This Week's Questions

"Why do you put blindfolds on the horses?"

(They're not blindfolds...they're flymasks, to protect their eyes. They can see through them.)


"Why are you gelding him?"

(Because he doesn't need to be a stallion ~and~ Because life will be easier for all concerned if he's a gelding!)


"How much did that cost?"

(Hmm...I guess that might have been prudent to ask, eh? Oh well. I'll find out when we get the bill. Whatever it was, it was worth it!)

I think I'm going to have to question Monster's fashion sense....

And Then there are Days Like This...

I guess it wasn't a big surprise that I had so much trouble with today's painting. The shot I chose to work from was fairly challenging, but I couldn't resist the look on this boy's face. Medz is a three-year old Thoroughbred gelding, and he's still just a big baby. I rubbed bits of my drawing out a few times, and still didn't really get it right, but I was running out of time so I just went with it! There are days when drawing with the brush seems effortless, and then there are days like this where I go in fits and starts!


This painting is 8 x 10 oil on masonite panel, done with the same limited palette I've been working with for the last week.

So there you have it - week one, complete!

Rush, Rush, Rush

Time was pretty tight again today. I had to get a load of hay, then go back for a load of straw. Then there was the Shop Vac distraction...anyway, I finally started painting around 2pm, and only had till 4pm (feed time) to get something done. As usual, I can see a few issues with this, but I'm not going to tell you what they are if you haven't figured it out!

This is Mute, a four-year old Thoroughbred gelding. He and Gladys were actually both purchased at the 2005 CTHS yearling sale. While Gladys didn't make it to the races, Mute was stakes-placed as a two-year old and made over $100,000. Today's painting is 10 x 8 oil on panel. The limited palette experience is pretty interesting, I'm finding. When I started out I was pretty sure I was going to end up with a bright orange horse; then I seemed to actually remember what I was doing and it turned out okay in the end. Maybe by November 30 I'll have it figured out, but I'm not making any promises!

I'm having a really hard time getting decent photos of these little paintings. Because they're typically wet, and because the thickness of the paint varies over the surface, some funky things happen! Even taking them outdoors doesn't help. Just another chance to remind everyone, there's no comparison to seeing original artwork in person. And now a word from our sponsor.... :-D

Thinking Too Much

This affliction isn't limited to art, but it seems I've had a bad case of it recently. Saturday, the first painting just came together, but the next two days, I felt like I was struggling, fighting to get the paint and the surface to cooperate. So how do you plan not to think? I don't know, but that was my goal today. I toned a masonite panel last night (with burnt umber straight out of the tube and mineral spirits) and this morning printed out the photos for the next two days. I still had the image up on the computer monitor because I will often put guide lines to help me with my drawing. Today's subject has an interesting face, so I wanted to be sure his features lined up the way they were supposed to!

After lunch I roughed in a drawing. Then I had a bit of a bump in my so far smooth road to painting on schedule. I had called about an opportunity for a local gallery to take some of my work for a show, and they asked if I could bring something today, as they were hanging this afternoon! One of those things I couldn't say 'no' to! So I scrambled to get a couple of pieces together and headed out. By the time I got back I went out to the barn to bed stalls and get ready to feed, and brought the horses in a bit early so I could get back to the painting!

I expected I'd be posting this at 10 or 11pm, but things went pretty well. When I decided to do this project, this is more the kind of painting I thought I'd be producing - working with looser brushstrokes - so I am happy with the result. I made myself stop, though there are a few things I could still do...but that would be moving away from the looseness thing, so I'm trying to restrain myself.

This horse is Jay, a five-year old gelding. He's the guy that went through the colic surgery last December. He's now in the Long Run program, and will make someone a lovely horse. He was retired due to a minor soundness issue that suggested he wouldn't hold up to the rigors of racing again. In his career he made over $120,000. The painting is 10 x 8 oil on panel, again, with a limited palette of burnt umber, ultramarine blue, cadmium red medium, cadmium lemon, yellow ochre and titanium white.

On the writing front, I've written just over 7,000 words at this point - mostly of pure junk! Oh well, just going with the advice of the NaNoWriMo pep-talkers! You can follow the count on the little graph in the right-hand column of my blog. Just don't ask to read anything!