NaMoPaiMo - Week 1

My friend Sarah sent this guy, Itza Hoot, to me. He was one of her 2024 retro vintage customs. Sarah makes a group of them for National Retro Vintage Month (NaReViMo). Sarah has been encouraging me to get playful. It is one way address the urge towards perfectionism that many of us grapple with when creating model horses. 

Her NaReViMo horses are supposed to be fun to make. They also have to be completed in a set amount of time. I looked at the goal (playfulness) and the constraints (small time investment) and decided that it sounded like a great fit for National Model Painting Month (NaMoPaiMo). 

The Idea

I wrote about splatter painting last summer. Roans created using this technique always remind me of my early days as a customizer. I do not have any of my own examples, but I still have one done by my friend, Judy Renee Pope. Judy and I were very active in a mini model club in the early 1980s, which is when she made Nejmet es Subh. 

When I saw Sarah's 2026 NaReViMo horse, Romper, I knew I wanted to try a retro-style splatter roan. 

Romper is a classic roan with a dark liver chestnut base color. I wanted the sort of heavily roaned sabino pattern that the Nejmet has, but with a dark chestnut base color similar to his. The result would be a model that captured some part of two good friends—Sarah and Judy—who were also big influences on my artistic life, a bit of nostalgia for simpler times, and a color variety that has captured my interest for decades. 

The Plan

I do a lot of things that seem excessive or fussy now, but are about making less work later. One of those things is creating a written plan. I haven't always done that. I got into the habit when I started working in earthenware. Ceramic underglaze is unforgiving, and for most of the process, you cannot touch it, so complex colors require a lot of planning. It has proven to be helpful for traditional painting, too. With all the distractions out there, my memory for what I used to create this or that color or effect isn't what it used to be! 

I also assembled my reference images. The pattern I was after was most like the Arabian mare FV Alarazzl Rose. I have a handful of similar Arabians and a few Welsh Ponies for reference, but I plan to reference pretty loosely. Splattering is unpredictable, and I don't want to get set on a particular idea too early. 

First steps

My preference is to prime the horse white, then do a base layer in acrylic craft paint that is close to the final color. While many artists disparage craft paint, I find that the chalky surface makes it ideal for applying other mediums. 

Because this horse will have extensive white markings, I will use a warm white for the face and legs. These will be masked when I base coat the body dark brown.

The airbrush is great for getting smooth, even coverage, but the downside is that building up a dark color often leaves an edge where the masking ends. Since the borders of the leg markings were going to fade into the roan pattern, I needed a way to soften the edge.

My solution was to wrap the very top of the legs with a bit of pipe cleaner before using Press N'Seal to mask off the lower leg. The adhesive on the wrap stuck well enough to the fiber to hold it all in place. I suspect I could have just as easily used a scrap of felt or fleece—anything soft that could fit under the wrap—but the pipe cleaner was handy.

I airbrushed a bit of pinking to the muzzle before masking it with liquid latex. I find it easier to visualize the face if the markings aren't stark white. Here she is after I wrapped her feet, but before I added the latex to the face. 

This is her after the brown acrylic was airbrushed over the body. I've reapplied the liquid masking to her face and wrapped her feet with tinted plastic wrap to keep those areas clean while I use oil paint to get the major shifts in her body color. 

That is where I will pick up next week. With luck, I will have her body color where I want it by the time I leave to judge at Sunset Coast!