Defining a New Series

I've been a little absent around here, haven't I? No good excuse, really, except that I haven't been nearly as productive at the easel as I should be. I did realize that I've failed to post the final version of this painting! This is 8 x 16 oil on Raymar cotton canvas panel. I'm sticking with the working title on this one: "Watch and Learn!" I used a few photo references when I was composing this painting, because I wanted to make it look like Pip (in the middle) was giving Billy (yearling, on the left) a lesson in roughhousing. That's Rupert on the right, looking a little wary.


A lot of artists develop series, be it a colour theme, or subject, etcetera. It struck me that I have been doing that on some level, without actually making it formal. I love doing paintings of horses interacting - so much of my day is spent observing them doing so. Driving back from Guelph one day I was listening to The National on my iPod, and glanced down at the name of the song that was playing - "Conversation 16." Bingo! There was my series, and I already had a few pieces that fit the theme. So "Watch and Learn" is the most recent addition to my not-exactly-new series, "Conversations." I guess the first one was "Promises, Promises," and Rupert and Pip also made an appearance for "Here, Let Me Help You With That," which was my Christmas card this past season. "Ground Rules" might be on the fringes - it's a horse-human interaction, so maybe I will have to have a second "Conversations" series if I can produce more such pieces.

It's getting close to foaling time around here, don’t be surprised if my posts remain a little inconsistent for the next bit! Rest assured there will be pics of the new arrivals as they come.