Flat Art?

[Glen]

Thanks Patrick.The two IPMS groups in the DFW area have a few figure painters, but not many it seems. There is also a separate IPMS car group. We have an impression that there are more figure painters in the Austin/San Antonio and Houston areas. Maybe OKC/Tulsa as well. IPMS shows here are heavily into aircraft and armor and it shows in the vendor participation. That's the way IPMS generally rolls now.


Years ago, we had flirted with the idea of having a figure show (comp, vendors, displays, etc) and we were even offered seed money from MMD/Squadron at the time, but it never came to anything. The vast majority of the NTFC membership was against it.  We have had an NTFC-specific display at the local library. They have large glass wall display cases and we were able to put in a wide variety of figures, building/painting materials, books,and modeling magazines. We kept everything PG-13, but at the last one, one older gentleman, looking out for everyone else's welfare, demanded the library pull a 15" anime piece of a gal wearing a mask, black corset, and thigh-high boots. He had no objection to Waffen-SS... Personally, I think a simply 'display only' show would not work out even if it had vendors; the local modeling mentality just doesn't seem to support it. Nevertheless, it might be time to revisit the issue.

[PJDeluhery]

Very true!


Patrick, could you tell us about your club display show? The usual whos, whats, whens, wheres, and hows.


My club - The North Texas Figure Club - doesn't put on its own show, but we do help out (or try to) at the local LoneStar and ReaperCon shows. NTFC members cover pretty much everythingin the figure genres ranging from 30mm gaming minis up to large scale resin anime/manga pieces with all of the various scales and subjects in between - historical, sci-fi/fantasy, radio, TV, an film characters, etc. We're either very open minded or we can't stay focused...


Glen

My club is an IPMS modeling club which has attracted over the last 20 or so years a variety of interesting sub groups -one of which is figures.  We have car modelers, ship builders, aircraft modelers, tank modelers, civilian truck and commercial equipment modelers, and more. We have built up a connection with the Bradley Air Museum near us in Connecticut. Once a year they invite us to display our work as an attraction for their "open cockpit weekend." They give us a big room, and we display all the above examples of our craft.it is a chance to reach out beyond modelers and painters to folks who have never seen what we do. The "figure guys" - so called - usually each pick a theme and bring figures to support that theme.  The last few years we have brought toy soldier dioramas on various themes as an adjunct to our painted work.  This has been very well received, and we sometimes get new members who want to do it for themselves.  I like to display my figures, answer questions and discuss history with those that show up.I've met some pretty amazing people and given them a look at something new to them.

[PJDeluhery]

  Patrick!!!!  I'm can't believe you said that!!! go and wash your mouth out with soap, this instant!!!!!
 

Mrufhhfhfh ....furhtw...... burble...blajh. 

[Nicholas Ball]

Glen, with Patrick I was referring to him saying about giving up painting engraved figures

Flat art is very exceptionally  important to us, it's where we get most of our inspiration for the engravings in the first place.

[Glen]

Very true!


Patrick, could you tell us about your club display show? The usual whos, whats, whens, wheres, and hows.


My club - The North Texas Figure Club - doesn't put on its own show, but we do help out (or try to) at the local LoneStar and ReaperCon shows. NTFC members cover pretty much everythingin the figure genres ranging from 30mm gaming minis up to large scale resin anime/manga pieces with all of the various scales and subjects in between - historical, sci-fi/fantasy, radio, TV, an film characters, etc. We're either very open minded or we can't stay focused...


Glen

[kevind]

An interesting conversation. I think any type of military/fantasy etc art is good to have on display at an exhibition. As far as "in competition" goes, that is the decision for each exhibition to make.

[Glen]

Now boys, there's plenty of room in the playpen... 

Glen

[Nicholas Ball]

    Patrick!!!!  I'm can't believe you said that!!! go and wash your mouth out with soap, this instant!!!!!
 

[PJDeluhery]

Well, if I could paint like that, I would never touch another engraved flat! I'm very jealous of people with such talent...which includes you, Glen.   

[Michael_43]

Hello Glen,
I think it´s a good erercise to paint something on a wood disc.
Some years ago I saw nice paintings on wood for the backgrounds of 30 mm flats dioramas.

For example I think about a medival scenery with a castle on a background of wood.
And in the foreground some hunting 30 mm flats ...

Best regards

Michael

[Glen]

Well, I got the lowdown... The piece is painted with Reaper acrylics over Tamiya Fine Gray spray primmer over gesso on a wooden  disk. There was no concept art or drawing on the disk. She roughed out  the outline using paint (!), then filled it all in using the mental image in her head ...her mind's eye.

The eye in my mind needs glasses...

To be continued.

Glen

[PJDeluhery]

Thanks, Larry. I forgot about those figures you mentioned. I think the point is that they are - for now - displays. However, if they were to be judged, they would be judged under the open system -as  is everything else at MFCA - so they would not really ever "compete" with our figures. Personally, I prefer displays over competitions. My local club has one display a year and it is always a success. For me, judging just interjects discord into what should be a joyful event, but I know many other disagree.   

[Glen]

Well, so far it seems that the numbers being entered are not sufficient to warrant separate categories and they seem to be 'display only' at this point. I do see that changing over time. I can see them initially being entered in the 'Painter' category if they become eligible for awards. There is a valid argument for entering them in 'Open' since they are essentially scratch-built. I'll leave that argument for the philosophers...


Putting a size limitation on the entries is a good idea (the pic I added below is about a two-inch/5 cm disk), otherwise things could get out of hand. I'm not sure the under-surface is relevant. People get creative, so painting on canvas, illustration board, wood, ceramic, stone, and yes, eggshells, would all be fair game. What would be relevant is the subject matter - people. Historical, sci-fi, fantasy, civilian, cartoon, comic, etc. - people.


I think the best place for them (for the moment) is the generic figure show: SCAHMS, MFCA, MMSI, etc., as well as the equivalent British/European shows and the World Expo. After all, they all have Ordnance categories for aircraft and armor, and Diorama categories which can be people, machines, or both. I think genre specific shows, such as Kulmbach (?), would probably opt out.


I think I would like to take a crack at one of these - and I know just the person to ask. I have Jessica's email addy...


Glen

[Hannibal]

I do agree with Roland,   my wife is painting flats, but also large canevas ... if tomorrow she reduces the size to somethng smaller, why not bringing them to the figurines exhibitions?
These pieces should be off competition for display only, and perhaps indeed in the future add one category "Miniatures" = paintings on flat surfacs of free- hands characters of sizes not exceeding xx cm (today ? 120mm? or even 1:6 ?).
There is no problem to enlarge the scope of art figures, but classes should be defined, to allow fair comparison and competition between artists.   
After all this is also a hobby, not a commercial (painting) activity for profit fighting (yet !!), even if some do it so occasionally.
 

[Roland Simon]

What comes next? Painted easter eggs (some very talented painters in that category.....)? I'm sorry, but a figure or a bust (casted) is o.k., but all other items have nothing to do with a figure show and in my opinion should not be judged in any way.
Cheers
Roland