Loose Ends

Zippy, Lounging ~ 5 x 7 oil on panel.

I've been spending a lot of time glaring at my easel of late - knowing there is work to be done, but feeling as if I'm just going to make a mess of anything I touch...kind of a reverse-Midas thing, where everything turns to muck.  The oil pastel commission I've been working on is in a good place (by which I mean more than not in my studio, haha), and just getting a rest from my eyes before I put the final touches on it, so I felt I needed to at least be making an attempt with the paints.

My solution has been to finish up some studies that were abandoned somewhere along the road. Some of them were just done during one of my daily painting projects, so they got a day's work but I always wanted to go back to them.  One I actually started from scratch (how brave, haha).  One just involved cutting down and stretching over new stretcher bars.  All I figured I could play with, and if I turned them to muck, nothing much would be lost except a bit more of my self-esteem!  ;-)

At the top is Zippy as a baby - he still has that look of owning the world!  Another study from the same time frame has found a new home, with artist friend Elizabeth McCrindle – it's always an extra honour when another artist likes my work enough to want it!  I have one of Elizabeth's paintings hanging on my studio wall. You can see the paintings in a blog post she wrote when she received them - thanks again, Elizabeth!

Einstein ~ 10 x 8 oil on canvas.

Milwaukee Brew ~ 8 x 10 oil on canvas.

Two of the paintings I was playing with a palette I haven't used much, favoured by artist Anders Zorn.  It's a limited palette of ivory black, cad red, yellow ochre and titanium white.  Admittedly I didn't push it much, but it was interesting just the same.  Both are studies of Thoroughbred stallions – Einstein (BRZ), sire of Sheldon, and Milwaukee Brew.

The last one is the restretch - I did this one as part of my daily painting projects, from a photo taken at Saratoga.  Now, I need to get these up on my website, in hopes that they, too, will find new homes!

Ready ~ 10 x 8 oil on linen.

 Oh, wait - one more!  This is Victor, a little study I started last year and finished up while I still had the Zorn palette open.  Catching a breeze on a warm spring day - which I hope we will see again, eventually!

Victor, Catching a Breeze  ~ 6 x 4 oil on canvas.

Just a PS - it's interesting to note the difference between my usual limited palette, which was used on the racehorse painting, compared with the stallion and Victor studies.  Which do you like better? I'm a time and place kind of person - I have to shake things up now and again, and studies are a great way to try out new things.

Paint. Every. Day.

"Ask," oil on linen study in progress.

June.  Finally we are getting some seasonally appropriate weather.  It’s amazing what that does for the psyche.  After a difficult winter and a tentative spring, it’s looking like just maybe we might have a reasonable summer. I even wore shorts yesterday!

I was tempted to do another Thirty Horses, Thirty Days to jumpstart myself this month. It’s been a while, and I have enjoyed the ones I’ve done in the past.  What holds me back is, well, reality, basically.  For one, getting a painting done every single day with everything that’s going on at the moment would be extremely difficult.  Then there is the fact that I have many small paintings, and I really don’t want to accumulate another 30.  So, what I decided was to commit to painting something each day.  It might be working on one of the larger WIPs, it might be a new study/sketch.  As long as the brushes and paint make contact with some ground or another at least once, that’s the deal.  The other motivation for not doing a Thirty Horses is that I don't want to limit myself to just horses, so we'll see what else I come up with along the way.

Sunday, (June 1^st) I started a small oil on linen study (above).  Yesterday (June 2^nd) time was tight and I was literally picking up a brush at ten to midnight.  I wiped out what I did, because I wasn’t happy, but I’m going to accept that's the way things are going to be some days and just go with it.  Today might be another one of those days, but we'll see.  Hopefully by the end of the month I'll have a few new small paintings, have finished some of the larger WIPs, and maybe even have started some new ones.  Bottom line is, I need to get back into some kind of routine to get past a particularly dry spell. I should be painting almost every day anyway, so this needs to carry into July and beyond!

"Victor," a start that I ended up wipng off.  Perhaps I'll try again today!

