Ambition, or Insanity?

The pretty part of fall is coming to an end now, as what leaves are left on the trees have lost most of their colour, and we've started into rain - sometimes flurries - and mud. The horses are all getting fuzzy and feeling fresh in the mornings. The last "horse swap" of the season happened on Friday - Maria left to start her career path at the training centre, and Mute arrived for a well-deserved rest.

I'm working hard on that-painting-we're-not-really-talking-about and it's actually getting close to completion. I'm trying to make myself finish it before moving onto the other pieces I have in progress, but at the same time, I've got a few projects I'm considering. The problem is, they might all have to happen at once!

A few of you may know I'm a bit of a closet novelist. I've only recently become aware of an event, I guess you'd call it, called NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to write 50,000 words (about 175 pages) in the month of November. The last few weeks, I've been thinking about signing on for this, to see if I can pull it off. The idea is to just write for fun, and not stress over making it "perfect." Might be worth a go. Of course I'll still be writing in the closet, so don't expect me to share any of it here!


Next up for consideration is another idea I gleaned from an EAG friend, Sue Steiner - painting a horse a day, for 30 days. Check out Sue's blog to see what she's been working on so far. I was thinking this might be a good winter project, say, for January when those blahs are going strong! But that leads me to the third thing...

Little did I know, but there is a NaBloPoMo! That's National Blog Posting Month! And, well, it's also for the month of November - a post a day, for thirty days. Now this one would be the most effortless of the three. I could easily post something to the blog every day - whether or not anyone wants to read it, is another story! The natural thing to do, in my mind, would be to combine the Horse a Day with the Blog a Day. But would I be completely crazy to try all three? I've got a few days left to decide! Guess you'd better stay tuned!

There And Back Again

Home again, after an enjoyable trip to New Jersey. My friend and I talked about how most people think of New Jersey as what they see off the Turnpike – industry, basically – but Sheri lives in South Jersey, closer to Atlantic City, in the Pine Barrens. I understand completely why she loves it there. It’s beautiful and peaceful and exactly opposite to what everyone thinks of New Jersey.


When I arrived Friday, Sheri told me Big Brown was running at Monmouth on Saturday…did I want to go? I laughed. Do you have to ask? I responded. So Saturday we went to the races! It was a great day – the home-town crowd was friendly and excited to have the Big Horse there again. BB didn’t disappoint, though both Sheri and I agreed that BB should probably stand for “Big Baby”! It’s too bad this horse won’t run at four, because he still seems so immature. He got the job done, regardless.


Sunday was the opening of the NJEAA Fall Showcase. It was a great collection of artwork, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn “Man on a Mission” was awarded an honourable mention! The EAG was well represented. It’s so nice to see original artwork in person – it always gives me an even greater appreciation for the artists. Nothing compares to it!


Monday it was time to head home, but not before a photo shoot of the Arcadia gang, and lunch at Marcello’s. If you’re ever in Hammonton, New Jersey, it comes highly recommended! Great pizza (we had takeout Friday night and couldn’t help going back, apparently!). After all these years, not much has changed when the two of us get together. Lots of horses, Haagen Dazs and catching up on a few movies! What more could you ask for?

Putting the Pieces Together: The Monday Landscape Challenge

The thing about painting horses is that, sooner or later, you're going to have to paint landscapes. We horses artists tend to avoid them for as long as we can - just like we usually do our best to avoid painting figures! I've done a few plein air landscape courses, and gone on the odd paint-out, but normally I get so wrapped up in painting my horse-themed work that I neglect devoting some time to landscapes, specifically.

Last week fellow EAGer Carrie Lewis and I decided to do a "landscape challenge." In 2007, Carrie did a landscape-a-day challenge on her own, painting an ACEO (Art Cards Editions and Originals - 2.5 x 3.5 inch paintings, in other words, tiny!) each weekday. I haven't signed up for that big a commitment, but we settled on a landscape a week, starting today. My aim is to do this for the summer, at least, and see how it goes!

Today's painting is from a photo taken somewhere around Creemore, Ontario. Something about round bales in the field is visually appealing, be it hay or straw. I only used the photo as a starting point, manipulating things to come up with this composition. This is an 8 x 10 oil on canvas board. The summer so far has been so wet, we're still waiting for first cut hay, making this scene a bit of a dream!


Last night, I think I finished my little 5 x 7 oil on Raphael linen panel of the Shire in the snow, which I've titled "Man on a Mission." I still have to sign it, but otherwise all that's left is the drying!

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!!

"Nobility Without Conceit"

Well, I signed the painting of "the girls" last night after doing the final work on it. There is a saying among some artists, that a piece of art is "never finished, just abandoned." While this is a rare piece I will keep for myself, I did have a couple of show deadlines to work towards that kept me working on it. This painting will be part of the EAG "Artist's Muse" online show, as well as From Heart to Hand, a group show this coming weekend of members of the Fine Arts Society of Milton.

Rather than babble on, I'm going to paste the information I submitted with the EAG show entry.

I struggled with a title for this painting, and have to admit I'm at a loss for a clever paragraph to describe my feelings. With a new foal on the ground at my farm, I'm reminded of the day my dark bay Thoroughbred mare Sass (reg'd Hallowed Be) foaled a tiny bay filly who has grown into the now seven-year-old mare we've come to know as Monster. It's been almost a year now that Sass has been gone, so painting this was more than a little difficult and bittersweet. While Monster is known for her attitude, her mother was the kindest, quietest mare on the planet. She was gentle enough to put a child on without concern. When I took the reference photo on which this painting was based -- just days before my sweet mare was put down -- the worry and respect on Monster's face was so different from the displays of attitude and fire I usually try to capture.

When trying to come up with a title, I was thinking of names in these mares' pedigrees. Sass's sire was a son of Vaguely Noble (FR) named Noble Saint. That brought to mind a favourite quote of mine that I'd forgotten, and it seemed a fitting tribute to Sass. Now, if I can just get Monster to read it!

"The Horse. Here is nobility without conceit, friendship without envy, Beauty without vanity. A willing servant, yet no slave" - Ronald Duncan