First Painting of 2010

The truth is, the first painting I did this year is one I'm not going to show. I've got a sort of informal challenge on this year with fellow equine artist friend, Elizabeth McCrindle, to work on painting humans. I did my first one on the first day of the month, but I used a photo on the front page of a magazine as it was just for practice. Had it been one of my own photos, I would have showed you - even though it will probably be a while before I think my humans are presentable!

Instead, you get to see something I'm much more comfortable with! I've done a little painting on works in progress in the last week, but today I wanted to do something quick for a greater sense of accomplishment. This, then, is an 8 x 8 oil on panel and the model is Peaker, now a three-year old. That's Gracie behind her. It's not perfect, but it served the purpose. This probably took two and a half hours all told.

I can't say there's really been a dividing line between this year and last, as these past weeks have been a bit of a blur. I guess in the next week I'll do what most people did two weeks ago - sit down and look at the year ahead, and what needs to be accomplished. 2009 was a great year for art for me, which was a blessing when surrounded by all the nay (neigh?)-sayers predicting doomsday with the economy. We had some rough times with the horses, and of course I really didn't need to go through getting two new trucks in one year, but so it goes. Let's see what the new decade has in store.

Day One: So Tired, Tired of Waiting...

So, here we go, are you ready? I decided that the first day's painting would be of Clever, who is expecting her third foal...due, last Friday! As setting due dates for horses is somewhat of an arbitrary thing, I'm not worried - as of today she is 340 days which is still well within normal. And I'm not really all that tired of waiting...yet!

This oil painting is about 12 x 8.5 inches on unstretched canvas. I toned the canvas with a good layer of Burnt Sienna, and then used the palette I experimented with last night. It's very simple: Ivory Black, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Red Medium and Titanium White. I know I was struggling with it last night, but I actually ended up being happy with the result. And I think Clever suits the theme of this month very well, as that belly is growing every day!

I'm going to list some of these oil studies for sale in my Etsy Store as I finish them. I'll keep them there for a short period of time at "give the poor fatigued artist a day off from mucking out" prices...that just means the ones I sell there will be priced at about what it costs me to hire someone to come do my stalls for a day! Consider it a charitable donation as well as an investment! Check the store a bit later if you're interested in today's study.

Thanks for checking in...see you tomorrow!

December News: Snow, Rain and Pleasant Surprises

It's a rainy afternoon here in Campbellville - it started mid-day, after some nice fluffy snow all night. So much for that extra layer of the white stuff! Not very festive, to say the least. The horses are in early and thought I should feed them early as well - sorry kids, you'll have to wait! I did, however, take a few photos this morning when the big flakes were falling. Very picturesque, and hard to catch with a camera!


Yesterday I received some exciting news - one of my paintings was juried into the Ex Arte Equinus II show. This is a fairly new and innovative show developed by Lyne Raffe of Art Horse Magazine. Please be sure to view the phenomenal work, which you can see here. It is quite an honour to be included. In addition to the online gallery, the selected entries will be featured in a limited edition book to be released in January. Stay tuned for details! Oh, almost forgot - the painting that was chosen was one that you saw develop right here on this blog, starting with my posting the photo when I was contemplating working from it. The piece is "Outside Chance" and it is a 14 x 18 oil on canvas (still available, if anyone is interested!).


On the sidelines...the painting continues! I am working on a Christmas portrait that you'll have to wait to see, and then it will be back to the other works in progress that have been on hold. I also need to start my Art Show at the Dog Show entries if I'm going to have anything ready this time around! Of course I'm told they're accepting digital entries for the first time this year - great news for procrastinators everywhere!