The Other Half of the Entry, 2008 Version!

Gracie and Billy then..."Boy Meets Girl," 8 x 16 oil on Raymar

Well, I can't talk about Gracie's birthday without recalling the arrival of Billy the following day.  Gracie and Billy were opposites in a lot of ways.  Sweet little filly, big, tough colt.  Billy was a real challenge from day one. Fortunately he's grown up to be a wonderful young man, now progressing beautifully in his new career!  It's so nice to see the babies grow up.  I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but Billy is now known as Parker,  and you can see what he's been up to on his new owner's blog, A Filly's Best Friend.   I'm hoping Gracie and I might be able to take a field trip this year and have a little reunion of the Foals of '08!  It would be fun to see them together.  Gracie has caught up to her old friend size-wise, but I think she might be the one who is a little more of a challenge now! *cough*chesnutmare*cough* 

Happy Birthday Parker!  Looking forward to seeing great things from you this year!

Handsome baby boy!

Birthdays Are Overrated, Right?

"Reciprocal," 8 x 16 oil on panel

Today is Peaker's birthday - Peaker being the first foal that was born on my little farm that wasn't mine (cough*Monster*cough). She was born one very cold February morning, eight years ago, first foal of her mom, Too Clever.  I remember it was cold enough I went and bought a foal blanket for her...and when I put it on her, Clever decided she was an alien, so I had to take it off.  Poor little Peaker!  She grew up tough!  Last I heard Peaker was in Minnesota.  I hope she is doing well, and that she shows up on my radar again.

After remembering Peaker's birthday, it occurred to me that I had completely let Leo's birthday slip by!  Yesterday marked five years since my goofy boy arrived, and he's been causing trouble ever since.  He even broke his halter yesterday.  In hindsight, it was almost as if he was trying to get my attention. Haha! 

Both Peaker and Leo have been models for my paintings.  Above is the most recent one featuring Leo (and his buddy growing up, Spider), an 8 x 16 oil on Raymar panel called "Reciprocal."  Below is on of my favourites of Peaker, galloping through the snow with her friend Maria, both of them yearlings.  This one is 11 x 14 oil on Raphael panel.  Both paintings are still available; if you're interested, let me know!

The next birthday is one I never forget.  Anyone want to hazard a guess whose that might be?  ;-)

"Fresh Snow," 11 x 14 oil on linen

C'mon, Keep Up!

Apparently, that's something I haven't been doing.  I *do* have updates....really.  Everything seems to be keeping me busy enough not to get to them, however.  Some people do New Year's resolutions, but I find fall as appropriate a time as any to form new habits (haha...or attempt to).  Maybe it's all those years of going to school.  Seems as good a time as any to start something new!  Like, perhaps, posting regularly again?

Horses have been coming and going - yearlings off to the training centre for the next stage of their lives, two-year olds back for a rest after a bit of time at the track. Fall seems to be settling in a little too comfortably, but I guess that's inevitable.  It's dark when I get up to feed the horses.  Dark too soon after they come in for dinner. 

The two April foals, Moxy and Stella, were weaned last week, and are adjusting to their new life as individuals.  Well, mostly.  They still have each other, and soon they will get a formal introduction to Victor, so that the latest version of widgets can begin to entertain!

Fall will be a busy time for art as well.  The Milton Studio Tour is less than two weeks away, and the way the trees are changing colour, it should be a beautiful time for a drive in the country!  I'm back at my home location for the tour this year, so come out and see some artwork and get a glimpse of those 'kids' out in the paddock that provide my never-ending inspiration!  Dates are October 5&6 from 10am-5pm both days.

The following weekend, which is the Thanksgiving long weekend here in Canada, I'm joining a group of artist friends to show work at the Erin Fall Fair.  If you're visiting, look for us!  There are five of us involved, and I guess you could call us the founding members of the Canadian Equine Artists Society.  So far we just have a Facebook page.  Join us there to keep up to date on developments!

Busy days ahead.  Hope you can make it out to one of the upcoming events to see my new work!

