Speaking of Meet The Model – I Want To Meet Yours!

This will always be my favourite blog - there's a lot of history here - but I decided recently I should probably have a blog attached directly to my website. I have this one linked, but Facebook doesn't like it. I don't know if it will like the new one any better, but I guess we'll see!

I've started a contest there to celebrate thirty – yes, that's 3-0, 30, three-zero! – years of painting portraits. You might want to check it out, if you haven't already seen it. Top three entries will win paintings of their horse! To see what's involved, hop over there and have a look. 

My poster girl for the contest is Trixie here, formally known as A Nifty Trick. The painting is called "Just A Look," and has always been popular. It's 24 x 36, and while the original is sold, there are limited edition giclées on canvas and smaller collector and fine art prints available, should that interest anyone!

Deadline for contest entry is October 15, 2017, so don't waste time! :-D

A Gracie Retrospective!

"Have We Met?" 24 x 36 oil on linen (SOLD).

Yesterday on my Facebook page, I started a new feature called, "Meet the Model." Gracie, naturally, insisted on being first, and Monster graciously agreed to let that happen. ;-) I thought today I would write a blog post featuring as many of my Gracie paintings as I could fit in...which should be no small feat, as she's been in quite a few!

"Gracie Knows" 10 x 8 oil on linen.

For those of you who don't know Gracie, she's my nine-year old TB mare – and yes, she's chestnut. That said, I wouldn't call her a stereotypical chestnut mare, though she does have the card, and will play it on occasion!

Shhhhh, she's sleeping! 5 x 7 oil on shellacked masonite.

Like I said in my little introduction, while I adopted her when she was three, I'm pretty sure she adopted me the day she was born. There are lots and lots of Gracie blog posts on here, from her birth to the serious illness she overcame not long after she became mine, though perhaps not so many in recent years. Maybe we need to do something about that!

"Boy Meets Girl," 12 x 24 oil on canvas (SOLD).

But this post is about Gracie the Muse. Which painting is your favourite? Comment either here, or on my Facebook page, and I'll draw a name from everyone who plays – that person will win a collector reproduction of their fav! You don't *have* to like my page to play...but if feels better if you do!  :-)

"Doing Time" 7 x 7 oil on canvas.

"Gracie, Still Wet" 8 x 10 oil on panel.

"Fire Filly" 8 x 10 oil on canvas.

"Gracie's Nose" 10 x 8 oil on panel.

"Sandstorm" 11 x 14 oil on paper.

Work in progress...zoom, zoom!

Cinderella, Cinderella...

Turning a cool photo into a painting...

Last year, Woodbine Entertainment initiated a contest to select "The Official Queen's Plate Artist." I did enter, what I thought was a beautiful painting of 2014 winner Lexie Lou, and was disappointed when it didn't make the top five – after all, painting Canadian racehorses is what I do!  Anyway, such is the life of the artist – we have to know how to handle rejection, because we don't always fit with that the powers that be are looking for. I decided to enter again this year, and went with something much more generic – a horse in the walking ring, rider up, groom leading her. I had taken the reference photo last summer at the races, and as soon as I saw it, I knew I needed to paint it.  When they announced the 2016 contest – late enough that I'd been convinced they weren't going to run it – I didn't have a lot of time to contemplate what I was going to paint, and picked up the reference photo, already printed. I managed to get the painting done and entry made a week before the deadline, as I was travelling to San Francisco!

One of the photos I shot that day.

The notification date for the five finalists came and went, and I figured once again my work had been bypassed – though last year they'd sent out an email passing along that information. I went to check out the Plate website, and there was the announcement. Clicked through to see the top five...and there was my painting!  That was a pleasant surprise! Now, the painful part begins - the winner is determined by a voting process, and shameless self-promotion is NOT my strong suit. Popularity contests are not things I win. I'd rather see work chosen on merit than on who has the most friends. That said, I've been humbled by the show of loyal friends who have shown their support in my Facebook posts!

Janet and "Cinderella" – that's what the halter plate says!

Now...the title of this post doesn't mean what you think it might.  The grey filly in the painting, named Letter Fly, was bred by a friend of mine. Due to unfortunate circumstances, my friend had to sell her at the yearling sales. She ended up making her first start as a three-year old in Iowa, of all places. After showing little in those early races, my friend was able to buy her back and return her to Ontario, and she was christened "Cinderella" by the trainer's granddaughter. Here, she's gone from a cheap maiden claimer in Iowa to an allowance winner. She is sound and still racing as a five-year old, but when she no longer wants to be a racehorse, she'll be safe.

