Special Ponies-Go-Back-To-Work Portrait Offer!

"Fire Filly,"  8 x 10 oil sketch on canvas...of Gracie!

It's that time of year for me - the time when the layups go back to work at the training centre or racetrack, and my income goes with them!  ;-)  I've been fortunate to be able to keep Gracie and Leo both in work for the last three months, but had to give notice for one of them on February 1st - I just can't afford to continue to pay board on both.  The likely candidate to come home is Gracie, as Leo has considerable momentum in his favour.  I hate to do it, but that's the way it is.

I know it probably seems rather indulgent to be boarding and riding two horses, but I've discovered, having that diversion has gone a long way to keeping me sane this winter.  Now, I know no one out there probably cares one way or another about whether I'm sane or not, but it occurred to me, some people might be interested if I dangled a portrait offer.  Some people who haven't been able to afford my regularly-priced portraits might be able to take advantage, and likewise, I might be able to afford to keep Gracie in work, and build on the progress we've made this winter...when I'd been having my doubts about both of our futures!

Lexi - 10 x 8 oil sketch on linen.

Here's the deal.  I'll accept two to three 8 x 10 oil commissions, to be done in what I call my "sketch" style, which just means I'm not going through the many-layered process involved in my "traditional" style portraits. Sketch portraits have the same longevity, and are produced with the same high quality materials, so there's no compromise in that area. 

The subject must be a horse, and you must provide photos, which I must approve.  If you haven't taken the photos yourself, I need to see written permission from the photographer, that allows me to use the photo to create your portrait.

The sketch will be a head study - so head and neck.

Price is $300 (regular price is $500), which will include shipping (worldwide), and payment must be made in full upon approval of your photos.

Deadline to take advantage of the offer is February 14, 2015, which is, conincidentally, Gracie's birthday.  If I don't have anyone booked at that point, I'll accept that bringing her home is what's meant to be.

Interested?  Questions?  Email me at lindashantz **at** gmail.com and I'll help you out.

PS - If you don't have a horse, or you want some other size, or more than a head study...send me an email, and we can talk about it. ;-)

"Peaker" - 8 x 8 oil sketch on board.

I'd Rather Be Going Racing!

Grumble grumble...yes, I'm conflicted. I had fully planned to go to the races today, to watch my boy Rupert run (he really needs to overcome his recent second-itis, could today be the day?) as well as catch the Queenston Stakes, which will feature a couple of Plate hopefuls including last year's champion two-year old. But a comedy of errors last Saturday has meant I needed to reschedule an appointment with a saddle fitter for Monster, something I've been waiting on for a while, so I didn't very well feel I could tell them I had to go watch the ponies run instead! Sigh. Sometimes being responsible just isn't any fun at all!


I think I'm due a new painting featuring Rupert, and I actually have one in mind. Today I'm hoping my current commission on the easel is dry enough to start colour, but if not, maybe I'll indulge myself and start a new one. In the meantime, here's one of my goofy chestnut boy. Go Rupert! And happy Preakness Day, everyone! Safe trip for you all!

Luxy

This is another one of my recent commissions, a 16 x 20 oil on panel. Luxy is a Danish Warmblood gelding, he and his brother Luminous both sons of the famous stallion Lucky Light. Both brothers were named for their shining light - the sun for Luxy, and the moon for Luminous - hence the symbolic sun in Luxy's portrait. If you look carefully at the original, you will see a four-leaf clover in the foliage of the treeline, to pay tribute to the stallion Lucky Light.

The brothers are both lovely dressage horses, with natural jumping ability. While Luminous is sweet and eager to please, Luxy is playful, mischievous and impish. I think Luxy would like to meet the two young boys at my place - the three of them would have a lot of fun!

Luxy's portrait is framed and will soon be on its way.

Control vs. Abandon

I know as an artist, I tend to stay closer to the 'control' side of the equation. It's not an uncommon pursuit among artists to want to 'loosen up,' the whole 'less is more' scenario. If I can throw yet another cliché at you – the good old "a picture is worth a thousand words" – those words, translated to artspeak, might be brushstrokes, and I doubt I will live long enough to get where I want to in mastering those! The goal is efficiency - to be able to put the stroke down once, and have it say what I want it to say. Right now all I'm saying is, "Not in this lifetime!" though I wish that weren't so!

Today I worked at both ends of the spectrum, or as best I can at this point! I continued to put colour into my present commission project - just a very light, thin layer, and I'm really liking how it's coming along. I have a few issues to resolve with the photos I'm working from - they were taken mid-day, which means high contrast, strong shadows. Great for drama, but this is a portrait, so I'm toning those down. As the paint will dry quickly because this layer is so thin, I'll be able to proceed fairly soon on this one, and I'm looking forward to it!

Tonight, in order to balance an afternoon devoted to careful work, I did a little 8 x 10 sketch. I'm not calling this one done, but one thing I know is I'd like to do this much larger, so I'll try to keep myself from going too far with the sketch. The reference I'm working with is of Alphabet Soup, who is standing this season at Gardiner Farms. I was at Woodbine the day he beat Cigar in the Breeders' Cup Classic, so to see him up close, and be able to get some pretty cool photos - well, it made my day, back in December at the stallion parade.

