Two Days In A Row!

Are you impressed? Are you even out there? Haha.

There's a crazy wind out there today. I got stalls done first thing for a few reasons — because unsettled weather like this can mean rain and thunderstorms, so I wanted to be able to bring ponies in a drop of a hat; because I had someone coming out on a work order for Xplornet; and because…I forgot the other reason all of a sudden. Such is my brain these days!

So, stalls done, I let myself read a bit more of Tudor's new book, then did a little stuff on the computer. Then the person from Xplornet called and got me riled up by suggesting I had unreasonable expectations of my service (like I expect it to work? That kind of unreasonable?). That was 10am. To talk myself down after that call, I put on some Bon Iver, swept up dog hair (which I could do every five minutes), then settled down to paint. I made an adjustment as per a client's observation on one commission, then signed both of their paintings; then worked on, and I hope finished, another one and sent it for comment. Two-plus hours later, the Xplornet person arrived. Guess what? He says the installation was done completely wrong and is confident he can fix it. I do hope he's right!

Once he left, I took my silly Border for her run (she runs, I walk!). I also played with a cover idea for the next book in the Good Things Come series, which I haven't fully committed yet to writing! So now I have a prospective title and cover idea…and a vague story outline! I'm not sure if I'm excited or terrified! I think I kind of love the cover image…and while I love the title idea, I'm not 100% sold on it. We shall see. I'm going to need some feedback from others on it. Sometimes my title ideas are a little bit obscure!

I did up the little graphic above last night after getting a new review on All The Little Things. It was a lovely review, though I had to laugh to think of what Faye's response would be! She'd be good with the classy, but I think she would have preferred to star in a steamy romance! 

Okay! Time to bed the stalls and bring the kids in. They're been remarkably chill today with that wind! At one point, both boys were napping!

Missing the Blog!

I know I've said it before and failed to follow through, but I'm going to attempt to revive this blog! I still refer to it so often, so I'm going to try to recreate that sense of purpose it had a few years back — for myself if no one else!

There's so much on the go right now — so many balls in the air. I'm working on a number of commissions while a stack of speculative WIPs waits in the wings for those to be under control. I'm starting to work on a very rough draft/outline for novel number *four,* while also scribbling notes for a new series. I'm getting a reprieve from the contract position I took to help pay the bills, but next week I'll be back to that. And, I've started, finally, working with the horses again. I've ridden Gracie a couple of time, and have started groundwork with her three (half) brothers. I forget how much I love it until I'm back at it! So far everyone is being very good!

I made the decision today to get a small stack of errands done, which took me from half an hour west and home again, then half an hour east and home again! That was the first time I'd been to Kingston since I moved last fall, and while it was just an in and out trip to drop off some water samples, I'm kind of excited to know it's that close. Now if this whole pandemic would just move along, I could get to know it a bit!

It's warm and overcast and windy today, so the horses are still happy outside. I finally got them out on grass a little over a week ago, so they were out for a limited time only, but they've grazed it enough by now for me to feel it's safe for them to be out all day when the weather cooperates! So I have half an hour to get something done before I go bed their stalls and bring them in. Okay, now that I've written this, twenty minutes! 😉 Off I go!

Today:

Painting: none

Reading: starting Tudor Robins' new book (and series!), Moving North!

Listening: Panic! At The Disco's Vices and Virtues; audiobook, Eleanor & Park.

All The Scary Things

Gryph is in Sunday, and I’m terrified.

Terrified he’ll hurt himself.

Terrified he’ll run up the track.

Terrified he’ll turn out to be everything we’ve been joking he’ll be. #obiwanyoureouronlyhope

I think it was February first I told myself I was going to start back posting here. It's only the 19th, so that's not too bad, right?

They (whoever "they" are) say you should do something every day that scares you. Yesterday, I finally did something that kind of terrified me! You see, I've got this novel I've written, and last September I decided I should at least try to pursue traditional publication for it. Another "they" said, "never self-reject...query that agent." It only took me seven-plus months to write a query letter remotely worthy of sending out, but yesterday was the day I did so for the first time. And, having conquered Scary Thing Number One, I followed up by sending it to a second agent. After that, I figured I'd keep up the momentum, and made a couple of phone calls I've been avoiding (hardcore introvert here: I hate making phone calls!!).

