Waves and Walls

I recently had the opportunity to get away for the weekend; a quick overnight to Newport, RI. While there we took a ride down Ocean Drive, a scenic road that brushes up against the Atlantic. On this particular day, winds were at 40 mph and the temperature below zero, painfully below zero. But, I had to get some pictures-I'm trying to build a reference for rocks and water. The more I am confronted with modeling challenges, I find the real thing to be the best source. I had previously tried my hand at some wave work on my Dept. of Docks diorama. While satisfactory, something was missing - action, real wave action. Waves, especially those hitting surfaces like rock, are a dynamic explosion of energy. While I wasn't out to model a 40mph day, my wave work was timid in comparison to a calm day.

The trick I think was, as with most things and modeling, not to be afraid; not to be afraid of screwing it up as well as using broader strokes. As I was in fact using a brush to apply the GE Clear Silicon to create the waves, I let my hand be looser, less rigid. Most of the time miniature work demands precise, controlled movements, but these are waves. I wasn't applying decals or adding those lightbulbs from hell to one of those little lampshades. Waves, they were, and they should crash and break at the shore, on the rocks. I first drew a bead of silicon, mostly at an angle to the shore, then poke and shaped the wave with a small 1/4" brush, drawing out peaks. Some of the peaks came to too fine a point, wispy. These were cut off once the silicon dried. Then I dry brushed the waves with white paint. Lastly I brushed on a coat of clear gloss medium, to give it a wetter look than bare silicon.

Reagrding the photo with the wall, that water could use some work, while it won't be as rough as the other scene as it's a cove, it just needs a little more action. I have some more stone walls to install, which are from Russ Greene at New England Brownstone, which have some of the the best stonework around. If you haven't already been to his site or tried his products, take a look at http://www.nebrownstone.com/ .