One of the most misunderstood aspects of high-level miniature painting is that progress doesn’t come from talent alone. It comes from environment, education, and deliberate practice. As I move deeper into my long-term goal of competing at the Golden Demon level, I’ve been intentionally building a studio ecosystem that supports focus, consistency, and growth.

This post documents the tools, materials, and instructors I’m investing in, not as a shopping flex, but as a record of how I’m constructing a sustainable practice around miniature art. I plan to update this post as it evolves.

Learning From Masters: Ongoing Instruction & Mentorship

At the core of my growth is continuous learning. Rather than chasing random tutorials, I’ve committed to a small number of instructors whose philosophies align with how I want to paint.

Subscribed Instructors:

Juan Sanz, El Miniaturista

Juan’s work embodies precision, powerful color, and technical excellence. His teaching emphasizes method, planning, and intentional contrast. This is exactly the mindset required for competition-level pieces.

Duncan Rhodes, Painting Academy

Duncan’s academy is foundational. It reinforces fundamentals such as brush control, layering, and consistency. These are easy to overlook when chasing advanced techniques. It is always important to return to the basics.

Valbjorn, Shield Wall

Valbjorn specializes in kitbashing and customizing models that emphasize mood, narrative, and texture. His approach helps bridge the gap between technical execution and storytelling. This is critical for display pieces and honestly one of my favorite aspects of the hobby.

Together, these subscriptions form a balanced triangle of precision, fundamentals, and atmosphere.

Airbrush & Paint Infrastructure:

Rather than rushing into complex effects, I’m prioritizing consistency, longevity, and silence in my airbrush setup. I want something that allows for long sessions without fatigue or distraction.

Airbrush & Compressor System

Silentaire Super Silent DR-150 Air Compressor

A professional-grade, oil-less compressor chosen specifically for its near-silent operation and reliability. I want to be able to work for hours without noise becoming a mental tax. Not sure where it'll be stored. I considering a wheelable cart for additional storage and movability. 

Iwata Eclipse HP-CS Gravity Feed with 10-foot Braided Nylon Air Hose

A proven workhorse that is versatile enough for priming, basecoats, and controlled modulation.

Paasche HB-16-2F Hobby Spray Booth  Kit

Small and fits on my secretary desk. Not sure where it'll be stored but if I can a wheelable cart maybe stored with the compressor. 

DIY Spray booth bucket system

My partner nixed me cutting a hole in my house wall so Im going to make a bucket filter for my airbrush over spray. 
How To Use A Bucket To Vent A Spray Booth - Bucket Hack For Airbrushing by Barbatos Rex

Iwata Universal Airbrush Holder

Holds two airbrushes, allowing room to expand if I add a second brush later.

This setup prioritizes predictability over novelty. This is a theme you will see repeated throughout my studio choices.

Brushes:

El Miniaturista, Juan Sanz Signature Brush Set, five pieces

Kolinsky sable rounds and arrows paired with a goat-hair drybrush. This set reinforces discipline through sharp tips, paint control, and deliberate stroke placement. There are no shortcuts.

I chose to further support El Miniaturista and trust his brush line. I have several dozen older and well-used brushes, but none of comparable quality. I need tools for final execution, as well as brushes I can be rough on without concern.

Quality of Life, Lighting, Filming, and Documentation

Painting is only half the journey. Your comfort and documentation matter, both for longevity, reflection and for sharing progress with the community.

VISION AID Magnifying Glasses with LED Light, Headband, 5 Lenses

I'm getting old and I really appreciate all the comfort, various magnification levels, and additional lighting.

Camera & Mounting

NearStream VM20 4K Streaming Camera

– Not purchased yet

NearStream ST40 Adjustable Dual-Arm Desk Mount

– Not purchased yet

I’m excited, and honestly very humbled, to share that I’ve been accepted into the Washington State Arts Commission’s Wellness, Arts, and Military (WAM) Self-Directed Art Practice (SAP) grant program. This support will directly aid my journey toward competing in Golden Demon in 2027. A huge shoutout to Reama Bubblez for encouraging me to apply. 

This isn’t just an announcement; it’s my goal and guiding star.

For the past couple of years, ever since my mother passed, I have taken up miniature painting as both therapy and escape. It is a place where I have a sense of control, where I can tell my stories, and something I can focus on to help me breathe emotionally during these difficult times. Like many artists, I have balanced this practice alongside full-time work, family life, and the constant pressure to be “productive” in ways that are easy to measure.

