Crimson Chalice Judge spotlight: Erkka Marttio

It’s time to meet the first of our judges for the Crimson Chalice, the official Trench Crusade painting competition! We are delighted to welcome Erkka Marttio to our panel of judges.

Erkka Marttio is an incredibly talented miniatures painter from Finland, and we couldn’t be happier to have him on our panel of judges for the Crimson Chalice.

We asked Erkka for a few words about his experiences, along with some tips for artists who will be competing. Here is what he had to say: 

“Hi! I’m Erkka Marttio, a miniature artist from the dark north of Finland, focused on display painting. I enjoy painting figures of various scales and experimenting with new ideas. Storytelling and mood are always important factors to me in my own work, and I’m a sucker for beautiful dioramas and smaller vignettes.

I’ve taken part and judged in various miniature painting competitions and it’s a great honour to get to judge and admire up-close all of your works at this inaugural edition of Crimson Chalice.

For people taking part in the competition I would encourage you to think of the presentation of your figures. While technically not a part of the paintjob, presenting your work in a visually pleasing way is an easy way to highlight the piece as a whole. Elements such as beautifully finished plinths not only elevate your work (you can think of it like a frame for a canvas painting), but also make the judges’ jobs a lot easier as we’ll be able to better handle your work.”

You can check out Erkka’s amazing work on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marttio_miniatureart/ 

Looking to sign up for the Crimson Chalice? You can find out everything you need to know, including rules and how to register, on the Crimson Chalice page of our website.

We’ll be introducing more of our illustrious panel of judges soon!