Round Six: Farewell to Garness-at-Home

For the final time, the readers of TMP have voted. It was a close race, but eventually the vote count was complete - the final contestant to be eliminated from the contest was Dread Pirate Garness.

Here is his farewell:

Howdy, all.

Let me start off with a congratulation to Rob Jedi. Fine job you did there in the last round, and in the whole competition. And a huge thanks to i-Kore/Urban Mammoth for sponsoring the contest, and to Bill for running and organizing it all. To my wife and sons for their support - I don't think I could have done it without you guys. A big thanks to Glyn (Zaphod Beeblebrox) and Rogzombie for your excellent critiques - you two guys are great! And to all of the readers who were the judges, thanks!!

I entered this contest with a couple of goals. One, to prove to myself that I was capable of at least being competitive with some of the best names in the business. Two, learn some new techniques and styles to add to my toolbox of painting skills. And three, to hopefully make a good showing - so that many aspiring painters can see that anybody can do it, with time and perseverance. All in all, I do believe I accomplished all my objectives and came away with so much more.

I can't complain about making it down to the Final 2. That strikes me as being pretty darn competitive. I am unsure as to whether or not I would have advanced this far had not half the other contestants dropped out, but I figure I would have still done well had they not...maybe not to the Final 2, but hopefully in the final 4 or 5 painters. Still, I am happy that with what I have done, and worrying about what-might-have-been is usually not worth fretting about.

I can honestly say that I have improved in the last 6 months more than I have in the last 5 or 6 years. The level of skill shown by the other painters really pushed me hard to find new ways of doing things to get better results. Some of these guys are simply amazing, and I what I gleaned from their reports helped me quite bit in new approaches and ways of thinking about doing things.

As for the last, I have become a little bit of a celebrity here in Houston, and I do get asked a lot of questions on how I did this or that, or how I would do something. I even got called a Masterclass painter (ala White Dwarf) by a local GW fanboy when describing my painting skill. I do my best to be honest, and tell these guys they could do the same thing with a little effort and a lot of patience. Some have listened and are coming along really well, so that is definitely a plus. Still, it quite an honor to be regarded so well in painting and gaming circles.

I think that about sums it up. Thanks all, and maybe I will get lucky and get to compete in another contest such as this in the future. Best to you all.