Monday, November 26, 2018

Lilacs Again....




More Layers....

Still not being satisfied with my Lilac stems, Dear Readers, I snagged a section of the shedding bark from one of the RL ancient shrubs at work and brought it home just before Thanksgiving. I had some time off over the Holiday and wanted to experiment with an idea that had been teasing me for a long time. Above you can see the bark piece, in daylight, on my kitchen table. I have always thought that the oldest parts of the stems appeared lighter in color than the younger parts. I wanted to compare my shrubs with the real thing! I think I see a lighter tan-gray color than I was getting on my last paint layers. But more than that, I see the flaking texture of the bark itself, and so far I had not achieved this with the texture on my Lilac Stems. But I had an idea that was just begging to be tried...

I kept looking at a scrap of sandpaper that was lying on my worktable,
 and thinking that maybe I could cut thin strips of it
 and attach them randomly to the Lilac shrub stems...?
The color by itself was close, 
but too monotone.... it would need painting.
(Do you see the narrow strip of cut sandpaper lying on the piece of bark?)

And here are my trusty lilac twigs too....
(Just for color comparison... 
because the twigs still need painting too.)

And the Real Life bark held close to the painted stems..... 
the color is close, but I am seeing more tan in the real bark.
Clearly I needed to make some more layers on the shrubs!

I painted the sandpaper in a mottled pattern... 
trying to approximate the colors of the RL bark, 
(but not worrying about precision because
 it would be cut into tiny strips.)

Then I tested adding strips of the sandpaper to one of the shrubs.
 I had decided that a cut edge was too artificial, 
so I needed to crease and tear the sandpaper
 into very thin strips in order to get a raggedy edge.

And because I was still just experimenting, I didn't take many pictures.
Meanwhile I was also painting the rest of the "twigs" on the unfinished shrubs....


And believe me, this takes a very long time!
 
 
And I was also completing blossom number thirty-three!
 
And here it is in the box with its buddies....!
 
But it was the bark that I really wanted to work on, Dear Readers,
 to see if I could make the stems look as 
old and raggedy as the ones I was trying to copy! 

Here you can see one of the strips torn from the sandpaper....

Here you can sort of see them attached to one of the shrubs...
The shedding pieces are all near the bottom of the oldest stems... 
the newer bark is not shedding.
And I needed to copy this on all the four shrubs!

I was liking the texture ..... 
here you can see one of the shrubs in place.....
( I know the lighting is a bit to harsh here....)

But the white paper edges needed to be painted.... 
and another lighter layer of color needed to be added to the stems overall,
 and to try to blend the shaggy bark seamlessly with the stems.

So I mixed more paint.... staying on the lighter side.... 
because it dries darker than you think it will! 
This mixed color when dried is the dark blob on the
 bottom left corner of the sample test-card.....!

Here is one of the shrubs with the sandpaper painted that lighter color....
 (hard to tell it is a lighter color!)....
 but I am really liking how this is looking!
 It adds just enough more of a three dimensional texture to the shrubs!

But there was one more layer of
 detail I wanted to add, Dear Readers, 
and that was very fine ink lines
 to simulate the cracks in the bark....!
Above you can see I have added them 
to the stems on the right, but not yet on the left...

And again, with a comparison with the Real Life Bark sample....
 Ohhh, I think I have nearly got it!
(You might have to poke the pictures to really see the details!)

And here it is again, in place in The Folly Garden...
All I have to do is draw those bark lines on all three other shrubs too!

Meanwhile, Rest assured I was not forgetting blossom number Thirty-four!

And here it is waiting in the box!
The shrubs are almost at a point 
where I can begin to safely add the
 completed blossoms to the stems!
(But I am way behind on my leaf-making....
 so it might be slower than I think...!)

I have to admit, I am very pleased with my shaggy bark!
And while I can't promise there will be no more
 layers of paint on these shrubs, Dear Readers,
 I can say I think my Lilacs will bloom
 splendidly in the Spring!


Monday, November 19, 2018

Thanksgiving....




A Family Affair......

Sally May was Upset, Dear Readers, because the weather forecast was for bitter Cold temperatures to arrive for Thanksgiving. Sally May loved to cook and was always happiest when she shared with her whole family, and Thanksgiving was such a family affair, it was her favorite Holiday! But this year it seemed as though it would be impossible to host the family at her home. This was due to the windows in several rooms still not having been fixed!

"I'm really sorry Hon," said Chip.
 "The materials I had on order didn't arrive...." 
"I could stretch some plastic over them
 in the meantime...." he added apologetically.

"That won't be good enough..." said Sally May, annoyed.
"We can't have the Grandparents over to sit in such Cold!"
"Oh, and that reminds me" added Chip,
 "My folks decided to stay home and tend the fires.
 They're worried the pipes will freeze if they are gone too long."
"I guess I'll call Mama and tell her
 we can't have everybody here...." said Sally May.

As soon as Joanna heard from Sally May, she went to find Helen.
"Sally May and Chip will not be able to host the Dinner..." she said.
 "Their windows are still not fixed and it will be much too cold over there."
 
 
 "We can all eat over her this year...." said Helen....
 "Do we have the supplies...?" She added.
 "We'll need to get the turkey in the oven right away!
 
 "I'll run to the market... " said Charles.
 
"I'll clean the kitchen"... said Victor, 
"I know my way around the sink!"

Before long the table was cleaner than it had been in a long time!

Joanna got started with peeling the squash and potatoes....

Helen joined her as soon as she had finished her row of knitting.... 
(she didn't want to drop a stitch!)
"Let me start making the stuffing..." she said.

