and separate UK stamps are no longer needed. Lundy is the oldest private postal service operating in the world today.

2. Berlin Airlift: The Berlin Blockade (June 1948-May 1949) was one of the first major crises of the Cold War. The Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under Western control. From 26 June 1948 to 30 September 1949, American and British air forces flew over Berlin 250,000 times, dropping essential food and fuel. The plan had been to drop 3,475 tons of supplies daily but by the spring of 1949, twice that was often being delivered. As an off-shoot, a concurrent Operation Little Vittles saw aircraft nicknamed "raisin bombers" dropping candy to generate goodwill among German children.

3. Republik Maluku Selatan: Labels inscribed 'Republik Maluku Selatan' are among the most well-known of all Cinderella stamps. Part of modern-day Indonesia, the 'Republic of the South Moluccas' was a self-proclaimed (and unrecognised) independent nation, established on 25 April 1950 from part of what had been the Dutch East Indies. Most South Moluccas stamps are known to be the work of New York stamp dealer Henry Stolow, and aimed squarely at collectors. Maluku Selatan stamps are therefore considered to be bogus or fantasy issues. I'm sure the very badly guillotined stamp in my collection would be worth good money if it were a genuine postal stamp rather than a worthless piece of paper.

Cinderella stamps .... of little value but far from boring.

Artistic Licence or not?

My neighbour recently moved out of the area. She'd been here many, many years but we've only known her since we moved here, almost 5 years ago. I thought it would be nice to do her a drawing of her bungalow as a memento of her time here. I popped outside with my camera and took a photo to use for reference. It was a gorgeous sunny day and the sun was shining brightly.

Though I was initially quite pleased with my effort, the more I looked at it, the less I liked it. At first I was unsure why but then realised it was because of the shadows. The reference photo was taken on a very sunny day with strong shadows and, as usual, I stuck too rigidly to the reference. Those dark angular areas were spoiling the shape of her house. 

Unfortunately for my neighbour there were some delays with her move but that afforded me the time to do the drawing again. This time I used our old friend 'artistic licence' and I imagined the house without the shadows. That left too much white paper so I decided to draw in the brickwork, which I don't normally do other than a few small sections hinting at what might be there. Doing so has separated the house from the white of the paper and allowed the shape of the building to have more depth and dimension. 

I was much happier with the second version so that is the one I gave her, and she was delighted. I'll be really interested to hear how you all view the differences, and which of the two you prefer.