Last night I was trying to bust through some GZG Colonial Civilians and I realized something: painting has become a chore. I had them all on sticks and was painting away and thought, this is stupid. I should be doing these one at a time and enjoy the process rather than just trying to tick another box in the lead pile.
Years ago, I painted for enjoyment. The joy of completing a piece that was both unique and well done (at least to the level of my ability). However, in 2018-2020 I took a long break from painting, for reasons that I cannot really describe. Perhaps it was due to the fact that there was no one to share the joy with (online social interaction is not all that satisfying, at least to me). In any case it was not until May of this year that I started again, replenishing my 15mm sci fi ranks after selling many ranges off in 2019. It has been a productive year for sure, with almost 2000 models completed.
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| painting this 1E AD&D Dragon was enjoyable....I need to feel that more. |
When I played Warhammer I made these out of crap around the house. Its been years since I had that level of creativity.
However, that number feels hollow for some reason. My skill level has increased but I am not being adventurous or really exploring new things. Perhaps it is my inherent impatience: get things finished ASAP and move on because there is a lot more behind that one. In any case I decided last night that this must stop. No more mass army painting, at least for the near future. Focus needs to be on individual miniatures and exploring new color pallets and techniques.
Spacejacker's blog is long dead. However I still visit it for inspiration. So should you.
http://tinysolitarysoldiers.blogspot.com/
Ignore the lead pile. It is a means to an end. Nothing more.
That Tzeentch chariot is ace!
ReplyDeleteThat’s was during a time when he didn’t make models for everything. Made three of those chariots, using poker chips and bits.
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