Six Months Till Saratoga!

It's not really that unusal for me to be thinking of Saratoga this time of year. Let's face it, anything that distracts from the Canadian winter is a good thing. I think this time last year I was working on another painting taken from photos I shot on this same trip. Today I sat (and alternatingly stood) in front of Medaglia D'Oro again.

First thing I have to say about this painting is, I'm loving the Artfix linen. I've had my struggles with this surface in the past, but I think adhering it to masonite is making a big difference for me. I'll certainly be preparing more of these linen panels. It was so simple, now I'm wondering why it took me so long to try. I really didn't expect it to work as well, and as easily, as it did. This one is just 8 x 10, so I'll have to look at trying some larger panels.


Today I started with the horse, working up some of the shape with Burnt Umber a bit so he was reasonably established before I started blocking in some colour. I started loosely with the background, blocked in the groom, and then worked up the horse a bit further. I stopped where you see it in the second progress image. While I probably could have worked on it a little more, I was just feeling like I'd like to let it dry a bit before continuing. Because the horse is a little further along than some of the other elements, I'd like to bring some of the rest of it up to speed and that will go a lot better when things are dry.

The weather hinted kindly of spring today - though rain is predicted for tomorrow. It's almost March - the end to winter is in sight!

Not Much to Say

I've got Dave Matthews' music in my head today, and while the title to one of his songs - "So Much to Say" - might make a good one for a blog post, it wouldn't be true tonight! I'm tired after a long day, but I managed to convince myself to paint anyway. I decided to start a new one from a sketch I did last night while watching 24. This one is from some photos I took on my first trip to Saratoga in 2003. The horse is Medaglia D'Oro, and I've had these shots set aside for some time. Not only do I love the horse, the lighting in the photos is great and wants to be painted! I transferred my sketch from last night to an 8 x 10 linen panel I made last week. This is the first time I've tried to make one of my own, and I used some of that wonderful Artfix linen. I'm really happy how well the panel worked out. So far all I've done is started to block in some tones on this one. I kind of ran out of gas after that!


Thought I'd better supplement this post with a couple of photos I took today. Naturally I have to show off Leo, stretching his legs. The other one I just thought was funny. Since Twine's baby was born, I've been at a bit of a loss as to what to do with Clever, the other broodmare. Clever isn't due till the end of March, but I don't really want to try her out with a new turnout buddy, and she's not very happy about being away from Twine. The current arrangement seems to be working well - Twine and Leo are in the side paddock, and Clever is behind the barn. Her baby from last year is Billy, now a yearling, and he's out in the larger back paddock right now. Billy is very curious about the new baby, so he'll come right up to his gate to investigate, but Clever is very protective of Twine, even though they're not in the same paddock. So I caught Clever telling off her son. The thing that strikes me most about this photo is just how big Billy is! Clever is not a small mare.


Well, I have some brushes to clean, then I need to go out for my last barn visit of the day. After that I think I'll try to get to bed! Maybe I'll get there before midnight!