Andreas “Feanor” Pettau in the spotlight

Today's interviewee is Andreas "Feanor" Pettau. Thank you for sharing in.
Spotlight are short interviews to introduce some of the artists here at Putty&Paint.

Who are you? Tell us a bit about you.

I am 32 years old and I live in the central south of Germany in a small town 40 km away from Stuttgart. I am married with a wonderful women and together we have a sweet two years old daughter. I have a diploma degree in biology and currently I work as an application specialist in sales for an international biotech company.
I started painting miniatures for about 9 years now. Like the most I began with 28 mm Miniatures from Games Workshop, but since 5 years I switched completely to larger scaled models with a prefer to 75 mm scale and busts. I paint historical figures as well as fantasy stuff, depending on the style of the model itself.

What are your favorite tools, and why do you use them?

I do not own much fancy technical equipment like an Airbrush or stuff like that. To be honest, I think the only things you need for painting miniatures beside your hands and mind are a good brush and some colors, nothing more. I mainly paint with acrylics (GW and more and more Vallejo Model Color). I also like to use oil colors, for the moment only to create certain effects like intensify light and shadows, or for giving a surface a special finish. I also like to use Inks (mainly those from Andrea Miniatures). I think they are a little bit underestimated since a few years, but with a good Ink you can create great colorful effects.

How would you describe your own style?

Difficult question. Generally, I do not think much about styles. I try to achieve a technical fine but also a very atmospheric painting, always depending on the miniature itself. I want to give the figures a colorful look and bring it to life only with the painting. I like using colors and playing with textures and/or color-effects on different surfaces. So I try to achieve a combination of a realistic, natural but also a colorful and atmospheric look on my miniatures.

Show us your workspace. Do not clean it.

Who influences your work and what inspires you?

I think inspiration comes from everywhere: Life, nature, music, movies, etc…
My influences are very wide spread, as I am one of those guys who learned painting only by themself through try and error experiences, and by study tutorials and other perfectly painted miniatures. From the historic side I love the works from Danilo Cartacci, as he is a true master when it comes to technically perfection. I also like the paint jobs from Diego Ruina, who perfectly combined technical high end work with atmospheric elements like mud and dirt, which brings the figures to life. From the fantasy side, I always was a big fan of the works from Chris Reckerth (Bestienmeister) and Jürgen Wagner (Crackpot) with their ultra smooth and clear way of painting. I also still like the stuff from the Games Workshop Eavy Metal Team, because their way of painting was the first big goal I wanted to reach in my beginnings and therefor they influenced me very much.
But these are all only examples, as there are many and many more fantastic painters out there who give me inspiration.

Show and tell us what you are currently working on or what you recently finished?

Currently I work on the 75 mm Elrond from Knight Models. He is supposed to take part at the Bananalicious contest from our german ape crew.

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Visit Andreas “Feanor” Pettau’s gallery at Putty&Paint