Grace of my H-yawn-eart

Travel back with me now to a more innocent time... 1989 or so. I walked into a tiny CD shop in Brighton after hearing two songs by Kristen Vigard on the local public radio station, and I wanted to buy her album. The clerk there was able to order it for me after some searching through books. A week or so later I had the album, and have listened to it ever since. Note: using the word "album" makes me old.

Fast forward to 1996. I hear, again on public radio, that Kristen Vigard is doing the singing voice in the new movie Grace of my Heart. I am interested, but not enough so to seek out and see the film.

Fast forward again to about two months ago. I purchased Kristen Vigard's new (read: second) album, and it included the song "God Give Me Strength" from Grace of my Heart. I decide I'd like to see the movie now. Please also note that my use of quotes, italics and capitalization in titles is entirely arbitrary.

Saturday night, Stef and I sat down and watched the nearly two hours of Grace of my Heart, and it was tedious. It chronicles the life of a young heiress-who-would-be-singer/songwriter as she tackles (and succeeds in) various eras of music, while simultaneously marrying everyone with whom she collaborates. Her ambition is to be a singer, but it never really pans out until the end. Even the song for which I rented the movie is a commercial flop in the movie's plot. The problem is that the movie tries to be epic, and it really should have been a small story. Stef and I were bored silly by the end. Was it worth it? Meh. It was interesting to hear Kristen Vigard singing, but I wouldn't say it was worth the time investment.

Anime style?

My latest mini WIP is Warmachine Mercenary Warcaster Ashlynn D'Elyse. I don't play mercs in Warmachine, so this is probably an eBay item eventually.

After doing the face, it appears I now paint anime.

...and they're gone!

The Tau have shipped, and I have been paid... well, almost. I received about 20% less than originally mentioned, but with the promise that whatever the total minus shipping was I would get, so there still may be some money coming my way. It's a learning experience for both of us, so I'm willing to be flexible this time. Next time I'll get a hard number.


CoolMiniOrNot link: >>here<<

I was especially happy with how the Piranhas and Hammerhead turned out. Considering I had built/painted exactly ZERO vehicles before this commission I am fairly pleased with myself. The Hammerhead (top pic) has two choices for main cannon, and I contrived a way to change out the gun; nothing particularly complex, but a nice touch for the customer on a kit that normally forces you to glue one cannon or the other in place when you build it.

They Leave Tomorrow

Another bleary night painting Tau...

Except for one single figure holding binoculars, they are done. At long last.
All WIP photos here: http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/viewthread.php?tid=16520

Mark suggested that next week we designate an "opposite night" wherein he would come over and (finally) paint that Skorne box for Angelos, and I would ignore all outstanding commission work and paint something of my own. I like that idea.

Three Weeks of Painting in One Post

I mentioned that "Tau continue" in my last post, but I don't think I've mentioned what Tau actually are. I am doing a commission army for a fellow in Italy of Warhammer 40k figures. The faction in question is Tau, an anime inspired army, who battle for "the greater good."




























Sorry, but I don't have a clue how to format multiple photos in this interface.

The Inevitable

Last night our cat Mabel died. For about a year she had been developing tumors, the largest of which was on the right side of her face. Add to that the fact that she was 16 years old and really fat and you'll see why her death was no real surprise. It lessens the blow, but it's still sad. It was pretty clear by 10:30 PM that she was headed downhill, and we chose to wake the girls to say their goodbyes to her. We were going to take her to a 24-hour vet just to prevent her from suffering for hours upon hours, but she died before we could leave. I have heard about people or animals passing "peacefully" but have never experienced it. It always seems painful and wretched at the moment. I'm glad I was out of the room when my friend Monty died; if he had died in the same manner as the animals I have been with it would have been a haunting memory indeed.

Mark was over painting with me when Stef found Mabel. He hasn't been over in ages to paint, and was able to watch the kids while Stef and I took Mabel to the vet. (I really couldn't bury her in our backyard.) It's comforting to know that God watches out for us in little ways like that... neither Stef nor had to make the solo journey to drop Mabel off, and we got to commiserate and remember her during the trip.

In other news, Tau continue. Not much progress last night obviously.