Yup... still posting from my phone. I am in the process of getting one of the old desktop computers up and running, so hopefully I will be back to normal posting soon. In the meantime, I thought I would share a few short thoughts about painting miniatures and getting older. No pictures this time, just a small wall of text.
I am getting older, and my close-up eyesight seems to be going. I can still hit 20/15 at the doctor's office, but I just can't seem to focus on the little details like I used to. About six years ago, I decided to switch wholesale to 15mm miniatures. But about a year ago, I realized I couldn't see the details enough to paint them. I bought a pair of reading glasses, then another stronger pair, but it was hopeless. I switched back to 28mm so I could see what I was painting. In part, this blog is a result of that; I had plenty of 15mm War of Spanish Succession miniatures that I wanted to use for my Imagi-Nation skirmish project, but I could not paint them. So, I decided to make a fresh start on it all with new miniatures, and share the progress here.
But as I have been painting, I realize I still miss the details. I can't do buckles on straps or shoes at all any more, and faces are looking a bit odd. I used to be a pretty good painter, I made first cut at Golden Demon Los Angeles around ten years ago.
I have to accept that I am never going to be able to paint like I used to. I have to accept that my newer miniatures are going to only look "good," not the little works of art that each one used to be.
There are a lot of things that I should be accepting at this point in my life. But somehow I can't let it all go. I keep thinking that I will somehow revert to my mid-30's, and magically be at that point in my life where my mind and body were both at their best.
It seems I had one set of ideas when I started writing this, and it mutated before I was done. Hmmm...
