One for the dads

[Medved]

This is a call out to all the fathers on this site that paint minis. Basically i want you to share how you mamage to keep up this hobby. I don\'t care if you are a new father, or have been an old hand at juggling the hobby and family life for years. I want to know how you keep things going, find the time to enjoy your hobby, how you get around the wife and or children.
I want to know if you have had to make any decisions that cut back what you do do, or how you took the hobby in a new direction after children.

I understand there are a few Mums on here too that manage to keep the little \'uns under wraps and still win trophies, but it primarily the Dads i want to here from (being Fathers day on sunday in the UK).

A bit about me: i have a two year old daughter and a wife of 3 years with another one on the way. working full time and family responsibilities take it out of me, and by the time i get to the painting table i am knackered.

i need some ways of getting back the fun and enjoyment, starting the inspiration again, whilst keeping the family first and not doing anything that would further affect the frown lines on my dear wife.
lol

 

[dauber22]

For me, I\'ve found that parenting from 1700+ miles away helps a great deal :duh:

However, when I was younger (and still married) I definately found that my hobbies took a backseat to family activities. That was not only because of time constraints, but also for safety reasons. There\'s a lot of things in this hobby (as well as my other artistic pursuits) that you don\'t want to leave around anywhere within reach of babies, toddlers or young children.

 

[Medved]

yes i have found that the safety aspect is more than crucial. i now have my stuff well out of the way and packed away off my painting table when i finish for the night.
i wonder if there is a good way of maximising the time available or a system to breaking the time into areas on the minis.....???

 

[Ogrebane]

I work away 2 weeks out of 3 so in the 2 weeks away I have all the time I need. When I am home and have the kids I have to wait till they are in bed or at school. I have got them into painting as well so they join me now and then but when they were little I had to put things away. I set myself 1 tournament a year that I went to and 1 weekend a month when I could go visit my gaming/painting buddies.

Its hard when the kids are small but it gets easier just buy them painting stuff when they are little and encourage them as they grow.

Good luck.

 

[supervike]

I\'m the proud father of two great gals. Emily and Erin, 13 and 10.

They have shown some on again off again interest in my little hobby, and the oldest likes to tease me about playing with toys at my age.

The older they get and the more they are finding there own pursuits, the easier it has become to find my own time.

Sometimes they like to come into my little hobby room and just hang out while I paint, and its always fun bouncing ideas off of them.

 

[krom1415]

I have a girl of 16, she finds her own entertainment, going out etc or sitting with my wife watching tele, which helps.

I also have a boy of 7, I have set his xbox up in the same room as my computer and painting station, here we can chat and do our thing together. He paints sometimes as well.

I try to spend quality time with all of them at the weekends, so nightime is usually painting time, always keeping an eye on the wife, and plying her with lots of green tea whilst she watches tele.

 

[DrEvilmonki]

I have two sons. The elder is two years and the younger is four months. My painting time has not existed since Harlan (the younger) was born. But my job has long hours and I am usually just to tired to paint.
I do manage to check out the forums and keep up with what is happening out with CMON.
However now that Harlan is starting to sleep better I am starting to get a bit more time. But it is really really hard.

 

[SebastianRushworth]

Stuart, you have another wife on the way!? lol

Sorry, had to write that...

I have a one and a half year old son, so painting time is usually in the evening after he\'s fallen asleep. The only problem then is the wife who complains because she want to \"spend quality time together\" (which usually involves sitting in front of the TV watching some crappy show). So, it\'s a bit of a balancing act, trying to keep the missus happy and get as much time as possible to paint at the same time.

 

[Orb]

Tricky one Stuart.

Things tend to evolve as the kids get older.

If your wife is at home with your daughter, I expect she looks forward to adult company when you get home from work! so not easy to slink off.......

With kids it\'s easier if they get into the old routine, giving you and your wife quality time together and still time for painting;
be organised - know what you plan to do. You can do quite a bit in 30 mins if you know what you are going to do!

If you were painting miniatures before you met your wife, then the argument is easy - it\'s part of who you are and why she loves you......so go paint!!!!

Balance........3 hours spread over 2 or 3 evenings is better than none.

It gets easier as they get older of course; but with another on the way (CONGRATULATIONS btw!) this phase will go on longer.........

As long as you don\'t have the spectre of DIY hanging around too (want to paint, want to paint......but.....must.....tile.....bathroom....NOOOOOOO)

 

[MacBrown]

Originally posted by SebastianRushworth

I have a one and a half year old son, so painting time is usually in the evening after he\'s fallen asleep. The only problem then is the wife who complains because she want to \"spend quality time together\" (which usually involves sitting in front of the TV watching some crappy show). So, it\'s a bit of a balancing act, trying to keep the missus happy and get as much time as possible to paint at the same time.

My wife and I have only just had a baby boy in the last 4 weeks so my paint time is non existent ( but I was always one of the slowest painters already)

But Seb, what you said is so true \"QUALITY TIME\", but she was like that before he came along. The thing that always cracked me up was quality time together is watching crappy soaps like eastenders or extreme makeover.