This grant changes that equation. It creates space, specifically a new studio space, to support my pursuit of something I have only dreamed about.

Old studio, circa 2023

Why Golden Demon?

The Golden Demon is the pinnacle of miniature painting competitions, drawing thousands of entries each year from painters around the world. Artists of all skill levels are invited to submit their finest work in pursuit of glory, bragging rights, coveted trophies, and a hard-earned sense of accomplishment at the highest level of the hobby.

At each event, the very best is named the overall winner and awarded the legendary Slayer Sword, an icon of mastery few will ever hold. For me, though, Golden Demon isn’t about winning. It’s about pushing myself and discovering where I truly stand.

The competition represents a benchmark of craftsmanship that rewards clarity of vision, technical excellence, storytelling, and restraint. Every brushstroke must earn its place. Every material choice carries consequences. There are no shortcuts, only work, patience, and focus.

Committing to Golden Demon means committing to:

• Slowing down

• Planning before execution

• Failing early and often

• Letting critique sharpen the work instead of protecting my ego

What the Grant Makes Possible:

The support from this grant allows me to:

• Invest in higher-quality materials and tools

• Allocate dedicated, protected time for experimentation and study

• Learn directly from artists whose work I deeply respect

• Push beyond “good enough” into deliberate, uncomfortable growth

More importantly, it allows me to treat this project as a professional-level endeavor, not a personal hobby.

What Comes Next

Over the coming months, I will be documenting the process openly:

• Concept development and narrative planning

• Technical studies, material testing, and sourced references

• Failures, revisions, and dead ends

• Lessons learned along the way

This will not be a highlight reel. It will be the real work, with the messy middle included.

I see this as stewardship of an opportunity. The grant is an investment, and my responsibility is to honor it with rigor, transparency, and care. Whether or not the final piece earns a trophy, the goal is growth that is visible, earned, and lasting.

Thank you to everyone who has encouraged me, challenged me, or quietly followed my work over the years. This is just the beginning, and it is a beginning I am stepping into with intention.

— Gavin 

Armillaria Ostoyae, ‘The Mother of Maggots’ - Knight Abominant is the center piece of my Death Guard Company. This model uses the Knight Abominant stock model and is heavily converted using scoby leather as the mushroom cap material. Additionally a big shoutout to MrClayRotten(etsy.com/shop/MrClayRotten) and his awesome maggot sculpts.  

The Maggot - Foetid Bloat-drone features a converted flesh mower crafted from toothpicks and wall-mount screws. I must admit, I find 'The Maggot' oddly endearing and cute—perhaps there's something wrong with me! 

Lord Salutem Sicarius, the Lord of Virulence, was once a Vindicare Assassin, a lethal marksman sent to assassinate Plague Lord Phalloides Amanita. This proved to be the former servant of the Corpse God's final mistake. Like Nurgle's gifts, following his failed mission, this crippled and wounded assassin was bestowed with the eternal blessing of the grandfather of plagues. The Plague Company of Lord Amanita took him in and reengineered him. Now, instead of seeking the perfect firing position to pinpoint their quarry, he now serves as the spearhead of Pulse of the Maggots' assaults, a vector of virulence and execution.

This conversion was unplanned; Games Workshop sent me this for my first year with Warhammer+ as my free miniature. I love the idea of a corrupted symbol of the Adepta Sororitas being filled with a plagued fallen servant of the Emperor. This piece was so inspiring in terms of narrative that I felt compelled to convert a squad of Sisters of Battle into my Plague Marines, as I didn't have them yet. So far, I had only planned to use Terminators and heavy assault units for my army. This was a beautiful opportunity to begin an opposing force at home, one that my friends and family might hope to stand against my Fly Lord's chosen. 

Lucilia Sericata, 'Sower of the Rotting Fields,' arose from the ashes of a fallen empire under the Rot Prince's reign. Her form was created from sundered war machines and the unrelenting embrace of Nurgle's contagion. Spawned to harvest from the corpses and leave effluence in her wake, she left naught but decay and despair, a testament to the inexorable march of destruction and terror of a defiler.

This large, heavily converted Defiler is made from various bits and green stuff, to the extent that it almost feels more like a terrain piece than a unit. It was a true joy to make, and I felt a sense of sadness when it was completed.

