Saturday, October 01, 2011

Blanchitsu Pays A Visit In The Rat Hatch

The last weekend, during our trip to Nottingham we had a priviledge to have a lunch with John Blanche, the art director of Games Workshop and the pioneer of the visions of both Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40k universes. While we were eating some delicious Bugman's burgers, John asked if we'd like to take a couple of shots from his latest miniatures and post 'em on our Blog, Spiky Rat Pack. Oh boy did we!

So, we went outside to the Bugman's sunny autumn terrace, sat down and with the help of Steve's - who had also joined us for a chat - package padding we made a quick, rough set to shoot at. Without further delays, here they are, John Blanche's wonderful Inquisitor and the retinue...



It was marvelous to see these pawns in person, every one of them a true piece of art. By then I knew why some have wrote that you really need to see John's paintings in life to understand how beautiful they are. It's not just the way they look, it's also the way they make you feel...

When talking with John about his painting technique, he told me that he paints his miniatures the same way he paints his paintings. That might be one of the reasons why his miniatures look so unique and, well, painterly. Peculiar techniques and materials are common in John's projects. This combination gives that little special spice on what he does. To be frank, John's attitude towards art and painting has inspired me too to be more adventurous with the techniques in the future.

-izeColt
Written by at 12:41
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20 comments:

  1. J. B.1 October 2011 at 13:04

    twas a good couple of days - thx chaps ......

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  2. Dr. Willett's Workshop1 October 2011 at 13:08

    I see what you mean by unique painting, beautiful, really artistic.
    You lucky guys!

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  3. migsula1 October 2011 at 14:26

    John! I never get enough of these models. The =I=s are new to me. Very very nice. I love the basing a lot, do you have a secret to how you apply the paint/color on them??

    @ratpack, thanks for hosting/sharing!

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  4. phiq1 October 2011 at 14:31

    Love that Astropath dude!

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  5. Blitzspear1 October 2011 at 14:53

    Lush! and the packing foam makes for an intresting background also i think. Thanks for sharing these rat pack.

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  6. J. B.1 October 2011 at 15:05

    bases are kept to a minimal of features so not to distract from the figure - sprinkle a bit of sand for the larger stones - the finer textures are baking soda - paint base colour work in inks of similar colours or complimentary colours - highlight tiny flecks of detail with citadel colour plus white ..... pretty much as i so the whole figure .....

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  7. Mikko Luoma1 October 2011 at 20:13

    Think about this - All photos taken with i-Phone 4 !

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  8. Steve Buddle1 October 2011 at 22:00

    I've been loving John's works of late. Going to be interesting to play around with my painting in the future. Definitely moving into new style areas :)

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  9. Tears of Envy2 October 2011 at 10:59

    Wonderful stuff - thanks for posting Rats! That iPhone chucks out pretty good photos, no?

    Great work JB!!!

    Xx

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  10. J. B.2 October 2011 at 16:48

    thx tamtam - im wonderingge weather its an idea for me to invest in an iphone just to take some photos - got to crack that nut somehow .....

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  11. HOTpanda2 October 2011 at 21:48

    I'm insanely jealous that you were blessed with not only meeting John Blanche but for having the ability to view his models in person. I tip my hat to you for sharing these with the rest of us and hope you don't mind me giving your blog a shot out in my weekly top x. Cheers

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  12. CMDante2 October 2011 at 22:59

    Enjoyed seeing these in person at GD. I still don't think the photos do the minis justice as, having held the black marine, there are a lot of subtle elements the camera just doesn't pic up right.

    Thanks for sharing.

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  13. J. B.3 October 2011 at 00:30

    i do love looking at photos of minis but am always blown away bi the paint jobs in real life - often taken bi surprise bi the 3 dimensionality of models as well .....

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  14. Kari Hernesniemi4 October 2011 at 22:03

    HOTpanda: Thanks for sharing the link!

    J.B.: There's no turning back after you've tasted the apple.

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  15. Mr Saturday4 October 2011 at 23:31

    You lucky fellows! I dearly love John Blanche's work. He is warhammer, quite frankly. His miniatures are always a treat too, thanks guys!

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  16. Fulgrim5 October 2011 at 20:02

    Thanks for sharing these, guys - and Mr. JB.

    I've had a week or so away from the internet and I return to these: they're so amazing. What an inspiration.

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  17. Tartan Paint Studios5 October 2011 at 22:37

    Your so luck to have seen his minis close up and of ocurse get to meet him. Love the peice you just did inspired by his work.

    Did you win a pin?

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  18. speedfreek6 October 2011 at 00:00

    Wow, these are just perfect in timing to get me started on my inquisitorial forces again.

    Thanks!

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  19. Minitrol11 October 2011 at 00:25

    Love them!

    Are they on 25mm bases BTW?

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  20. Unknown4 November 2011 at 04:50

    Lots of great people left GW. If anything happens and he leaves, GW might as well close their doors.... Such envy....

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