 Just.  Paint.

A Jubie Retrospective

"Dreamy"  8 x 6 oil study on Raymar panel, sold.

I went to visit Jubie at her new home this past Saturday.  Now called Raeleah (Rae), she is living the life in paradise.  She has been such a wonderful model, I thought a little retrospective of the work she's inspired was in order!  Not that I'm done painting her, yet! 

Definitely paradise.

"Firstborn," 14 x 11 oil on Raphael linen panel. Sold;  reproductions available!

"Jubilant"  11 x 14 oil study on Raphael linen panel.  Available, framed, $500.

"The Bond (or, You Still Love Me, Don't You?" 14 x 11 oil on Raphael linen panel.  Sold, reproductions available.

"These Eyes," 6 x 8 oil study on Raymar panel.  Available, $100.

Birthdays Are Overrated, Right?

"Reciprocal," 8 x 16 oil on panel

Today is Peaker's birthday - Peaker being the first foal that was born on my little farm that wasn't mine (cough*Monster*cough). She was born one very cold February morning, eight years ago, first foal of her mom, Too Clever.  I remember it was cold enough I went and bought a foal blanket for her...and when I put it on her, Clever decided she was an alien, so I had to take it off.  Poor little Peaker!  She grew up tough!  Last I heard Peaker was in Minnesota.  I hope she is doing well, and that she shows up on my radar again.

After remembering Peaker's birthday, it occurred to me that I had completely let Leo's birthday slip by!  Yesterday marked five years since my goofy boy arrived, and he's been causing trouble ever since.  He even broke his halter yesterday.  In hindsight, it was almost as if he was trying to get my attention. Haha! 

Both Peaker and Leo have been models for my paintings.  Above is the most recent one featuring Leo (and his buddy growing up, Spider), an 8 x 16 oil on Raymar panel called "Reciprocal."  Below is on of my favourites of Peaker, galloping through the snow with her friend Maria, both of them yearlings.  This one is 11 x 14 oil on Raphael panel.  Both paintings are still available; if you're interested, let me know!

The next birthday is one I never forget.  Anyone want to hazard a guess whose that might be?  ;-)

"Fresh Snow," 11 x 14 oil on linen

Last Painting of 2014, and First Sale of 2014!

As I said in my last post, days tend to run together in my world.  That title is for those of you who differentiate! Above is the final commission I completed in 2103, a 12 x 24 oil on Raphael linen panel. Below is the first sale of 2014, made through a new gallery in Red Hook, New York, Equis Art Gallery.  You can follow the development of this exciting new venue on Facebook! A great way to start off the New Year, I think!

"Toss" is a 24 x 24 oil on canvas.  Reproductions are available through Fine Art America.

Paint Now, Think Later!

A little bit of information I didn't disclose yesterday - I got a pretty serious club in the face by one of the foals (the oldest) on Saturday, enough to break my nose.  I don't think my nose really hurts as much as a broken nose should, but my head and neck have been aching rather consistently since.  Yes, I went to the hospital and got checked out, so don't be too worried!  What I have been doing is blaming every little brain blip since then on the incident!  Tonight I was hoping it would help me not overthink this little painting, because I was certainly doing that last night with the one of Brigitte.

Other than the sketch (directly on the panel), which came together quite quickly (10-15 mins) I probably completed this 5 x 7 oil on masonite in just under an hour.  I'm pretty pleased, all things considered.  This is Twine's colt, who is the only one who didn't seem to have a name right from the get-go.  I was calling him "Zip" or "Zippy" for a while, because he has some pretty funky cowlicks on his neck that make it look like you could zip him out of his fuzzy little coat.  But yesterday, he came up to me with his lower lip sticking out, one of his little quirks, and I thought maybe he should be Elvis.  What do you think? 

Again, I used a very simple palette for this one.  Burnt umber, Cadmium red light, ultramarine blue, yellow ochre and titanium white.  This is now the second painting I've done of this little guy.  Below is the first one, about 8 x 10 oil on linen, of one of his leaps in the air!

