The 4-7 of you who visit this blog regularly may have been wondering what has become of me, as I haven’t been posting very much. Two things have contributed to my absence. At the end of July, I went on vacation and returned with Covid. The less said about the actual vacation the better, as it wasn’t one I wanted to go on in the first place, and one on which I thoroughly expected to get Covid. Guess what? I got it.
I’d managed to avoid Covid thus far, and I am fully vaccinated and boosted; but there are some things you can’t avoid, especially when you are surrounded by people who think Covid is “all done” and it’s time to party like it’s 1999. (I’ve avoided getting bitten by a lion so far, too; but I never actually put my hand in a lion’s mouth, and if I did, I would hardly be surprised if I got bit.) I take some comfort in the fact that this isn’t the Covid of two years ago, so I never felt in any danger of dying. But let me tell you, Covid fucking sucks. I haven’t been right in a month, and I still feel like shit. Hence, not much in the way of hobbying (or anything else, really).
The other reason is I’ve been playing Ghost of Tsushima. As weak and lethargic as I am in real life, I am still fully able to hold a PS5 controller in my hand, which means I am still fully capable of drawing my katana and slicing a bandit in half, all in one motion, and then watching his friends run away like the honorless dogs they are. It never gets old. I know this because I have literally killed hundreds of bandits in this manner, then casually flicked the blood off my sword before returning it to its sheath. I’m not bored yet.
BUT…it’s the Season of Scenery, and the god of scenery, Dave Stone, must be appeased. Covid is not an excuse that will fly with Dave. He’s already calling my house in the middle of the night. There are unmarked helicopters circling my home. If I don’t get something done, I’m doomed.
Behold: The Dragon’s Graveyard! A resin piece by Dave himself, available through Wargames Terrain Workshop. I picked it up along with the model Dave sculpted for next month’s challenge. I painted the ground with a mix of Craftsmart Brown and Black before highlighting it with some GW Mournfang Brown and XV-88 before finally giving it a drybrush of Ivory. The bones were painted with the Reaper Bone Triad, and the rocks were painted with Reaper Dusky Skin Shadow and highlighted with GW Dawnstone and Administratum Grey. I added some tufts and that’s about it. It was a nice day yesterday, so I painted this piece outside, even though I usually enjoy sunlight about as much as your average vampire.
That’s probably all I’m doing for the Season of Scenery this year, although who knows? Looking forward to next month’s challenge!
Hope you feel better soon mate, I’ve been very lucky, not to get any version of Covid, even though my wife has had it twice now, and one of my children had it as well ( Sorry i love you but while you’ve got that no hugs ! LOL)
Fantastic work on the Graveyard, turned out really well, and love the colour choices and extras, really brings the piece to life(or death depending on your point of view ! LOL)
I will call off the helicopters, and cancel the ninja’s ! ROFL
Thanks, Dave. It really was a joy to paint. Now you’ve got me thinking how I can turn this piece into a whole dragon-bone themed board!
Hope you get well soon! Sadly it can take some time to fully recover from Covid. When I first got it like two years ago it took two months until I was completely fit again.
Great piece of scenery, the paint job looks fantastic!
Thanks, snapfit! At least I can once again taste food, which was something I couldn’t do off and on for a few weeks. Nothing like preparing the foods you love only to have them just feel like something in your mouth.
Ah man, really sorry to hear you got Covid. That must suck. I’m sick as a dog right now with a sinus cold I can’t shift, hence my lack of posting. Anyway, scenery.
The piece really is an awesome bit of sculpting and you’ve totally done it justice with some beautiful painting, the contrast between the ground and bones makes the ex-dragon pop right out.
Dave did the hard work, Matt. I just added the pretty colors. Sorry to hear you’re sick, too. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Roger around lately…