We at Parker Hobbies are thrilled to announce that we are sponsoring the Bamboo Brush Summer miniature painting competition which is currently underway, until 31 January, 2023. We are just one of many New Zealand prize sponsors for this comp, others include Mini Manatee, Witchsong Miniatures, and more.
Tim Richardson, the founder and organiser of Bamboo Brush, has kindly agreed to be interviewed about this awesome community initiative. If you have been into miniature painting for a while, there is a good chance you have come across Tim online, he is a regular contributor to online miniature painting pages, he has the social media page ‘Brushido’ which showcases his creative work and previously offered commissions through this, and of course, he has been promoting Bamboo Brush, a free-to-enter online miniature painting competition which has motivated myself and many others to push themselves to improve over the year. Simply put, Tim is a good sort, enjoy the interview!
Parker Hobbies: It would be great to hear about the man behind this initiative. What started you on your miniature painting journey, and what keeps you engaged with the hobby today?
Tim: I have memories as a kid of collecting the odd model and painting a base colour on a handful before discarding them (a theme that would recur 30 years later). More recently I had friends into 40k and I liked the models and the idea of painting them. I started collecting paint and models and would occasionally make a start but inevitably get stuck as I didn’t know how to achieve what I wanted. I had a couple of friends ask me to paint models for them and from that I stumbled into commission work as a side hustle for about 5 years, now I mainly paint for myself.
A massive part of the hobby for me has been the therapeutic side of it, painting can be a mindfulness exercise, and with a demanding day job that aspect has always appealed to me. Plus I’m a happier person with a creative outlet and enjoy the problem solving and experimentation that comes with pushing your limits as a painter.
Parker Hobbies: What motivated you to start the Bamboo Brush painting competition?
Tim: I wanted to start an event for kiwi hobbyists to encourage painting and sharing their work (which can be a massive mental hurdle). It was important to me that it be accessible, be NZ based, not have any skill barrier for entry and that it would be a positive and rewarding experience. As much as possible I want people to be able to enter what they are already working on.
Parker Hobbies: Over the years Bamboo Brush has managed to attract some great prize support from a wide range of NZ artists and stores. Could you explain how prizes are distributed and the idea behind this? Do the category winners receive anything?
Tim: Since the beginning we have been blessed to have some great prize support from small NZ businesses and individuals, who just want to support the community, and a lot of thought has gone into the prize system. Any prize of monetary value is given out as a random draw, this is to encourage participation regardless of skill level and so the same entrant isn’t taking all the loot. Some of these prizes are small random miniatures and the hope is that painting it will grow the painter, you can be precious with your own models but maybe you’ll experiment on this free one.
For the winner of each category there is a simple trophy brush acknowledging that achievement.
Parker Hobbies: What type of miniature painting does Bamboo Brush focus on? What categories are available and which are typically the most popular?
Tim: Our focus is primarily on hobbyist and the miniatures we play with, be it boardgame, wargame, D&D etc. But I also want to stretch that so people will try out painting a display piece or use a certain technique.
Currently I’m running two competitions a year, board game and war game will be staple categories and the rest will mix up a bit, the aim is to keep it pretty broad so you can always find a category to enter.
War Game has always been the most popular category and that is probably reflective of the connections I have with those communities, as well as how developed those communities are in NZ already.
Parker Hobbies: Myself and many other Kiwis have enjoyed entering the Bamboo Brush Painting Competition over the years, do you hope to run an in person painting competition one day, or will Bamboo Brush remain an online event?
Tim: Bamboo Brush will always have an online element as being accessible is a core value. In person events are very special, and if the timing and momentum were right then I’d love to see an in person event take place.
Parker Hobbies: The Bamboo Brush Summer 2023 competition has just started. How can people get involved, and are there any costs?
Tim: The Summer event runs from now to the end of January so there is heaps of time to enter as many times as you want. There is no cost, the only criteria is that you live in NZ.
To enter,
STEP 1) write your name and category on a bit of paper and photograph it with your mini (in whatever state it is in, on sprue, base coated, half painted, it’s all good as long as I can see significant progress during the competition).
STEP 2) Send your photo and up to 3 finished photos before February, via PM on Facebook @BambooBrushPaintingCompetition
Parker Hobbies: Awesome, I had better get painting. Thank you for your time and all you do for the community, Tim!
For more information visit the Bamboo Brush Facebook page, HERE.
Visit Tim's personal miniature painting page, Brushido, on Facebook, HERE.