Happy New Year! (four days in!)

Well, we welcomed in the New Year in our typical fashion around here - as January 1 is also the official birthday of all Thoroughbreds in this hemisphere, my New Year's Eve ritual is to be out at the barn at midnight to wish everyone a happy birthday, and to feed carrots to those who will eat them. ;-) My three little boys are now yearlings, and not so little! I'm quite happy with all of them; they're growing up nicely and are even rather well-behaved! I had to laugh at the photo above of Sheldon - he looks as if he did a bit too much partying!


I had hoped to complete one last painting in 2011, but it ended up being the first one finished in 2012. This 11 x 14 oil on Raphael linen panel is of Jubie and her filly, Polly (who is now two, and in training....how time flies!). I'm also happy to report that the painting is sold, which is a wonderful way to start off the new year on the studio side of things. Here's to a great 2012 for everyone.

Waking Up to Good News

I didn't set a lot of concrete goals for this year, but one I was determined to meet was to paint and submit something for the Inglis Equine Art Prize, a competition organized by Australian Art Sales out of New South Wales, Australia. From the time I received the prospectus, last December, I felt as if this competition was made for me, as the theme was, "Around the Horse Stud." Now, for the uninitiated, "stud" refers to a farm where breeding horses takes place, not actually to those handsome manly equines that may be found there (the stallions). :-D The painting had to depict registered Thoroughbreds. As I happen to have one or two of those around to serve as models, I didn't have much of an excuse to let this opportunity pass by. Lingering in my brain was a certain email four years earlier from Dubai, so I chose to believe cool stuff can happen when you take a chance.

I did battle with what I wanted to paint. It would be a mare and foal of course, but with several thousand reference photos to consider, it would be hard to pick what might be most appropriate. I settled on one of the images of Billy and Clever, and you've seen the resulting painting before. It's a 14 x 18 oil on linen, which I titled "Hush."

I sent off my entry on the first day of the postal strike, feeling somewhat like I was throwing it out into postal oblivion, but the entry made it there in four days. It's taken three weeks on occasion to get an envelope to me from a town ten minutes away via Canada Post in the past, so I was more than a little astounded by the speed with which this entry travelled. As someone who typically leaves stuff to the absolute last minute, it was a big deal to get an entry away with time to spare (and actually have it arrive with time to spare). This morning I woke up to the acceptance email. Who-hoo!

Now comes the most stressful part - packing up the work and sending it far, far away. If only I could go with it! Only 30 paintings worldwide have been chosen for the exhibit, which begins August 11 at the Sydney Inglis Newmarket Complex. The exhibit will remain there until August 14, then be in Melbourne from August 18-24, and on to Scone from August 25-28. How much for a ticket to Aus?

"Hush" 14 x 18 oil on linen

I didn't realize it had been quite so long since I'd updated the blog! I think I've finished this painting - don't you love how sure we artists are of ourselves? My working title for this was, "Not Here, Mom!" but I've decided to call it "Hush." This is 14 x 18 oil on linen.

Billy, featured here as a foal, is now three years old and made his first start yesterday. He handled everything very well, and was fifth in his initial effort, earning a cheque in the process. It's a very encouraging start to his career. You can watch the replay, thanks to Woodbine's You Tube site!


I will be taking this and at least two other paintings to be photographed this week. I always do this with paintings that are too large to scan, so I have a high resolution file from which to make prints. Pirak Studios does a great job photographing artwork, and also offers giclée printing services. I'm probably going to have them do a proof of each of the three paintings I'm taking so that I can offer reproductions. Stay tuned for more information!

"Sheldon Sleeping," 5 x 7 oil on linen

I put the final touches on this little study tonight - I do love to do these loose, sketchy studies to balance out the more complex, detailed pieces I do.

Still Painting!

Eleven days into the month, and one way or another I've picked up a brush and applied paint every day, though some days more effectively than others! The horses are still keeping me hopping with various issues, and some sleep has been sacrificed, but that's just the way it goes.