Bruised

Horses can leave you that way, more than just literally.  Sometimes, no matter how careful you are, things happen.  June 16th, 2013, we lost Viv to colic. Just days before I had been commenting how well she'd been doing, just over a year since she'd had surgery to correct a 180 degree twist of her large colon with 2013 foal Victor in utero. 

Victor, fifteen weeks old now

Victor is almost four months old - like his big (half) brother Hugo, weaned early, but not at quite so early an age where it is too worrisome.  It's an adjustment, most definitely, but he's old enough to adapt to a diet of hay and concentrate.  Hugo, now a big, strapping yearling, is proof of that.  Having gone through it with Hugo, I was prepared, at least, and Victor is doing well.  It's up to these two handsome boys to carry on their mom's legacy. 

(Title is stolen from one of my favourite Ben Folds songs - Bruised.  "....love just leaves you bruised."

The Brothers Neigh....

Sweet, sensitive mare, sadly missed.

Witholding Cuteness, or, A Tale of Two Fillies

 Wheeee!  Twine's filly celebrates her first week of life.

I feel like I should start this blog post like you're supposed to start certain phone calls.

"Everyone's fine, but...."

I know I've written this in my head a bunch of times, but it just seemed too long, so I never sat down at the computer.  Then I'd think about everything else going on in the lives of others, and in the world, and think, meh, my recent stresses are nothing, and everyone's fine, so I'll just keep it to myself.  Add to that borderline burnout, and you get....internet silence.  Only a couple of people seemed to notice my absence, which kind of fed the cycle.  And I admit it was kind of nice to lay low, and selfishly keep to myself the ridiculous cuteness bouncing around in my stalls!  Some things, however, are far too cute to keep to myself, and knowing you can't really experience the full force of such cuteness unless you are face to face with it, well, you'll still be largely deprived!

 

Twine and Jubie, planning foaling strategy.

 

 Sunday, April 14, a routine check of Twine's udder revealed she was waxing.  While she was in the "safe" zone in that the foal would be viable, and not even premature, Twine is pretty textbook, and had always foaled at 338-345 days.  This was two weeks early.  I was a little concerned, especially given her less-than-ideal history.  I texted my vet to see if he'd received the results of the NI test yet, and hoped she'd at least hold off long enough to get that info, for my own peace of mind!  Either way, I wasn't going to be getting much sleep until the baby came.

Tuesday night at around 10pm, it was show time.  I wrapped her tail and stood by, and shortly saw we could have some trouble, due to what in layman's terms is called a red bag delivery (placenta previa, for the initiated).  While I had never had one before, I knew the deal - the foal had to come out as quickly as possible.  Fortunately Twine got to work and in literally five minutes, between her and I, we had the baby out - the foal was breathing and responsive, though not strong.  In time she rallied, and with my help got to her feet, and figured out now to nurse like a pro - you have no idea how much of a relief that was.  As it turned out she needed help getting to her feet for the first day, so I kept a pretty close watch on he to make sure she nursed at least once an hour.

So guess what happened Wednesday night at 10pm?  I'd gone out to do late feed, and Jubie starts pawing!  I check her, grab a tail bandage and wrap her tail, and then run around trying to get the others fed while I wait for her to proceed!  Twenty-four hours less five minutes, Jubie delivered a big, strong, healthy foal.  I was sure it was a colt, but I was wrong.  As I was attending to her, I heard Twine's filly get up on her own!  Yeah!  I was looking forward to some sleep!

Jubie '13 had other plans for me, though.  I guess those long, long baby legs were hard to sort out, because it took her just as long to get to her feet as it had Twine's filly, and I had to help her!  She had the opposite problem - she was very straight behind, her tendons a bit contracted.  And while she knew what was next on the agenda, she was too tall to easily figure out where to get that first meal.  She pushed the limits of my comfort, but figured it out.  And then it became apparent she wasn't able to get to her feet on her own.  So much for sleep!

Jubie really, really wanted to roll when she finally got outside....but she didn't want to take her eyes off her baby for that long, so this is as far as it went!