So, I hate asking for votes for myself, I really do. Cinderella, on the other hand, is very deserving of them! To vote, visit Woodbine's Queen's Plate website, and scroll down to follow the link that will take you to the  voting site.  There has been a bit of confusion in the voting process – you will need to rate the options given from first to fifth. I hope you enjoy all the artwork that has made the finals!

Warm Ups As Avoidance Behaviour

Study on Raymar archival canvas panel, first attempt, revisited.

I admit it, I started a study the other day, and I have been using it entirely as an avoidance tactic.  Big, detailed paintings are intimidating.  Little studies are easier to tackle.  If they get messed up, it seems to be easier to take.  I started this most recent study on Thursday and sure enough, I messed that up! I did something I very rarely do - I started over, on a completely different surface, abandoning the quick sketch of paint on canvas, for a new quick sketch of paint on linen.  Smaller dimensions, which, apparently, I could handle better than the first, slightly larger attempt.

Today I worked on the smaller study, and got it to the point where I'm pretty sure it's done.  Then I looked at the discarded start.  Another thing I very rarely do, is work from the same photo more than once, but as I'd let the sketch in paint dry, and ghosting isn't something I wanted to contend with, I thought I'd see what I could do with it as is.  I already had the palette set, a very limited one of four colours (and a combination of colours I hadn't used before).  So I played.  And avoided the big painting.  And now I'm writing this blog post, to further avoid the big painting.  It has, at least, made it back on my easel.  Time to pony up and get to it, I guess!  :-D

Study on unstretched linen, second attempt, ready to abandon.

Five Days In February – Days Four and Five!

"Baby Parker" 6 x 4 oil study.

Apparently I forgot to post the last two paintings on the blog!  The last two were both 6 x 4 on Raymar archival cotton canvas panel.  Day Four was a study of Parker (formerly known as Billy) as a foal, looking all sweet and innocent (yeah, right!). Day Five was a portrait of Sheldon, who celebrated his fifth birthday this week.  All five studies are now on my website in the "Studies" section, and for sale, $65.00 each including shipping in North America, until the end of the month.  After that, they'll be going to Equis Art Gallery to replenish the supply of my studies there. They seem to get snapped up there, so if you're thinking about it, don't wait too long!  ;-) 

"Sheldon," 6 x 4 oil study.

Day Three - Works Well Under Pressure

"Rachel" 6 x 4 oil study on Raymar cotton canvas panel.

So, you get in after a busy day of horse care, riding, more horse care, finally getting registration pics done of the now-yearling, a quick trip for caffeine and sugar, followed by a visit to the tack shop to take advantage of a sale to replenish necessary supplies (honestly)....it's 7:30pm.  And you still have a painting to do.

Yes, you contemplate skipping, but the whole point of challenges is to make yourself do things, even when you'd rather just spend a mindless couple of hours before going back out for more horse care, on an increasingly cold February evening. Or, you know, maybe eat dinner.  I had, at least, prepped the panel with a light tone of yellow ochre.  Small isn't necessarily easier, but the panel that was ready was 4 x 6...or, when I settled on my reference, 6 x 4.  I did choose a head-on head study, as I find these easier.  I procrastinated a little longer because, well, this is just what I do.  Picked up a brush.  Started drawing. Then started just pushing paint around to get the form.  After bits and pieces of an hour (because that's how I work - completely ADD)....this little portrait of Rachel happened. 

Again, loose and imperfect. Today I have more time, so I'll most certainly botch it up. ;-)

Sometimes, You Just Have To Give Yourself a Kick In The...

"New Digs With Toys," 5 x 7 oil study.

Facebook.  We love it. Hate it. Love to hate it.  Every so often these "challenges" come along – we've been having some fun with a music challenge, posting different favourite songs, and recently the art challenge has resurfaced.  I did it a couple of weeks ago – but it's inevitable that one will get tagged again to do it.  When that happened, I decided to make my own challenge, to do a painting a day for five days.  Having done several thirty day challenges (see my Thirty Horses, Thirty Days blog for many of them!) I figured I could pull off five, and maybe get myself jump-started back into a better studio routine.

It's amazing how much better I feel about day two's painting than day one.  I'm hoping by Friday I'll be unstoppable!  Haha....please don't let my horses hear that, they may take on a challenge of their own to stop me!  ;-) 

"Leo ('Hey, Good-Looking!')" 6 x 6 oil study on Raymar canvas panel.

When The Year Really Starts

The boys of winter?