I started this little 5 x 7 oil on linen on panel yesterday. This is Twine's colt, who I'm calling Sheldon unless I find out the owners have a problem with that! While he's the oldest of the foals this year, he's no longer the biggest. I think both the chestnuts are taller than he is! Above is day two of work - below the initial 'drawing' on the panel. There is something about sleeping babies, isn't there?

Keeping On

I figured you all could use a rest from me yesterday, so I posted my current WIP on Facebook instead. ;-) This is what I've been working on, with a bit more progress. You saw it here first a while ago! This is 14 x 18 oil on linen. Not my usual smooth linen, but a heavier weave which I've painted on a couple of times. I like to change things up from time to time!

This is Clever and her 2008 colt, Billy, who is now in training at Woodbine. Billy had a lot of very original facial expressions as a baby, and always seemed to be nattering at his mom. Here I've started to lay some colour in over the underpainting - just midtones and darks, and scrubbing them and blending them in with a dry brush rather than a true glaze, though the effect is the same.

Her current foal is two weeks old today, and looking very handsome!

A Little Painting Between Foals

The last week has been a long one, and a bit stressful as well. Our little chestnut boy is up at the University of Guelph's OVC Teaching Hospital, and had surgery yesterday to repair a patent urachus. While outwardly he has always been bright and happy, he did have a few issues as I'd mentioned in my last post, and developed this problem Monday morning after being there since Saturday night. I can't help worrying about a baby that age, of course - so many challenges in his short life so far. I'm hoping very soon he'll be home again and bouncing back in full chestnut fashion. Interestingly, all three chestnut foals I've had born here have required special care off the farm. Peaker and Gracie are both big and strong today, so we'd like to see this guy follow suit! And in the absence of our flashy little boy, I give you our little Einstein! He's nearly two weeks old now, and if I ever need to be cheered up, I go visit him!


I finally settled down to some painting this week, after the disrupted schedule of the last couple of weeks. I completed the underpainting of the oil of Billy and Clever last night – it's currently drying so that I can jump into the colour. I have started to put some colour into one I have on the go of "the Widgets" Leo and Spider, but it's set firmly in the uglies right now! And last night, just so I could say I finished *something,* I got back to a little 5 x 7 oil on linen I started a while back of Miss Keller, one of the top turf mares last season. It needs a proper scan, but above is the preliminary photo.


And just for fun...this is what I saw when I came into the studio yesterday afternoon. I've taught Swish to sit on a chair, but this is the first time she's done it of her own accord! Well, maybe I'd better rephrase that - this is the first time I've seen her do it! I was hoping she'd done some work on the painting that was on the easel, but no such luck! Maybe next time?

Getting One to the Wire, and Starting a New One!

This weekend I finished what may be my most ambitious painting to date - remember this one? I don't even remember when I started this painting, and I'll admit it had me intimidated more than once! It is, however, complete. Well, I haven't signed it yet - I'll put it away for a week or so and take a final look before I do that part, then sometime after the mares are done with foaling, it will be among those I take to be photographed. This one is 24 x 30 oil on canvas.

As a reward, I let myself start a new one today! I think my working title for this will be, "Not Here, Mom!" Billy used to make the funniest faces as a baby - I have a lot of really silly photos of him. Come to think of it, he still makes some pretty funny faces! Oh well, do boys ever really grow up? ;-) This one is 14 x 18 oil on linen. It's always fun to start a new painting, and you know how much I love doing mares and foals.

Twofer!

You were all very kind to me, overlooking my letting last week’s Baby Girl painting slip in my Studio Tour prep stress! To make up for it, I did two paintings today.


The first, featuring our girl at just over 17 weeks, is 4 x 6 oil on Raymar cotton canvas panel. The reference photo was taken that first day she was out with Aunt Gracie, so that’s who she’s eyeballing!