 

[airhead]

I never really painted just for show. Always for D&D. Now as the DM, I had all the cool monsters to paint. Most of my painting was done in college with a roommate that worked for one of the casting companies in Dallas that is no longer there. We painted with oil-based enamels back then - pactra military flats, humbrol railroad, etc.

When college was over, got married and still painted a bit.

First kid, still played D&D a bit and painted rarely - usually in spurts.

Second kid and 3 corporate moves - no more D&D group, packed up minis and D&D stuff.

Ten years later (+/-), they are starting to hype the LOTR movies. Oldest is about 14 and thinks it is cool. Over the summer, she is trading bedrooms with my old airbrush studio and comes across my old D&D stuff. Asks to learn to play. We\'ve had a fairly regular Saturday night game since. 6 of my 8 players just graduated high school and are off to take over the world. During that time, I found the D&D website & forums. Saw some of Pete Lee\'s amazing stuff and discovered CMON.

My wonderful wife lets me have a small computer type table in the corner of the living room where I can paint and socialize with the family during reading or TV hours. Very NOT small child proof and it must be cleared/cleaned when company comes (but leaving WIP\'s out is OK).

My best painting comes as I have a regular painting class at one of the local shops. I get to paint a bit before class, but once class starts, I am usually too busy helping out/instructing to get much done myself.

 

[green stuff]

Message original : SebastianRushworth
The only problem then is the wife who complains because she want to \"spend quality time together\" (which usually involves sitting in front of the TV watching some crappy show).

If you can paint, talk, and occasionaly watch TV (while changing colors or the water ), then there is maybe a solution .

Since I got my girlfriend into painting, we\'ve established a tradition : if there are only crappy shows or soccer on TV then painting is fine .

@airhead : that computer type table of yours sounds like a good idea; I might have to look into that soon .

 

[philologus]

I have a wife of 10 years and 3 sons. They all paint. Our Home office has two spiffy big art tables in it. The biggest is for the kids to share. They can all sit around it while my wife and I share my table or erect a temporary folding table for her. The DVD player is in the office so we can put on movies while we paint. The boys spend alot of time outside so many times it is just my wife and I painting. She and I like to get in some painting before bed most nights. So it\'s not so hard. I put shelves all around the office for the kids to display their minis. It\'s nice that they all love to paint and model as well. My 7 year old is a machine. He already has an entire assault squad of marines and a razorback painted. He did the Macragge boxed set in just a few months. The oldest likes Necrons. My 4 year old paints anything. He has recently taken to painting his plastic toy figures and mounting them on bases from my bits box and then flocking them.

 

[MacBrown]

I\'ve tried to get my wife interested but she just laughs at the geek she has married.

 

[dauber22]

This is certainly an interesting group
-Medved has a wife and another on the way (mail order?)
-and Phil olgus\' wife is apparently only 10 years old

and here I thought my life was unusual

 

[dougaderly]

My daughters are 8 months and 4 years old. So painting when the younger one was first born was tough. I managed to get into a routine. My wife works a couple evenings a week, so I usher both kiddies off to bed at 8, brew the coffee at 8:15 and am swearing at figures by 8:30. Then if I can stay awake long enough I usually put in till about 11:30. Although of late my 8:30 to 11:30 time has been spent job hunting. Except this last week, where the bosses are out of town and I\'m spending 8 hours a day finding ways to leave

My 4 year old loves to slop on paint on some old heroquest figures I let her abuse. the younger one just wants to eat my brushes. And my paint. and my hand.

The wife doesn\'t mind that I do this as she\'s a painter herself and I only occassionally have to hear jokes about \"little green men\" as the derogatory term for my hobby.

 

[philologus]

Originally posted by dauber22
This is certainly an interesting group
-Medved has a wife and another on the way (mail order?)
-and Phil olgus\' wife is apparently only 10 years old

and here I thought my life was unusual

I\'m only 8. So it\'s legal.

 

[penguin]

My sister and my parents are the only ones who live with me, no wife/girlfriend or son/daughter (as yet ), but they take appoximately negative 5 out of 10 interest in my painting. They are practically against it. This is partly why I spend quite a lot of time on CMON,the only place where anybody is remotely interested and I can learn, except maybe going to my local GW... :|~

 

[Dragonsreach]

My wife is glad to see the back of me. lol

Seriously thought she\'s not into soap opera\'s, Un-reality TV or garbage like that. We both prefer to have either a good movie or a good interesting TV programme. (Mythbusters, Time Team or as on Discovery Channel tonight \"The FaceBuilders\").

My painting is usually Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday. (and any odd days off I can earn) That way I get an uninterrupted blast at some figures and thankfully get a critical eye passed over the mini by Fran. (She can spot things that I\'ve missed, because I\'ve been concentrating too long on them.)

While she doesn\'t paint mini\'s, she\'s got a keen eye for detail and balance. And a very critical eye on CMON galleries often picking out things for me to look at as well as suggesting some comments.