By the time Sally May and Chip
 and Annabelle arrived,
 the Turkey was stuffed and in the oven.

Chip and Annabelle joined Charles in the Living Room.
They knew better than to try and be in the kitchen!

Sally May didn't want to be anywhere but the kitchen....
"Tell me what needs to be done..." she said as she arrived.
"I guess I will go see if Charles needs anything..."
 said Victor, making his escape.

Charles and Chip were still just saying hello...
Victor knew just how they were feeling....
 being an in-law himself...
It was best to leave the ladies to the kitchen
 when they got started cooking!
Chip was wishing he could find a TV somewhere.... 
this was the only house he'd ever known that had no TV!
 
 
Eventually Helen came in to let them know the food was ready....!
But where was Pollyanna? 
And Arthur?

 Well, Dear Readers, Pollyanna was playing
 in her attic hideaway....
 and Arthur may have been napping!

"Did you hear someone calling..." she said?
 "Maybe we should go down now.... 
I can smell the turkey from here" said Arthur!

"Have we got everything..." said Sally May?
"I think so... " said Joanna.... 
"We can put the pies in to warm later."
 
"It sure smells good in here..." said Pollyanna....

"Wow!" said Victor.... "what a great bird!"
 
"I want some Turkey..... " said Annabelle excitedly!

"First we say Grace, darling..." said Helen.
Charles cleared his throat and said the Blessing...
"May we all give Thanks for the great blessing
 of the Bounty before us...
 And may we never forget the Great Blessing 
of a Wonderful Family to share it with!"
"Amen!" said Victor.
 "I will carve..." he added happily! 

Well, Dear Readers, I hope you all
 have a Wonderful Thanksgiving! 
And whether you are sharing it 
Early or Late, with Few or Many...
 I hope yours will be a Family Affair!
 
And I would like to add that I am Very Thankful
 for the Great Blogland Family of miniaturists out there 
All You who share so much with so many....
In a "Little" way, it touches me deeply!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Monday, November 12, 2018

Revisiting......




More Stems and Twigs.....

You will think I have done Nothing at all, Dear Readers, from looking at the pictures of the stems of the Lilac shrubs, but I assure you that I have spent the weekend adding layer upon layer of paint to those shrubs! The point of the four shrubs is to make them look like the same shrub.... in different seasons... so I needed to duplicate the same paint layers I had used on the first one! That one was somewhat experimental, but the truth is, each layer of paint that is added makes for a more realistic end result. This is because the bark on a shrub (or tree) is never really just one color. It is many many colors, seen in different light  and shadows and blending to form an "impression" of "bark color". Most people see this as brown... but upon close inspection it is usually a very grayish brown sometimes with a more tan hue and sometimes with a red or black hue.... which is challenging to duplicate! But I was repeating what I had already done on the first shrub... which was to start with a dark gray layer that would be visible in any "crevices" in the bark once lighter colors had been layered over it. Above you can see one of the shrubs part-way done.

The next layer went to the opposite extreme... 
almost the color of bare exposed wood... 
but it adds to the depth you see when other colors
 are added over it and not every bit is covered completely.

The third layer tries to close in on the "color"
 people think they are seeing when they look at bark...
 a drab brownish gray..... again leaving
 highlights of the previous layers visible in spots....

And the next layer is a darker more brown less gray layer....
really just brushing on highlights over the other layers,
 not trying to cover it completely at all.

Which I did for all the rest of the shrubs! 
Now at least they are all at the same layer of color depth!
 I am sure I will continue to add layers...
 I don't think it is completely right yet... 
but it is getting closer!
And at the same time I need to add the color to the rest of the twigs... 
which so far have only been painted on one of the shrubs! 
And in between all those layers of paint...
 
 
 I did complete blossom number Thirty-two!

And in the box with the ever growing
 group of double blossom stems!
(Remember there are already four blossoms attached to the shrub..!)
 
And because it seems so boring to just show layers of paint....
I will share with you Dear Readers, 
a rare peek into the Tree House....
because the sun came to play for a minute or two on Saturday morning...!
 (You have no idea how rare a thing this has been this year!)
 
 
Do you even remember the Tree House? 
Standing so patiently beside The Folly.... 
on the Other side from the lilac shrub and the Glass House.....
It is the home of the Rats... 
it is approximately one-quarter scale (1:48)

At the very bottom, nestled in the ground between the roots is the Kitchen....
(I have not built anything on this project since 2014....!
 But it is still not finished at all...)

The next floor up is the salon.....
Since the leaves are off the RL trees
 the sun is shining way into my workroom
for a few minutes early in the morning....

Sorry about the reflections....
 I needed to snap the pictures 
in a hurry before the sun ran away....

The next floor up is the Library.....
 where so many items have fallen on the floor....

Nobody has been in to tidy up in quite a while....

I do love this room....!

And the bedroom on the next floor.....
( Oh!.... There is somebody home! 
So sorry for intruding...! 
It is rather early to be visiting!)

And the floor above... the Bath Chamber.....

With the most beautiful Tub in the world....!
All these rooms are lit with LED's....
 and the entire Tree is just a Tree beside The Folly....
I have not had the Time or the Focus 
to work on the next rooms in this project...
 perhaps when I am done with the Lilac Shrubs, 
I will know better how to finish the Tree!

So I will keep working away at the Lilac Shrubs, Dear Readers, 
In the hopes that I will be mastering techniques
 that will be useful on so many other
of my unfinished projects!
Because Someday I will be 
Revisiting the Tree House... 
to make Twigs and Stems again!