It was no surprise when Twine's filly's IgG was low, and she needed a plasma transfusion, which was taken care of at a nearby clinic.  It was a surprise when Jubie's filly - twenty-four hours later - needed the same!  Just one of those weeks for me, apparently. Both fillies got five days of antibiotics after that.

 

Jubie's filly.

 So, now, a week and a bit later, things seem much quieter.  I'm still keeping a very close watch on both, especially Twine's little girl.  Big filly is not impressed with me at all, taking all the fussing and needle-jabbing personally.  Little filly, on the other hand, is a Twine baby through and through, so happy and friendly I just want to bring her in the house and let her sleep on my bed.  She's so tiny, but then again, big (half) sister Gracie was almost that small when she was born, and well, she grew!

 I'm sure she'd fit just nicely on the end of my bed.

Sorry for the long post - believe me, it could have been much longer.  I admit I'm feeling somewhat melancholy this year, because my client isn't breeding any mares this year, thanks to the uncertainty in the Ontario Racing Industry, so these may be the last foals born on my farm.  I'm trying to forget last week's stress and enjoy these new kids.  It's true what they say about babies - they grow up too fast.

So Where *does* the time go?

I'm ridiculously far behind on this blog, with no valid excuse. Yes I've been busy, but what else is new? In the past month I've been to Saratoga for our annual foray, painted a new oil for the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame induction ceremony's fundraiser, gone to said ceremony/fundraiser, and am now painting in preparation for the CTHS yearling sales this coming weekend.


The foals, as you can see, are tormenting their mothers - well, the two chestnut boys definitely are, while Sheldon remains more laid back (with a healthy respect for Twine!). Weaning time is very near! Today they get their vaccination boosters, so that will delay their weaning for a week or two.


I still intend to do separate posts addressing the visit to Saratoga, and the Hall of Fame painting. Naturally there will also be something more about the yearling sales. Fall is a busy time, with the Schomberg Village Street Gallery also coming up, September 17 and 18, and the FASM Milton Studio Tour, October 1&2. If you are in either area, maybe we'll see you out!

No Foolin'!

Soooo tired!

March was kind of an insane month around here, in a very rollercoaster kind of way. The horses have kept me very busy! I've been frustrated about not getting any quality time at the easel, but realistically, there wasn't much I could do. I've decided to do my best to paint every day in April. In the past two years I've done a Thirty Horses, Thirty Days for this month, but I'm not going to attempt that this time around, because I know I will still be at the mercy of the horses. All I'm saying is I will do *something* every day, even if it's a single brushstroke at five minutes to midnight! Hopefully I'll be back on track soon and get some of these longsuffering WIPs finished up. I'm feeling a little rusty!


Today I started a little painting of our latest arrival. This is 4 x 6 oil on Raymar cotton canvas panel. So far just the quick sketch in burnt umber. I know the key to these little paintings is not thinking too much or letting them sit, so I think I'll jump back into it tomorrow and see if I can finish it. Hopefully that will warm me up for some of the larger pieces that have been patiently waiting! Thanks for your patience, too!

A Little Painting Between Foals

The last week has been a long one, and a bit stressful as well. Our little chestnut boy is up at the University of Guelph's OVC Teaching Hospital, and had surgery yesterday to repair a patent urachus. While outwardly he has always been bright and happy, he did have a few issues as I'd mentioned in my last post, and developed this problem Monday morning after being there since Saturday night. I can't help worrying about a baby that age, of course - so many challenges in his short life so far. I'm hoping very soon he'll be home again and bouncing back in full chestnut fashion. Interestingly, all three chestnut foals I've had born here have required special care off the farm. Peaker and Gracie are both big and strong today, so we'd like to see this guy follow suit! And in the absence of our flashy little boy, I give you our little Einstein! He's nearly two weeks old now, and if I ever need to be cheered up, I go visit him!


I finally settled down to some painting this week, after the disrupted schedule of the last couple of weeks. I completed the underpainting of the oil of Billy and Clever last night – it's currently drying so that I can jump into the colour. I have started to put some colour into one I have on the go of "the Widgets" Leo and Spider, but it's set firmly in the uglies right now! And last night, just so I could say I finished *something,* I got back to a little 5 x 7 oil on linen I started a while back of Miss Keller, one of the top turf mares last season. It needs a proper scan, but above is the preliminary photo.


