Returning to the Hobby

Since I started painting, I have never had a year as unproductive as 2019.  How many models did I complete? 6.  Everything going on in my life made it difficult to find the time or energy.  Painting is what I do to relax, and I have found it beneficial to my mental health.  I feel so much better after spending time painting.  The fact that I could not find the time to paint and had to pack up my set up for a 2^nd time that year was frustrating, and I found myself rage quitting the hobby.  I packed everything up and had no intention of painting for the foreseeable future.

So what changed?  While visiting over Christmas Break, my nephew asked if he could come over and paint with me.  He is 13 years old, and for the most part, other family members have forced their interests on him.  When he was 8, he took an interest in painting after seeing my work on several models.  I have given him models from time to time and have tried to encourage his enthusiasm, but as he has gotten older, he no longer paints.  But this year he wanted to, and we had a great time.  And I decided that I need to get back into the habit of painting.

So I have re-stablished my painting table.  I found all of the projects that I started over the past year, but did not finish and packed away.  The goal of this project is to re-establish my painting habits and complete the plethora of unfinished figures.

I started last night by picking out two of the miniatures that I thought would be good starting pieces.  Reaper Miniatures Hill Troll (02421) and Brother Hammond (44007).  I started the Hill Troll while painting with my Nephew, and I like how it is turning out so far.  The metal is close to done, and everything else is a rough base coat.  I have just put a basecoat on Brother Hammond as I did not have time to do much more than that.  It is not much, but it is a start, and that is all that matters.