The second is 7 x 6 oil on unstretched linen. Last Friday, I took advantage of a couple of visitors to snap the filly’s registration photos. It was a rather death-defying feat, as she put on a show for us, demonstrating her repertoire! Once she settled I snapped the photos so fast that I neglected to make sure that on the side views, she was standing with all legs visible. Somehow I managed that on the head-on and rear photos, as notoriously those are harder to capture, but I’m going to have to re-take those side ones! Ah well…Here you have her head shot, though I will be submitting an earlier one for the Jockey Club’s records, as she’s sporting a kind of scarred hairless look at the moment. I wanted to paint this though, because it just screamed TEENAGER! At me! She is just over eighteen weeks here.

Both these were done with a very limited palette of Red Umber, Yellow Ochre, Vasari Adobe, Ultramarine Blue and Titanium White.

"Firstborn" 14 x 11 Oil on Linen

Well, I signed this painting today - that's supposed to mean it's done! I have enough other paintings on the go which I'm working hard to bring to completion, so that should help me leave this one alone. My final painting session was a few nights ago, when I was at that stage where I was thinking, "Just a couple more touches and it'll be finished" which usually means I should just stop! The specs: 14 x 11 oil on Raphael linen panel.

It's hard to believe this is the same cheeky little ten-week old I have out in the paddock right now. I am feeling sorry for her - she needs a buddy! She reminds me so much of Monster, resorting to racing the birds for entertainment. Oh well...we'll see what we can come up with!

Hopefully I'll be reporting back shortly with another newly signed piece!

Going Green - 8 weeks old

I did this week's filly painting a day early, because tomorrow I'm off to Saratoga for a few days. I feel better about this one that last week's, and I already have some great pics for next week, thanks to they baby girl showing off for the camera yesterday!

This is 6 x 8 oil on Raphael linen panel. I went back to my old limited palette - still love how those colours come together. If this would dry in time I'd take it with me, but that's not going to happen. As it is, there will be a few of my smaller paintings at the Beresford Gallery, across from the track on Union Avenue. Make sure you pop in if you're there! They have a beautiful collection of paintings for sale from a variety of International artists.

Back to work - lots to do before I go to bed tonight - I'll be leaving at 5AM so I get there in time for the races!

Not Enough Hours! Week 6

It was tough fitting in the week 6 painting today! After feeding and turning out this AM I had 175 bales of hay to take care of - a morning workout when there are just three people, total. The usual stalls waited at home, and tonight I had to be out. As a result I'm posting a somewhat sketchier than normal painting of our girl. Sometimes it's good to only have so much time. All things considered, I guess it's not too bad!

This is 6 x 8 oil on linen.

Paying Tribute

I really don't know what to write with today's painting; the story behind what inspired me to finally pull out the necessary reference photo is a dark one, one that seems so glaringly out of place during a week which is supposed to be a celebration of Canadian racing: Queen's Plate week.

Like many others, yesterday I learned of the death of Wake at Noon, a Canadian champion. He was thirteen, and died on the racetrack, when he never should have been on the racetrack. He was supposed to be enjoying a well-deserved retirement (some of us think winning $1.6 million should pay for that), not find himself the victim of a freak accident after his connections apparently lied about his identity (purely speculation on my part) to even get him on the backstretch. At thirteen, he wasn't eligible to race at Woodbine - or even allowed to been on the grounds. But nothing stays secret at the track for long.

Anyway...I won't ramble on. I took the reference photo for this on Plate Day ten years ago, and I've often looked at it over the years and thought he's a horse I'll paint one day. I never though it would be under these circumstances. So here he is, a rapid-fire tribute to an awesome horse, and a sad reminder of how pathetic the human race can be.

10 x 8 oil on Artfix linen.

One Month Old! Peek-a-boo

A week ago today, Jubie's baby girl was a month old! Where did the time go? She's quite the observant little thing, always looking out over her stall door, or into the barn when she's outside, watching what I'm doing. She's got her momma's eyes, and it's pretty tough to ignore her. And as she's still without a name, I guess it's no surprise when I call, "Baby Girl!!" she comes running, with the cutest of whinnies.

This is 8 x 6 oil on Old Holland linen.