Alfonso “Banshee” Giraldes in the spotlight

Today's interviewee is Alfonso "Banshee" Giraldes. 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.

Alfonso 'Banshee' Giraldes

My name is Alfonso Giraldes aka Banshee. I was born in 1983 in Madrid, Spain. I started painting miniatures when I discovered Games Workshop when I was 12 years old and my first job was in a GW shop where I discovered games days and golden demon, a contest that gave me the opportunity to start showing my ideas and my vision of painting and it was the perfect environment that showed me that miniature world would be my future.

Nowadays I am an artist currently working for Scale75. Developing several jobs such as art direction, design, concept art, painting and sculpting. I have been working for this small industry for almost 10 years.

I started working for Andrea Miniatures many years ago and since then i have worked for several companies such as Andrea miniatures, Tale of War, Coolminiornot, Ron&Bones, Kabuki Models, Sergeant Blackart, Knight Models, Games Workshop at Forgeworld Team and Scale 75 .

My main passion are miniatures because this world let me develop many skills and each new project makes me better. I am passionate for improving. I have been giving classes for years, having a lot of students, some of them are nowadays some of the most renowned painters , people like Diego Esteban, Marc Masclans, Arsies, Ruben Martinez, Lotina, Emuse and many many others. This is one of the most interesting tasks I have been doing, because teaching is a very good way of learning. Doing courses I felt forced myself to understand my own painting and how works the colours, light and volumes to be able to translate it to a student.

I use to share all my works and processes in my professional facebook. so if you want to join, you will find many interesting pictures here.

This profession allowed me to travel to many places, know a lot of people and have had the chance to live fantastic experiences.

Modelling is not only my passion, is my life. My main goal in this aspect of my life is to bring the idea that technique is only a method and a tool to create and show our ideas.. that’s why i encourage all the newbies to run away from recipes and try to understand things without being constrained by the pure searching of the perfect blending.. painting miniatures must be not limited and it should be considered only as “just painting”, same as illustration or 2D painting, where every different style is well welcome.

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

Sculpting: I made my own tools and my favourite always change to the new one i have just done. ;)

I started to sculpt with Milliput and Duro, but nowadays i am in love with SuperSculpey Firm grey, however i still don’t feel completely comfortable with it. I think is a very versatile clay.
I love also freexing sprays, which allows me to work the clay in many different hardness stages

Painting: Paints: I love the old Citadel range and nowadays i am moving to Scale75 colours mixed with inks from Inktensity range and old Citadel inks. I love Windsor & Newton inks, Golden Acrylic colours and many others. My brushes are always Windsor & Newton Series 7, and my laser sabre airbrush is an Iwata high performance plus.

How would you describe your own style?

Expressive,..I hope..and risky. I love to reach new levels of impact. And that’s what I have tried in many artbox, specially some that i did in the past for Knight Models such as the duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan, the Ironman bust or the Ghost Rider, which are probably the most difficult challenges I have done in my painting career.

Sculpting I don’t have yet a specific style. I am just learning and in the way to become what I want to be as an sculptor.. so there is a long road to walk.

Show us your workspace. Do not clean it.

The first one is my workspace at Scale75 office

Alfonso Giraldes workspace Scale75

The second one is at my home.

Alfonso Giraldes workspace at home

This was my table when I was living in nottingham.

Alfonso Giraldes workspace in Nottingham

Who influences your work and what inspires you?

Many many artists. If we talk about painters I would say artists like Caravaggio, Velazquez, Sorolla, frazetta, Miguelanxo Prado, Drew Struzan, Kekai Kotaky, Michael Kommarck, Kopinsky, Dainton, Bradstreet and many many others.

My favourite sculptor is Bernini. And some other like Corradini or Rodin are genious to me.

In the miniature world I admire the work of people like Raul Latorre (the big master of this miniature world) , Marjin Van Gils,  J-A Gillois, Romain Van der Bogaert, Kostas Kariotelis, Pedro Fernandez, Andrea Jula, Sang-Eon Lee, Kiril Kanaev, Roman Lappat, Raffa Picca, Fabrizzio Russo, Diego Ruina, Mirko Cavalloni, Jose Manuel Palomares, Allan Carrasco, M Bigaud, Patrick Masson, Mike Blank, Maxime Penaud, Joaquin Palacios ... and many many others

What’s your current favourite music/movie/series you enjoy while working?

I am watching Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones and yes….i must admit..Grey’s Anatomy jejejejejeje ;)..
I use to listen spanish hip hop all the time because it allows me to work very concentrate, people like Capaz Fernandez, Suite Soprano, Agorazein, Cheb Ruben or Violadores del Verso but I love other styles and artists like The Doors, Birthday Massacre, Rihanna, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Linkin Park, Korn, and many others. I don’t refuse any kind of music. I have an open mind in this regard.

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

I recently finished a bust for Scale75 ( sculpting and painting).. and now I am working at my place in Marvel’s Colossus for a private customer.

Alfonso Giraldes Sclae75 Project

I am also working on a personal project but is just the sketch

Alfonso Giraldes personal project


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Visit Alfonso “Banshee” Giraldes at Putty&Paint
And on his Facebook page