The One that Almost Wasn't

Tonight, as I sat eating some particularly uninspiring 'cooked from frozen' tortellini, I had to remind myself that any day that starts out with someone else cooking breakfast can't really be all that bad, overall.

Before you let your imaginations get away with you, I'll explain! This morning after feeding and turning out horses (or some of them, thanks to intermittent rain), I hopped in the truck and battled infamous Toronto morning traffic to head into the Queen's Plate breakfast at Woodbine. The food at Woodbine (that would more accurately be, the non-concession stand food!) is always incredible, and this was definitely no exception. The occasion at hand was the post position draw for the big race. When I was there I was reminded that the last time I was at a draw, it was in a little place called Dubai, for the World Cup!

There ended up being thirteen entries for the Plate - the horse I painted on Sunday, Costalivin, was not entered. Today I painted the morning line favourite, and the other filly in the field, Milwaukee Appeal, winner of the Canadian Oaks. This is 5 x 7 oil on panel.

And now...the rest of the story. It was noon by the time I left Woodbine, and I followed through on my plan to take care of a less-than-favourite task, finding something to wear on Sunday. Wonder of wonders, first store I went into, first dress I tried on...I bought! I should get a prize for that, I'm sure. From there I took care of a couple of other errands, then headed home. There was a message from the vet asking to switch tomorrow morning's appointment for Jubie to this afternoon, so I confirmed that was okay before going to the barn and starting to play catch-up!

Turns out it was probably good to check Jubie today - I'd planned to take her up and leave her for a few days so that they had some time to work with her before breeding her, and after talking to the breeding manager, I agreed to take her out in the morning. That put the pressure on the timing of the rest of my day. There was a point I seriously didn't think I was going to manage to finish a painting today. I did stalls, brought in and fed...and finally got back in the house around 7:30pm. Made something to eat (that disapointing meal I mentioned earlier) and I guess it was after 9pm that I actually started painting. Got a bit of a drawing down before dashing off to go fill up the truck and hitch up the trailer, then came back to finish the painting. All told, painting, truck and trailer took two hours. Not bad. I thought I might be in bed by midnight, except for needing to do this blog thing and clean my brushes...oh well!

On that note...time to go. Brushes...back to the barn...then maybe I'll make it to bed!

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!

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!

An Invitation to Dubai!

Just after this past Christmas, I was contacted by a company in Dubai about an art auction and exhibition to take place in conjunction with the 2007 Dubai World Cup. Of the artists contacted, 11 were chosen and commissioned to paint one of the past winners of this prestigious race. My assignment was 1998 winner Silver Charm, one of my favourite racehorses in his day.

The timeline was short -- they wanted the paintings by the end of January! Anyone who knows anything about oil painting knows that in itself is a huge challenge. The other challenge was the size. The paintings needed to be large, and the 30 x 40" canvas I opted for was toward the small end of their suggested sizes. I set to work, and managed to get the painting done. A deadline is a great motivator!

I won't bore you with the ordeal of shipping -- another challenge with the short timeline. The important thing is the Silver Charm painting (and two others they requested for the exhibition) made it safely over to Dubai. The paintings of the World Cup winners were photographed for a limited edition book that would commemorate these past winners.

A couple of weeks ago the Art Connection emailed the North American artists with the news that the Dubai Racing Club was going to be issuing invitations to us to attend the art exhibition and the World Cup! Needless to say, we were all stunned by their generous offer. The best news is we were all able to accept. All of us are also members of the Equine Art Guild so it is quite exciting to have an EAG contingent travelling to Dubai for an art show!

Be sure to check out these other North American artists! Tom Pauly painted Cigar(1996), Rebekah Creech painted Captain Steve(2001), and Ginger Lowry, Almutawakel (1999). The remaining artists are from overseas, and it looks as if we are a truly International group.

Above you'll see the painting -- Silver Charm and Swain battling it out. Naturally we're all hoping for a successful event, but regardless, we're all honoured to be given this wonderful opportunity.

On another note, the latest Equine Art Guild online show, The Artist's Muse, is now live! Don't miss this incredible collection of artwork, and read the stories about the horses that have inspired us. Monster and her mom are there, and in good company!!