Curlin, 6 x 8 Oil on Raymar Linen Panel

This week's been a blur - I couldn't tell you where the time has gone. I've got a couple of recently finished paintings to show off, and this is just one of them. This is the little oil I started the day Curlin won the Dubai World Cup. The big horse hit a bit of a snag in his first turf race a little while ago, but I think after the way he's been romping in his last few starts, we just kept expecting him to keep on rolling – dirt, turf, whatever – kind of like another Big Red Machine a few decades ago. Like pretty much everything you see around here, this little painting is for sale, so don't be afraid to email me if you're interested. I'll be getting it framed next time I visit the framer!

This weekend I've got a whirlwind roadtrip planned. I'm meeting my friend, photographer Juliet Harrison, in none other than Saratoga. Rest assured we'll both have a few hundred photos to sort through after our visit to the Spa! Stay tuned!

I'll have some news on upcoming shows next week, as well as an announcement about a new project I've been working on. Could be kind of busy around here!

Less is More...More or Less

I've been sitting staring at this painting for the last two weeks as I've worked on the two little paintings. I know other artists understand the fear that keeps one from going back to a painting that seems to be coming together well. This one I had to stop on after blocking in the white of the foreground snow - Titanium white is notoriously slow-drying. I put it where I see it every day - I can't seem to put things out of sight as I know many artists do, I have to obsess over it somewhat, and work on that fear that keeps it on the shelf perhaps longer than it should be there!

I liked the feeling of this one from the start, even though it didn't have as tight a roadmap as I often work with. I've become intrigued with low-light situations in the last year. Typically, it seems, artists are drawn towards high contrast, and I think, personally those images are the easiest to work with. Lowlight, and backlight like this one, are a bit harder to pull off. The digital camera helps immensely with this - I can look at a photo in Photoshop and bring up detail in the shadows that lets me do what I need to do.

The challenge with this one, besides the backlight, is how much detail to put into the setting. The trees and brush behind the fillies in my photo reference are quite busy, and I don't want to repeat that - it would distract too much. Tonight I mostly battled with working on that balance, of making the background "read" right without it taking over. From here I'm sure I'll be doing a bit of going back an forth - background, to horses, to foreground, and around again!

Last night I was working on Curlin again. I didn't put a lot of work into it, just blocked in some colour - the silks, breechs, saddle towel and tack. Again I'm dealing with slow-drying colours, so this one will have to sit before I work some more. For a small painting, it's taking a while! Naturally I've done the most work on the horse!

Becoming One with the Mud

It's that time of year. I know better than to complain about the snow, because I know all too well what comes next! There's still a little bit of the formerly white stuff here and there, but the paddocks are officially mud. In fact, I think the warmer temps and light wind have helped start to dry them out! The pic above is of Muffin, Mud Queen herself. Far be it from Muffin to miss the opportunity for a good roll! I love Muffy but I sure won't miss the work it takes to clean her up! She goes back to “work” tomorrow.


I mentioned I had a finished piece completed in the last couple of weeks. Not sure I'm stuck on the name "Footbath" yet ("Ghost Groom" was so much more entertaining!) but it's there for now!


In the meantime I've been working on the little dark bay on the Curragh, as well as Curlin. Both are progressing nicely. My time has been a bit limited because last Monday we got the report that while Twine was in foal after breeding back this year, Clever was not. This just meant another round of vet visits, then another trip to the stallion yesterday. Here's hoping for a better result this time!

Oh, just to give credit where it's due, the title for today's post actually comes from a Jars of Clay song, Flood. For some reason it's in my head a lot this time of year!

Meanwhile, Back on the Curragh...

This painting has progressed considerably since I showed the initial work - it wasn't even a complete sketch at that point. This one, again, is a 5 x 7 oil on double-primed Raymar linen panel. I'm enjoying the surface, and now that I've started Curlin on the single-primed panel, I'll be able to compare and see if I prefer one over the other.

The sky was painted a couple of days ago, and the landscape this afternoon. Tonight I've been working on the horse. All will still need work, and there are details I still need to paint in.

It was nine years ago this week I was in Ireland taking these photos! Here's another, older painting I did from a couple other photos I took that particular morning. Kind of a funny story goes along with it. My friend and I decided we'd walk to the Irish National Stud from the B&B where we were staying, having no idea how far that was. The Curragh was pretty early on in the walk. We were both tired and crabby by the end of the day. Believe it or not, we're still friends!

Big Red Machine?

I know that's what they used to call Secretariat, and I'm not trying to make a comparison, but those are the words that came to mind today as I watched Curlin toy with his rivals to win the Dubai World Cup. I don't usually paint the "horse of the hour" so to speak - if I'm going to paint a "name" horse it will typically be a Canadian-bred, Woodbine-based runner. Watching Curlin's performance today, however, I gave in. I had photos of him winning the Breeders' Cup Classic, so with a few adaptations I will be taking him to Dubai! Well...taking my photos of him to Dubai...okay, I wish. I was there this time last year!

Just a note - this horse does have a Canadian tie-in. He's by Canadian-bred Smart Strike, and out of a Deputy Minister mare - Deputy Minister was also Canadian-bred!

This is just a small painting, 5 x 7 oil on oil-primed Raymar panel, and the work so far has taken about an hour. So yes, another work in progress. About time I started wrapping some of these up, don't you think?

Working small like this can be fun. I find it useful for staying motivated, because in most cases these pieces are completed faster than a larger one, for obvious reasons - it doesn't take as long to cover the support! They give a sense of accomplishment that helps carry me through the larger work.

I have completed one of the recent postings in the last week. All I need to do is sign it, so you will see it sometime soon!