Hello !
I am reading your site since two years, passively.
I am 68, retired after a long life in the field of medical devices and I discovred figurine painting, instead of my planned plastic sailing ships.
After one year of learning with acrylic painting techniques, end of 2012, I joined the AMC club in Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium and discovered oil painting. It was a beautiful move, but the difference in handling oil paints, slow drying, against acrylic, immediate drying, rendered me mad and it took one year to acquire new habits in the technique.
In June 2013, I discovered flat painting and and new flash came, so I now paint 80% of flats and much less figurines. The discovery of 3D illusion and 'trompe l'oeil' technics, cast shadows, blending, consistent lightening are still fascinating me today. I am still poor in free hands painting, and in basing my figurines, and in conversions, but it will eventually come in the future.
I do participate to some competitions to measure my level and try to improve, but my number 1 ennemy today is ... age, as I realize I have only a (very) few years still in front of me, during which improvements will be more and more compensated by a degradation of the eyes and the precision in holding a brush (*).
Although I was passively reading your site the past 18 months, I am happy to join this forum, to discover many new skilled painters, also the American styles, and therefore to continue learning, and so I joined yesterday the 2014-2015 painting Kulmbach project , even a bity late to calibrate myself in your group.
I will soon post some of my few last paintings, and will appreciate your recommendations and support to move my battle above (*) as far as I can in the good direction. I have also convinced my 68 wife too to join last year too. She started end of 2011 with canevas painting first to add flats one year ago. I'll also post some of her works.
I was sad of not joining the Folkestone exhibition this year as I spend spring and summer in Turkey.
Thank you Brian for your support and friendship !