Ian Millar and In Style

Blog silence means things have been busy around here.  Studio tour has come and gone for another year, the horses are somewhat of a constant when it comes to occupying my time, and one painting in particular has been monopolizing the easel. 

About the time of my last post, I was asked by Agribrands Purina to produce a painting for a fundraiser in October, and here you see the resulting 11 x 14 oil on canvas.  I am hardly the first artist to portray Canada's legendary Ian Millar on one of his talented mounts, so rather than the usual jumping shot, I opted for a more casual composition, thanks to a wonderful photograph by Pam Mackenzie.  This time the horse is In Style, who I have always liked.  What can I say, I appreciate a bay horse with a tiny bit of white on his/her forehead! (think Monster, haha!)  And in case you've forgotten (or didn't know), In Style was his mount when Canada won team silver in Showjumping in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Wednesday, October 24th is the night in question - "An Evening with Ian Millar" will take place at the Orangeville Fairgrounds at 7:00pm.  Marc-André Blouin (nutritionist for Purina) will also be speaking, discussing forage and how to manage it during years such as this, when there is a hay shortage.  Tickets are only $5.00 and your ticket stub will go in for a draw to win the original framed painting! Proceeds go to LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement.  Sounds like a great night, don't you think?