Zab, ha, I could probably buy one of those mini zen gardens, arrange the sand and then soak it in superglue.
Fluister, yeah, I'd actually thought of something like that. Perhaps have him on the beach or on a ship. But, aside from being really complex, I thought it would just lead to confusion. Unless the viewer was familiar with Japanese history (and like really familiar), they would just be wondering what is going on. But it would be awesome to get a bunch of figures and do a scene like that at some point!
BAM, yeah, that's exactly what I'm thinking. As much as I'd love to do something over the top with the base, I've got to get this figure done. Between now and then show I've got two full weeks where I'll be out of town, two weekends with family visiting, and another weekend trip. So, while there's almost two months until the show, I really don't have that much time that I can actually paint. I've got to keep the base simple so I can get it (plus another two entries, plus the prep for the classes) finished!