And just for fun...this is what I saw when I came into the studio yesterday afternoon. I've taught Swish to sit on a chair, but this is the first time she's done it of her own accord! Well, maybe I'd better rephrase that - this is the first time I've seen her do it! I was hoping she'd done some work on the painting that was on the easel, but no such luck! Maybe next time?

Warming Up

We can't complain about the weather here in Southern Ontario right now - after our first real snow last week, we've had some very spring-like weather lately. Two of the commissions I've been working on are complete - one is all framed and I will take it to the post office tomorrow; the other we're looking at framing options. My next portrait is an oil pastel, and it's been like visiting old friends to go back to that medium!

I was determined to paint something today, and it was this evening before I got to it. I've decided, crazy though I might be, to do another Thirty Horses, Thirty Days in April, so consider this one a warm-up of sorts. This is an 8 x 10 oil on canvas, using my old faithful limited palette of ultramarine blue, burnt umber, cadmium red medium, titanium white and a touch of yellow ochre. The subject is a very pretty filly named Van Lear Rose, Canada's champion two-year old filly in 2008.

On a sad note, I learned today that an old "friend" died. Millie was an older Thoroughbred broodmare, and actully my Monster's "aunt" - she was a half-sister to Monster's sire, Tejabo. I actually did a painting of Millie and one of her foals a few years ago, which I called "Signs of Spring." I worked with many of Millie's babies during the time I worked at the farm she called home. She was a very pretty, sweet mare. Long may she run.

Another Birthday!

Today it was Gracie's turn to celebrate a birthday - her second. It's somehow appropriate that Gracie is a Valentine's baby - she's been the farm sweetheart from day one. While she has been getting a little big for her britches in the last little while, I've started breaking her, and that structure has helped bring things back in line, so to speak! She's quite a lovely filly - not that I'm biased or anything!


In honour of Valentine's Day and Gracie's birthday, I began a new painting. I've had this one earmarked since the day I shot the reference last March - how could I not? This is the first day Gracie and Billy were turned out together last year - and their first encounter was priceless. Seconds after this moment, they each ran off in opposite directions! I've already got a title for this one - "Boy Meets Girl." Knowing the rest of the story, it's more than a little funny to me! This one is 8 x 16 oil on Raymar cotton canvas panel.

As I've been on my own so far working with Gracie, I don't have any photos of us, but today after I was finished with her (no day off for the Birthday Girl!) I did a little quick sketch in pen from memory. I may try and turn this into a little painting - we'll see.


Tonight I went and got on Monster, who I've been in the process of rehabbing from a mishap - best I can figure, she slipped on the ice back in December, and threw her ribcage out of whack! I've finally started back riding her this past week, and tonight we had a great ride - so we're making progress! Then I came home to watch Canada's Alexandre Bilodeau win Gold in the men's moguls at the Olympics in Vancouver. A great day, all round!

Family Day

This newly established statutory holiday actually did end up meaning a partial day off for me, thanks to my friend Jen who usually comes out one day on the weekend to help me with stalls. She got to meet the new colt, who is very friendly and loves visitors just like big sister Gracie. I try to let Gracie know that she's in no way been forgotten with this new arrival getting all the attention...not that Gracie would allow herself to be forgotten! A year ago Saturday was the day she was born, and Billy, a year ago Sunday. It's hard to believe they were ever as small as this little guy. Well, actually...I don't think Billy ever was, at least not on this side of his mother!


I took advantage of that little bit of extra time today and got loads of hay and straw, and then paid a visit to that nearby farm managed by friends of mine. They still have close to 20 mares left to foal. I took some photos – this is how new February foals are *supposed* to look, nice and fuzzy! Our little guy here looks like he forgot to pack appropriate apparel!


I'm working away at this same painting, gradually building up the detail on the underpainting. I'm sorry I don' t have a better photo of it. With all these foal pics I'm itching to start a baby painting, though I'm trying to push on with this one. For now, I'm just printing out potential reference photos and pondering!