Thanks, My Lord. (He probably waited all day to see me say that!
)
Quick comment to uscmhicks comment above:
Do I ever get scared of messing up, Do I ever get it wrong?
Very interesting questions.
To me, I won't post a pic of a headpaint if I think it is "wrong". Whether the person that wants it thinks so is more relevant, but I always try to post it "right". I did work on a very important Sherlock Holmes for Amarcord where I did the eyes in a newer and more recently learned manner I actually liked, but when he wasn't happy with it, you bet I corrected it. Only because, I had varied from the exactitude of the original paint that I had done, myself, before, on a previous Sherlock head I had painted years before, that he had requested I copy to exactitude. (Which is harder to do than you might think, recreating an older style of your own, when you have moved on to newer methods.)
And, once I made it like the old one, it was better. I had fallen in love with a new method rather than keeping my eye on the final desired result, which I should have remembered in the first place. Clearly my bad.
So, yes and no. I am not ever really "scared" that I will ever get it
wrong, but I am always trying to do it all better. Every time.
If that fails, or I don't at least match what someone specifically asked for, then and only then, do I fail.
But, I have the power to correct such failures, so again, I am not
scared.
Wrong term.
As for anyone getting mad enough to throw their hard work across a room, let me say this,
please don't be so hard on yourself. I have had many days that I was not into the paint, or couldn't rustle up my vision, or something. And I just leave it. I learned one hell of a great lesson from a really mean, older female boss I had years ago,
IT IS ONLY PAINT!
Trust me, that is all it is. It can be repainted. I repaint eyes all the time. Irises, pupils. etc. Sometimes it takes several passes before you get it right. NO BIGGIE! It's all part of the deal. You learn by doing. NO ONE KNOWS THIS STUFF OUT OF THE WOMB! No matter how much they may brag, no one can. It is all learned method and technique. What you do bring from the cradle is your vision. Your personal sense of what you see, and how to reproduce something in some form. Getting what you want, from what is in front of you, is all smoke and mirrors. Tricks and nonsense, as Han Solo said. Techniques. Methods.
All else you have, is your vision and your commitment to trying to get it the way YOU want it.
Some have said this or that is why my paints stand out. (Or whatever)
Well, I can only think this, that it is because, each time, each paint, is something I loved doing. I see the character in it every time. It is more than just a paint job. That is how I make it
my art. My contribution. And in that, I cannot fail myself
if I myself like it.
If I don't like it, I don't post and send it off to someone.
I will repaint it again until it is right.
I can't imagine rushing or skimping or cutting corners. And you guys, trying to learn, will understand that, when you get where you want to be. You'll never look back.
So, good luck, and
stick with it. You will find your vision. It is in there, somewhere.
Have faith in yourself.
End of lecture!
Sorry about that. Just how I feel. Hope it helps someone.
Now, I gotta get back to these heads! LOL!