Although I’m not a professional artist, I don’t consider my painting a hobby.
What is a hobby for me is building scale models, mostly tanks. To show off their work, many model builders will create dioramas, scenes that usually include landscape elements, including ruined buildings. As a result, there is a cottage industry of pre-built, paintable ruined buildings. It was this, plus the discovery of Emmanuel Nouaillier’s models of French buildings that gave me the idea to create my own miniature building vignettes.
My building vignettes are created mixing and pouring plaster into a wooden shadow box. I then carve the desired details into the plaster. Metal and wooden components are simulated with sheet styrene, lead foil and wire, that I then model to simulate dilapidation. Finally, I paint the surfaces to simulate varying degrees of newness or decay. Hopefully, when it’s all done, there’s a small scene that is fun to look at!
don pelota 