Carolina In My Mind

Last night was the coldest night of the winter so far - I won't look at the thermometer when it gets really cold because I might never leave the house! I could tell from the barn though. There was even a skin of ice on the buckets of the two boys in their playhouse out back. I have heard a number pinpointing just how cold it was, but such things will not be uttered here!

While I'm up here freezing, a few of my paintings are in South Carolina this weekend for the Red Cross Benefit Sporting Art Show and Sale in Aiken. I've never been to Aiken, though I've always wanted to go. At least some of my work gets to visit. Kind of like I had some paintings in Louisville on the first Saturday in May a few years ago! The Aiken Horse has done a nice spread on the show. You can see a digital version of the magazine online - look for pages 20-21. The three pieces I will have there are my oil of a Labrador pup, Best Behaviour; another oil, Pile o' Britts that won best entry depicting a Brittany a the Art Show at the Dog Show two years ago, and a pencil drawing I call Baby Steps.


I'd also like to pass on the news that I've opened an online store in the form of and Etsy shop, where I will be offering both small original paintings, and reproductions of my work. I've started listing some items, so please have a look. I've also been invited to be part of the Whoa Horse artists group on Etsy, though it will probably be next week before my membership is processed. In the meantime, be sure to check out the artwork of these talented artists. Just search for "whoa team" in the listings. There is also a members' blog. I'm looking forward to being part of this team!

I'm hoping to finish up one of my larger paintings in the next couple of days, after getting in some good work this week. It's also supposed to warm up this weekend - enough to rain, apparently! I'm not sure how I feel about that, but after today a day above freezing sounds a little bit appealing!

Speak Now, Or...

It was a busy day, spending the morning holding eight horses for trims, and the afternoon mucking nine stalls, which naturally took a bit longer as everyone had been in for half the day. There was no opting out of painting tonight, however, as that deadline is getting closer. Time for the 'reveal' of the mystery WIP, haha. This is an 8 x 10 oil on Raphael linen panel. It's my canine muse, Finn, caught napping on the couch one night. Just something about the way he was sleeping next to the coffee cup made me laugh. I was thinking of calling it "Old Man and a Cup of Coffee" but Finn refuses to act old, though he's now eleven. Because he was a rescue, and I don't know his actual birthdate, I just let him celebrate the same day as the horses.

Sometimes I never quite find the perfect name for a painting, but this one hit me walking out to the barn the other night after working on it, and I had to laugh out loud because I really should have thought of it sooner. So the official title of this one will be "Counting Sheep." Really, what else could it be?


The Brittany painting is nearing completion as well, though it's not beyond tweaking. This one is 11 x 14 oil on Raphael. The dog in this painting is my Brittany, Zen, who I lost almost eleven years ago now. As I mentioned, I had the sketch for this painting in my book for ages. Zen - OTCh Casey's Don't Blame Em Trainem - was an incredible dog, and twice was Canada's top obedience Brittany. I have a more traditional oil pastel portrait of Zen, but something about this pose always appealed to me. I still need to do some work on the trees, and probably the grasses.

I think I've settled on a title for this one as well. I played with the idea of some that were symbolic, or significant, but decided I would be the only one to understand, so I'm calling this "Intuitive." Zen never hunted, but that drive was innate. He would often point when we would go for walks through the fields, and anything in the sky was worth chasing - including airplanes!

So it looks as if I will pull off two entries again this year for the Art Show at the Dog Show. We'll see how they do!

You know it's bad when...

...you opt to do some prep for your income tax instead of painting! Yes, that's what I'm doing tonight.

I knew painting today would be a challenge. I had maybe four hours sleep last night (when you add it up) thanks to foal watch. I knew I'd be heading back outside to snow, and lots of it, once the sun was up. Naturally, it was deepest right in front of the barn, and I got to dig it out twice - last night at 11pm, and again this morning before I could get in to feed. The plough guy came just in time to clear the driveway (all half a mile, or 0.6km of it) so that I could stop fretting because the blacksmith was scheduled to come at 9am. Just a short aside: your racetrack lingo for the day! Try using the term "farrier" at the racetrack. I probably haven't used it since the day I did, my first year on the track, and was ridiculed! At the track, it's blacksmith. Just so you know!

At least it wasn't too cold today, because throwing snow around followed by standing holding horses for a few hours can be a recipe for disaster. While wet boots and gloves didn't help, I didn't get too cold. And the kids were relatively well-behaved today.

After that, it was back to throwing around more snow, clearing a path to the manure pile! Fortunately I'd at least arranged for some help to muck out today. After professing that I wouldn't take a nap and the key to not needing one was to just keep moving, I of course passed out when I got back inside. I don't know for how long, and I figure I can tell myself it was a few hours (when I know it wasn't anywhere close to that). It's all about the psychology, and I feel pretty good now! Shall I check in with you at 3am or so?

I haven't posted the latest update on the ghost groom -- I started working on colour earlier in the week. Since then I've put it away for a few days, and yesterday put the racehorses back on the easel. As I'm still working on the underpainting of that one, pushing the detail. I don't usually print my photo reference out large, but in this case it was warranted. Too much going on in this scene!


And while this news probably deserves a post of its own, I'm just going to share it now. Both of my puppy paintings were accepted into the Art Show at the Dog Show. So once again Lara (our favourite Brittany!) will visit Kansas, this time with her new friend Pinkston. I'll be packing them two of them up and sending them on their way shortly!

Where Does the Time Go?

I know, I know...blog neglect! Those kids out in the barn have been keeping me on my toes this last month. We all send belated holiday greetings!

I have managed to get back in the studio to do more than check email this past week. It's coming up to Art Show at the Dog Show time again, and I have two candidates on the easel. Once again, I don't know if it will all come together in time to make the entry deadline. The best laid plans and all that...sometimes circumstances beyond my control get in the way!


Nearing completion is my newest Brittany painting. This is Lara again, who was featured in my two previous Britt paintings. Here she's all grown up, a puppy no more! I'm just working out a few final issues with this one. This is 8 x 10 oil on Fredrix linen panel.

Ambitious though it might be, I started another potential entry this week. This is also 8 x 10, oil on Raphael linen panel, and the subject is Pinkston, a Yellow Lab pup, from a photo taken by his owner, Yvonne. So far all I have is a rough underpainting. White takes notoriously long to dry, and I've had to use a lot of it, so I'm waiting to get back to this.. The clock is ticking!


On that note, back to work! There should be enough chocolate around her to keep me going for hours!

Lara Strikes Again!

Well, the results are in for awards at this year's Art Show at the Dog Show. I was fortunate enough to have two pieces accepted this year. One was an oil pastel vignette of a crazy (the best kind!) Border Collie at an agility trial, called, appropriately, Bordering On Insanity. The other was a collection of Brittany pups, all sleeping in a heap. Amongst these pups was Lara, the puppy featured in the painting that went to this same show last year, and went on to win the award for Best Entry Depicting a Brittany.


The Brittany pups I called "Pile o' Britts" and I was very happy to find out that it was awarded the prize for Best Brittany entry this year. So here's to Lara and her littermates! Time to start planning for next year!