New Year's never really seems to hold much meaning for me.  Okay, so I have to remember when I write the date that a year has passed (and I actually still write cheques, as well as keeping a couple of logs and journals for different things, so yes, I write the date often!). Otherwise, for the most part, one day blurs into the next this time of year. Get up, do horses, do more horses, hey, horses again, then a little break before I have to, yes, do horses once more.  I maybe sit down twice a day (not counting driving from one barn to the other), and hopefully eat a couple of times (though not necessarily sitting down!). Evenings are when I paint - not usually for long, but I've been doing a little bit most nights.

When the layups go back to the track, things finally slow down a little. It's that big trade-off, though -– horses leave, income plummets! It would be nice if people decided February was a good time to buy art or commission portraits, but it doesn't tend to work that way. I do have to take advantage of the time, though, and get caught up on, well, everything.  Painting, bookwork, farm maintenance, and so on.

The girls of winter!

We're almost at that time, now.  The layups will be going back very soon – the Woodbine backstretch opens mid-February.  I will be left with a very odd assortment this year.  I sent my one and only in-foal mare to another farm in November because I was supposed to be moving, and didn't want that stress on top of everything.  The move thing fell through (another story altogether!) and for now I have a stay of execution of sorts, but I'm not going to bring that mare back this close to her due date – the whole reason I sent her in November was so that she could be well-settled in her foaling environment.   I have last year's foal, now a yearling, and his mother, who is not in foal.  I have my "old" girl, Monster (officially sixteen!), and two off-track Thoroughbreds looking for new homes. Hopefully they will find homes soon, though that will leave things really sparse around here, until horses start coming back from the track, with one need or another.

Anyway...that's where things are at in my part of the world, right now! This means there should be more frequent updates around here.  I think one day on Facebook, I don't remember exactly where, but I committed to finishing one painting a month.  As the end of January is coming at me quickly right now, I guess I'd better make that happen! Stay tuned!

Happy New Year?

One of the WIPs spending time on the easel.

Them's The Breaks

Left-handed drawing of Briggi as a baby...she may look sweet!

I have often joked that when it comes to horses, I am more of a danger to myself on the ground than on board. It's not that I'm a terribly good rider, I just seem to have a certain degree of self-preservation that comes with riders as we get older, the cliché being, we don't bounce like we used to. It's not as if I avoid potential trouble – let's face it, I like to ride green OTTBs, not necessarily the most bomb-proof choice of mount in the world. The thing is, the ones I'm handling around the farm are younger and usually sillier than my riding horses, and coming off stall rest. Most of the time they are more of a danger to themselves than to me. But...as with anything, it just takes once to change that!

Selfie with glasses and cast?

It's been a month now, since Briggi Wild Child slammed me into the doorframe of her stall as she bolted in, catching my arm and fracturing (and dislocating) it in the process. That would be my right arm, of course. Can't write, can't draw or paint, can't do stalls – all  the things I do to make money. Can't ride. So, I'm paying someone to do my stalls, and paying someone to ride the princess. Now that part, at least, is not a bad thing – as much as I miss riding my mare, we will both benefit from the training she is getting right now. Financially, well, it hurts more than the arm! Naturally my truck needed $300 worth of maintenance, and my teeth more...please insert whiny face here.

 I'm still able to do quite a bit in the barn, and my poor parents have stepped up to help out (I'm trying to tell them it's like a free gym membership). Just for fun, I've been playing with drawing and painting with my left hand, and that's actually gone better than expected.  I'm even going to put some of the decent ones on my website to see if I might be able to sell some, and help pay for the growing pile of unexpected expenses. They'll be in the $25 range...just might be a few weeks before I can mail them out!

Left-handed Leo. Leo is bored, bored, bored, not being ridden!

So, here's your chance to own what I'm sure will be a valuable collector's item in the future, haha. If you'd like to commission the most affordable portrait you will ever have the opportunity to have me paint, drop me a line at lindashantz *at* gmail.com, or send me a message on my Facebook page!

Upgrade.

Stretch Drive!

"Turn For Home," 24 x 30 oil on canvas, framed.

I'm not sure if I written a blog post on the Equis Art Gallery Relocation Campaign or not - the last few months have flown by, despite February seeming to draw on with endless cold temperatures! It's been a year and change since Juliet started the gallery, and one of my favourite paintings sold through the gallery in those early months. Now, the gallery has grown to host an amazing collection of contemporary equine artwork, and Juliet is seeking to move to a larger, storefront space.

You can read about Juliet's story on the campaign page, and take a virtual tour with her through the present gallery space.  You might even catch a glimpse of some of my work.  Any token donation to the venture is appreciated, not only by Juliet but by those of us who are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to be part of it.

