Painters...

 One thing which has come to my attention over the last 41 years, has been the way that professional miniature painters are often looked down on by the industry, and to be frank, by the public too.

 There seems to be little corelation between the effort/hours involved in painting a figure to a high standard and the prices people want to pay.

Now, don't get me wrong, there are obvious limits, but why are we happy to pay £2 for a few seconds of spinning a figure, but not pay a fair price for what can sometinmes be aseveral hours work for that figure we happily parade and brag about to gaming buddies?

Equally, why are ther so many people happy to pay the same for a quickly and often poorly turned out figure using washes of contrast paints as for a model which has been carefully layered up, life breathed into it and moreover with a much wider selection of colours and shades, mixed with thought and dare I say it, skill?

Putting the boot on the other foot, where do part time, 'tray in front of the T.V painters' get off claiming that they are professional painters? They may be paid, but beyond that there's a lot more to doing this kind of thing for a living.

1. Knowledge of materials and how they can be utilised. There are so many tutorials these days which spout absolute bollocks about the inability to combine this or that medium. Rule of thumb, if it is water soluble it'll work in some way with other similar mediums. If it is oil based, then oil/alkyds mediums will be intermixable.

Learn about permanence, bleed and how different carriers will affect the paints you use, too.

2. Responsibility to the client. Yes, you know, those people who give you money in return for the expectation of being treated with courtesy and respect, their work returned as promised. If you can't do that, then you my friend are doomed. If you are certain that the instructions you have been given for a job are not right, talk to the client, illustrate your argument and in the end either do as you are told (but I would add, get it in writing) or consider not accepting the job. OK, you'll not get the cheque, but you will sleep better.

3. Respect from the client. I once had a client who in two different instances, claimed my work was his own and referred to me as 'his little man with a brush'.

The former was bang out of order and the latter disrespectful. Needless to say, I have never touched a figure for him again.

4. When you can go to work and do 8-10 hours a day, every day of the week, even when a loved one has died or you are ill, then you are painting for a living. No work, no pay!

If you take the coin, you do the work or refund the unearned portion.

5. Don't make excuses. A true professonal will admit when they fuck up. Moreover they will put it right, no matter what. No excuses.

6. Use the best of everything. The best is not just a case of a brand name. It's about durability, coverage, protection and finish. It's about looking after your eyes by using the best lighting.

Anything which makes that final finished army stand out in addition to your skill and knowledge, is good for you, and good for the client. I constantly seek out the best paints and primers. Primers are a big thing with me, as are adhesives. I need to know that if I pick a product up, it will perform equally well, be it one or one thousand uses.

Now, onto manufacturers...

Manufacturers will sometimes be enlightened enough to give a discount to painting businesses, but many don't want to know because you are not a re-seller. Well, let's see... I am willing to buy several hundred of your overpriced metal miniatures, and then paint them to a high standard, at which point they will actually be free advertising for your company at zero cost to you, but at financial cost to my client and at the loss of several hundred hours I cannot get back. That's a pretty sweet deal, so maybe you should look at a painter...

1. Do they have a website?

2. Is this how they make their living? After all, you spend a minute drop metal into a mould, they spend hours hunched over that minute's work and both call it 'work'. 

Of course if you also sculpt the models, you know the pain and strain they may be under.

3. Will it do your business good, if your models are seen in public, painted by this business? Will well painted examples of your little lead men, encourage others to give you their money?

4. Are they willing to give you a decent 3 or 4 figure sum and not ask for a trade account?

If the majority of the answers to the above are affirmative, then perhaps a discount of 10-25% may be a good idea. The chances are, that the painter will remember your generosity and come back to you again and again, and will actively steer clients to use your products.

 If I offer you a thousand pounds of business and you sneer at me, then I will not forget that as one 'big name' has found out. Well, actually he hasn't, but rest assured £2800 was lost in a single, cash transaction because of his approach at a show. In the end he could have had around £6000 in business, which went elsewhere because the other business, treated me in the way a polite customer with a lot of money that they actually want to give you, should be treated. 

Dog legging back a little, the only thing worse than a painter who doesn't deliver, is a client who avoids payment but takes the goods. Unless you know the client well, you show the dog the rabbit and then hand it over when the money is proffered.

I have only twice in my life had to face people like this. One was dealt with legally and the other listened on the phone as I took a figure or two, placed them on a cobbler's last, and hit them repeatedly with a lump hammer. It's truly amazing how flat you can get a Front Rank figure without losing the basic shape of the model. In both cases payment was forthcoming - faster in the latter example.

In the 11 years I have painted full time, I've had no problems, because lessons were learned from the above.

Painters are not always drop-outs from society. In my case, I was a civil servant, who got tired of being unable to make a difference to the lives of others due to inept management and decision making. I walked out - just like that, from a good career, and started painting the next day.

I work harder now than I ever had to in the service, but the satisfaction at knowing that I am truly a craftsman, who is skilled and knowledgeable outweighs the sometimes brutal hours I work. 

So, if you employ a painter, maybe stop and think a little about what they are doing (or not doing) for you, and if if on the other hand you are a painter, ask yourself what you can and should do to better serve your clients.