This oil is on shellacked masonite, a surface I'm still getting a feel of. I love leaving the panel showing, so this and future attempts will include figuring out how to use that to its advantage!

A Horse and His Boy

I'm finally going to unveil one of my recent commissions. This is Junior, a sixteen year-old Polish Arabian, and the painting is 11 x 14 oil on Raphael linen panel. It was such fun to photograph this guy, and Junior is obviously a very special horse, so I've asked to share some of his story. I don't think I can put it better than Junior's owner did in her first email to me.

"Junior is a very special horse. He is my son's guardian angel. My son, Riley is 10 yrs old. He has Epilepsy. Riley started having seizures when he was 2 yrs old. When he reached 4 yrs old...kids in school were playing hockey/soccer. Riley thought he was too sick to play sports. That worried me. He wasn't sick. He had seizures...


Riley's first riding lesson – one of many – would be on Junior. One year later the riding school sold their land. They put some of their school horses up for sale. I am a single mom and always dreamed of having an Arabian since I first watched the Black Stallion! I took it as fate. I had been saving up to take Riley on a trip Alberta to see the 'bad lands' and the Dinosaur Museum. Instead, I used the money to buy Junior.


Junior transformed Riley. Riley was no longer telling people he was 'sick,' even though there were days he was having 6 seizures in a day (while on 2 medications!!)! Other kids talk about hockey, baseball and soccer- - Riley just smiles and says anyone can play that- but not anyone can ride a horse!


The first year we had Junior, there was an incident with Riley as he was trotting around on his own in the arena (I was in the middle of the arena) and Junior stopped and would not continue to move. I walked over to ask "Why aren't you making him go?" I thought maybe Junior was being a brat..I then realized Riley was having a seizure while sitting on Junior. Junior had known something was wrong..and he stopped. This happened a few times after, each time Junior would stop slowly and wait for me.


Junior has given Riley so much confidence. Riley thinks he can do anything. Riley is now taking only 1 medication and is so far 1 yr seizure free!


Junior changed Riley's life..and mine. I have people at the barn where he is stabled offering to buy him. I will never part with him. I know the day will come when Riley will out grow him, and we will have to buy a second horse. I like to tease Riley about when he out grows Junior...that Junior will be all mine to ride...and I will buy a pink saddle...pink saddle pad...pink polos... etc. Riley gets mad and tells me 'He's a boy horse- he doesn't wear pink, mom!'

"Love Story," Commissioned Portrait

I've been quiet of late because I'm hard at work on commissions at the moment. I usually don't post commissions as works in progress - you won't see them here until they are complete and have been approved by the client. Sometimes that's because they are gifts, and sometimes it's just because there is often fine-tuning at the end once the client has seen the almost completed portrait, and I'd rather wait until those details have been worked through.

Above is one of my latest pieces, an 8 x 10 pencil portrait of a retired jumper mare named Love Story. The photo we ended up going with for this one was actually supplied by Diane McFarlane, a photographer who commissioned me to do the drawing for her friend. I did get to meet this beautiful mare, however, and really enjoyed that time!

I'll post an oil portrait I've also recently completed next time. Now, it's back to the easel, where I have two more oil commissions on the go. For now, my other works in progress are on hold!

Monday Memorial

Today's painting is a memorial to a very pretty mare named Muffin. We lost Muffin this year, and I knew I was going to paint her sometime this fall, so today was the day.

Rather than dwell on the sadness associated with this little portrait, I'm going to talk about something most artists deal with at some time or another with commissioned work, as I actually inflicted it upon myself today! We are always, always telling clients about the importance of good photos from which to create a portrait - a portrait is usually only as good as the pictures we're given, and most of us prefer to take our own when possible. To let you in on a secret, most of us say time and again that we will not take a commission based on bad photos. Not only is it extremely difficult - as much as some might expand on the artistic mystique, we're really not magicians - but we worry that the finished product will not do the beloved animal justice. We want you to love your portrait, hang it on the wall in a prominent position, not, you know, in the outhouse or some place similar!

So...my story...Muffin spent a good deal of time at my place. She was such a beautiful mare, with a very pretty face. As you probably know, if you've been reading my blog for very long, I take a lot of photographs. For some reason, try as I might, I was never able to capture Muffin with a photograph. I thought about just using the one that I posted after she died, but it really didn't do her justice. The only one I had that was remotely close to what I wanted, her nose was cut off, and she was in winter coat. Each horse does have a different muzzle, so it's not like I could just look at a photo of another horse in the same position; and some horses' colouring changes a bit in the winter. At least I have the benefit of having known Muffin, so I had to rely on my memory. Of course, these photos were still much better than some I've had to work from before!

For this painting, I went back to gessoed masonite panel. I had actually toned it with some leftover paint from Saturday's painting, which I now know is a mistake! While the surface was dry, there was obviously enough oil in that paint that I was having trouble with today's paint adhering properly. Because of those issues, I will go back to this at some point for a few touch-ups. Of course I also realised I'd forgotten Muffin's snip and the tiny strip above it. I was so focused on getting the shape of her muzzle right, I missed those things! The size is 8 x 10, and once again I used the same limited palette.

Well, that's it for today. See you tomorrow!