I've donated my painting, "Turn For Home" to the project, and it's being auctioned on Facebook. You'll find information there on the reserve bid – essentially, this is an opportunity to collect a significant painting at phenomenal savings, and at the same time, pay it forward to the equine art world. If the painting doesn't sell at the auction, it will return to its regular, retail price.  There are many other pieces that have been donated available as well – some really beautiful work which really should be snapped up!  I only wish I had some extra money right now!

As things come down the stretch (of course I have to say that, right?) on the campaign, I'm going to throw an added incentive out there.  I will give you the collector print of your choice (pretty much any image I've painted is available as a collector print)....for any donation over $20.00USD.  Just be sure to mention to Juliet that you are taking advantage of this, and then contact me to provide shipping information for your print.

Thanks for reading – it means a lot to all of us in the gallery!

Loose Ends

Zippy, Lounging ~ 5 x 7 oil on panel.

I've been spending a lot of time glaring at my easel of late - knowing there is work to be done, but feeling as if I'm just going to make a mess of anything I touch...kind of a reverse-Midas thing, where everything turns to muck.  The oil pastel commission I've been working on is in a good place (by which I mean more than not in my studio, haha), and just getting a rest from my eyes before I put the final touches on it, so I felt I needed to at least be making an attempt with the paints.

My solution has been to finish up some studies that were abandoned somewhere along the road. Some of them were just done during one of my daily painting projects, so they got a day's work but I always wanted to go back to them.  One I actually started from scratch (how brave, haha).  One just involved cutting down and stretching over new stretcher bars.  All I figured I could play with, and if I turned them to muck, nothing much would be lost except a bit more of my self-esteem!  ;-)

At the top is Zippy as a baby - he still has that look of owning the world!  Another study from the same time frame has found a new home, with artist friend Elizabeth McCrindle – it's always an extra honour when another artist likes my work enough to want it!  I have one of Elizabeth's paintings hanging on my studio wall. You can see the paintings in a blog post she wrote when she received them - thanks again, Elizabeth!

Einstein ~ 10 x 8 oil on canvas.

Milwaukee Brew ~ 8 x 10 oil on canvas.

Two of the paintings I was playing with a palette I haven't used much, favoured by artist Anders Zorn.  It's a limited palette of ivory black, cad red, yellow ochre and titanium white.  Admittedly I didn't push it much, but it was interesting just the same.  Both are studies of Thoroughbred stallions – Einstein (BRZ), sire of Sheldon, and Milwaukee Brew.

The last one is the restretch - I did this one as part of my daily painting projects, from a photo taken at Saratoga.  Now, I need to get these up on my website, in hopes that they, too, will find new homes!

Ready ~ 10 x 8 oil on linen.

 Oh, wait - one more!  This is Victor, a little study I started last year and finished up while I still had the Zorn palette open.  Catching a breeze on a warm spring day - which I hope we will see again, eventually!

Victor, Catching a Breeze  ~ 6 x 4 oil on canvas.

Just a PS - it's interesting to note the difference between my usual limited palette, which was used on the racehorse painting, compared with the stallion and Victor studies.  Which do you like better? I'm a time and place kind of person - I have to shake things up now and again, and studies are a great way to try out new things.

2015 Calendars Now Available!

I've done a calendar again this year, and they've just arrived!  I'm really happy with the way they've turned out.  There are a limited number in stock;  if I get enough demand I'll order more.

Images included are:  Watch And Learn, Have We Met, Widget Watch, Promises Promises, Just Peeking, Miss Me, The Plans I Have For You, Speak To Me of Fabulous Things, You Still Love Me, Fire Filly, On The Horizon, and Here, Let Me Help You With That. The calendars are printed on premium heavy stock and coil bound, and the closed size is 8.5 x 11 inches.




Calendars are sold out - thanks to all who purchased one!  Hope it's part of a happy 2015!

Time For A Show

 

A few weeks ago I was asked if I'd like to take part in a local show with some fellow FASM members.  Well, that show is this weekend, and yes I'm going to have work there.  It's being held at Crawford's Garden Centre in Milton, and 10% of all sales are going to the Milton District Hospital Foundation. Milton has grown so much in recent years, it's sorely in need of expansion.  Hopefully our little group will be able to help out with lots of sales this weekend!

I'll be hanging a number of pieces at very special prices in order to encourage local sales, so if you're in the neighbourhood, I hope you'll stop by!  There will also be prints and notecards available. The show runs from 9am-9pm Saturday July 5th and 10am-5pm Sunday July 6th.

A Little Victor

Caution:  wet paint!  ;-) Work in progress.

Little paintings really shouldn't take as long as I'm taking with this one.  This is the little study I started the other night, and then wiped off.  I was happier with my second drawing attempt, though  I'm still making adjustments as I go.  So much for trying to be quick and loose! Clearly I have some kinks to work out.