Navis Nefarious - Cultists (Corrupted Breachers) were loyalist Naval close-quarter troops who became trapped on a space hulk. Gradually succumbing to Nurgle's influence as they fought to survive, they eventually surrendered to his service for escape and the promise of eternal joy in disease.

This unit converted a 5 man unit of 40k and 30k Death Guard terminators. I wanted them to all be very unique and ancient as they've been fighting since the Horus Heresy. This was too much fun. I couldn't be happier with how epic and unique each one feels. 

Ocreata and the Destroying Angels are Deathshroud Terminators infected with Nurgle's Fruit, a parasitic mushroom. These Space Marines are ancient, as their service began prior to the Horus Heresy, hence why they don Tartaros Terminator armor. These silent warriors follow their alpha-vector, Ocreata, as noted with Nurgle's fruit sprouting from his face and the rest of the unit growing mushrooms from their shoulders and necks. This infection connects them psychically for an immense tactical advantage, adding to their already elite cadre of warriors' deadly skills. Ocreata is thrice blessed with Nurgle's love, immense size and power, vicious mutations, and his warp-kissed scythe, The Scythe of Tsetse, Warp-Tainted Blade of Decay: In the hands of Ocreata, devotee to the Plague God, this unholy weapon becomes an extension of his own twisted will, reaping souls and sowing despair wherever he treads. With every swing, they offer praise to their foul deity, spreading the blessings of decay to all who oppose them on the battlefield. Truly, the Scythe of Tsetse is a weapon of unparalleled horror, a testament to the power of Chaos and the inevitable triumph of entropy over all.

The 40k are beautiful, but I wanted to attempt a conversion. I really love 30K Deathshrouds and I wanted to push my mushroom concept further. I grabbed a used unit of 30k and the Deathshroud champion model as I wanted a full 6-man squad or two 3-man for flexibility. I have two regrets. I wish I would have found the premade mushroom from Mr. Clay Rotten earlier and had made the 30k model taller to match the champion. Still very happy with them and they were a lot of fun to create.

Plague Lord Phalloides Amanita is a character of profound complexity and history within the grim universe of Warhammer 40k. Born from the ashes of betrayal and shaped by the tides of chaos, he embodies the twisted evolution of a once loyal servant of the Imperium into a herald of Nurgle's foul blessings.

Physically, he bears the unmistakable marks of his allegiance to the Death Guard; decay and corruption evident in every aspect of his form. His once noble visage of a Dark Angel Apothecary is now marred by the unmistakable signs of Nurgle's favor; pustules and lesions cover his tomb-like terminator armor, while a grotesque tapestry of disease adorns him like a garment. His presence exudes an aura of decay, with the stench of death following him wherever he treads.

However, it's not just his physical form that marks him as a servant of Nurgle; his unwavering devotion to the Plague God and relentless pursuit of spreading his master's blessings across the galaxy also define him. His immense success has even granted him a familiar from Nurgle's garden: Nurgle's fruit, a parasitic mycelium that serves as a manifestation of his connection to the Plague God.

Despite his allegiance to the forces of chaos, Phalloides Amanita possesses a sense of cunning and intelligence that sets him apart from his mindless minions. He is not driven solely by bloodlust or blind devotion; rather, he is a strategic thinker, always seeking new ways to further his master's goals and expand his influence.

In battle, Phalloides Amanita is a terrifying sight to behold, leading his twisted legions of Plague Marines and daemonic allies with cold and calculated precision. He fights not for glory or conquest, but for the sheer joy of spreading disease and harvesting the prized progenoid glands.

---

This model is a conversion of various bits. Although the details aren't as pronounced as some of my other units due to being made of pewter, my grimdark style complements the aesthetic well. I imagined a sorcerer capable of channeling the very essence of corruption into the material world. Hence, the explosive twisted forms of mutation, maggots, and effluence erupting from the deck plates underneath. This is one of my earlier works, so I don't feel it's as successful in some ways compared to later work, but nevertheless a joy to create. The familiar was a pleasant surprise, as the rules were added in the 10th edition to have a counter for improving the Strength and Damage characteristics of that weapon once per battle. To support this marker, I found another chewed bit of one of my kid's sea life toys that our puppy got a hold of. This was a jellyfish that I felt closely resembled an inky cap mushroom I was inspired by.