Post #695339 by tigertail777 on Fri, Oct 4, 2013 2:28 AM

Hey Thanks MDM and Wendy! Yet another vocation that endlessly fascinates me. I think it would be fun to be a detective if it were all like in whodunit books... but I am wise enough to know the real thing is a lot more messy and complicated. I'll stick to Agatha Christie. :)

A little bit of an update, but I am using a different camera right now which sucks all the color out of the picture unfortunately. I'll get back to the other camera soon. I did a little bit of paint organization, the older thin paints I had left I put in bins. Bet you can't guess my favorite game. :wink:

The ones Wendy was so kind to send I had shelves built for. I will be putting in more hanging nails on the sides to hang the ones I use the most like the red one is now.

Okay so now on with the show...

The first thing was, I realized that the arch needed to come over just a little bit more to meet the corner of the building, and also need more "weight" to it. So I penciled a line closer in and carefully painted down it.

Then I added that bottom pedestal block to the pillar, and lowered the stage just a bit. The angle is ever so slightly off on the pedestal because if I lowered the stage more to accommodate the actual angle, the stage would be too low in comparison to the audience. I can live with it being slightly off, but the perfectionist in me can't help but notice it every time I look. I'm probably the only one it will ever bother.

After that it was more intricate tiny brush details: the painted designs on the moulding edge above the screen. First green.

Then red.

Then black.

Having finished that, I went in and adjusted some of the light reflection for when I do the final stage which will really help give punch to the "night time" effect. I also put some more of the decorative painted elements on the nearest exit pillar.

Shadows were then added to in the corners, and I put the winged sun hieroglyphic on the stage arch. That arch really bothers me; I have fully confirmed in my mind that it was painted over, and had more decorative elements originally but I just don't know what kind it had. I am going to have to guess to get it anywhere near what I think it may have looked like, but I really don't have much to go on. What really bothers me is the sides of the arch are vertical so would need some kind of vertical motifs and the only thing really vertical that has already been used is the cartouches on the ends of the little "arch" above the exit door. Unless they repeated some of the other border designs; I am thinking that probably the edge at least had the same design as that of what I just painted on the top of the stage arch. If I only had a higher resolution close up photo of those unpainted corners above the current pillar positions I could do a much better educated guess. It really bothers me that I will be having to "fudge" it since it is so obviously the focal point of the entire room. I'll try not to worry about it too much though and get on with the really difficult challenge coming up: the audience.

Welp... until next we meet in the swirling desert sands, ta ta for now.