A better start.

This one is 6 x 4 oil on Raymar cotton canvas panel. So far I've limited my colours to Venetian Red, Ultramarine Blue, Titanium White and a bit of Cad Yellow Lemon and Gold Ochre. 

Ridiculously tentative work.  :-D

Paint. Every. Day.

"Ask," oil on linen study in progress.

June.  Finally we are getting some seasonally appropriate weather.  It’s amazing what that does for the psyche.  After a difficult winter and a tentative spring, it’s looking like just maybe we might have a reasonable summer. I even wore shorts yesterday!

I was tempted to do another Thirty Horses, Thirty Days to jumpstart myself this month. It’s been a while, and I have enjoyed the ones I’ve done in the past.  What holds me back is, well, reality, basically.  For one, getting a painting done every single day with everything that’s going on at the moment would be extremely difficult.  Then there is the fact that I have many small paintings, and I really don’t want to accumulate another 30.  So, what I decided was to commit to painting something each day.  It might be working on one of the larger WIPs, it might be a new study/sketch.  As long as the brushes and paint make contact with some ground or another at least once, that’s the deal.  The other motivation for not doing a Thirty Horses is that I don't want to limit myself to just horses, so we'll see what else I come up with along the way.

Sunday, (June 1^st) I started a small oil on linen study (above).  Yesterday (June 2^nd) time was tight and I was literally picking up a brush at ten to midnight.  I wiped out what I did, because I wasn’t happy, but I’m going to accept that's the way things are going to be some days and just go with it.  Today might be another one of those days, but we'll see.  Hopefully by the end of the month I'll have a few new small paintings, have finished some of the larger WIPs, and maybe even have started some new ones.  Bottom line is, I need to get back into some kind of routine to get past a particularly dry spell. I should be painting almost every day anyway, so this needs to carry into July and beyond!

"Victor," a start that I ended up wipng off.  Perhaps I'll try again today!

 Just.  Paint.

A Jubie Retrospective

"Dreamy"  8 x 6 oil study on Raymar panel, sold.

I went to visit Jubie at her new home this past Saturday.  Now called Raeleah (Rae), she is living the life in paradise.  She has been such a wonderful model, I thought a little retrospective of the work she's inspired was in order!  Not that I'm done painting her, yet! 

Definitely paradise.

"Firstborn," 14 x 11 oil on Raphael linen panel. Sold;  reproductions available!

"Jubilant"  11 x 14 oil study on Raphael linen panel.  Available, framed, $500.

"The Bond (or, You Still Love Me, Don't You?" 14 x 11 oil on Raphael linen panel.  Sold, reproductions available.

"These Eyes," 6 x 8 oil study on Raymar panel.  Available, $100.

Complements

"The Plans I Have For You," 18 x 24 oil on canvas

A lot of artists have a hard time taking compliments.  I know it took me a long time to learn to say "thank you" rather than put myself down.  This post isn't about that, however.  I'm talking colour, not comments!

My palette is usually pretty limited.  Just like I don't wear bright colours, my paintings are generally pretty down to earth....literally.  Every now and then, though, I break out a little - at least for me!

Way back in Grade Nine art class, we learned about complementary colours.  A colour's complement is the one on the opposite side of the colour wheel. Even though I know what is where on the colour wheel, I still keep one tacked behind my easel!  Saves having to think too hard some days!  Then, back in 2009 when I took a workshop with Val Hinz, we did some paintings using complementary colours for the underpainting. For a horse, you have to extrapolate a little, of course:  bay = red, so complement is green;  chestnut = orange, complement is blue, and so on.   I really like the result, and have done a few paintings this way.  This quick study below was one:

"The Yearling" oil on canvas panel, $75.00

Skip forward to August 2013.  While having lunch with my friend and fellow artist/photographer Renee Fukumoto, we decided we needed to do some kind of "challenge."  We settled on using one of her photos of her very handsome Standardbred, Remi.  The photo was absolutely gorgeous.  I decided on my crop, then thought hey, maybe I'll try that old complementary colour underpainting for this.  It was kind of fun posting the crazy in-progress photos on Facebook.  He was my Martian horse for a while!

Of course, the finished result was very different!  While on the one hand I'm disappointed I defaulted to going very realistic, it was, at least, a fresh way of getting there.  The painting is 18 x 24 oil on canvas, and the title I settled on is "The Plans I Have for You."

(Thanks Judy Wood for the gentle smack upside the head on my word usage, haha....I should know better!  And now I will never forget again!  ;-) )