This morning I was happy to receive my first rejection! Yes, you read that right. Happy. I intentionally queried that particular agent because research told me they responded quickly. And as someone who has done art shows for years, and thus is no stranger to rejection, getting it out of the way is nice. It's like, "Hey, I tried that, now I can move on to the next thing." And in this case, not a thing, but another agent! Or ninety-eight.

I don't know if my little book will ever attract the attention of an agent. Horse racing is probably a tough sell right now. But the hopeful part of me would like to see it out there, because racing is about so much more than what the public see on the surface (and the surface is not very pretty right now, it seems). 

The little bit of writing at the top isn't from the novel, it's an excerpt from real life. It makes me think of the novel, though. Until you actually get out there, you never know! And for the record, Gryph didn't run up the track. He ran okay. But he wasn't our Obi Wan!

The Art of Avoidance

After a month of painting every day, I have fallen seriously flat in October. How did I get to the 25th with only managing a couple of days at the easel? Shameful.

Today, finally, I was determined to sit down and paint. It's 2:13pm as I write this, and I'm maybe halfway through the Keepsake portrait I'm supposed to finish. I will finish it, but really, I should be almost done by now, and I'm not.

It's a funny thing – when I'm supposed to be writing, like the times I've done November's Nanowrimo, I have this overwhelming urge to paint. Today, when I need to be painting, what did I do? Decided to take part in a flash fiction contest.

I stink at flash fiction. Today, however, I figured it would be a good exercise. You know, when I'm supposed to be PAINTING.

Anyway. I have written said thing. We'll see if I'm brave enough to submit it. It's inspired by my little black and white dog. Have I told you lately how clever she is? Here's a video of her a few weeks ago at her scent detection class. So smart. 💗

Paint the Town Red. Or Orange.

"High Hopes," 14 x 11 oil on linen.

Finally, part three of my painting chestnuts posts. While these three palettes are by no means the only ways to go, they're what's most common for me. This week, I'll share with you some of the details about my painting "High Hopes," a 14 x 11 oil on linen (Raphael linen panel).

The reference for this painting has been on the back burner for a long time – literally eight years. The moment I saw the photo on my camera, I knew it was special. I knew I needed to paint it. It just took me a while to decide it was time!

"Firstborn," 14 x 11 oil on linen.

I also knew what palette I wanted to use. It was a stall scene, much like "Firstborn," and I wanted a similar feel. Easy decision to use the same palette!

This is the most complex pallete I use – it's one I adopted from a workshop with Val Hinz ten years ago, and it's really the only time I methodically lay out the paint before I start!

In it's most basic sense, it's red, blue, and yellow. Normally I'll use Alizarin Crimson and Ultramarine Blue...then Val's palette involved a series of yellows, from dark to light. Most often I use Burnt Umber, Brown Ochre, Yellow Ochre and Cadmium Yellow Light. The red and the blue are lightened with Titanium white, and added to the appropriate yellow of the same hue.

With this painting, you can see I started with my usual underpainting, then built up the colour. The usual story! I just happen to have a little time-lapse painting of part of that!

FYI...I could have sold this painting twice. Some pieces are like that! "Firstborn" was also one of those!

I hope you enjoyed my little series on painting chestnuts!

Okay So Maybe Next Week!

I did intend to do part three of my painting chestnuts this week, but I'm going to leave it for a week. I don't want to just do a quick job of it, and that's what would happen right now!

I haven't painted in a couple of days because of other commitments – being an artist, at least being a working professional artist, is about more than just painting. On Sunday I went up to a nearby showgrounds where there was a dressage show happening, and took some photos as potential references for future paintings. A friend of mine (who also rode my mare when I was off with my broken arm, and with whom I've also done some lessons with my mare) was showing her gelding Grand Prix. Rudy is twenty-one now – so impressive to see him and Katrina strutting their stuff in the sandring.

Monday (yesterday!) I delivered a painting, and visited the subject of that painting, his famous pony companion, Peanut, and their person. It was a lovely visit. I've also painted the pony, but had never met him. He's just as charming and adorable in person as he is in his Instagram account! He was rescued from very dire circumstances – the fact that he survived those circumstances is a testament to his toughness. He's a warrior! You can follow him on Instagram at @ponynamed_peanut.

I'm itching to get back to painting, because I have three pieces which are very nearly done. Too late to do anything tonight...maybe tomorrow?

Fifty Shades of Chestnut

(Greys are so overrated!) 😂

Last week I talked about the limited palette I use to paint chestnut horses. This week I’m going to continue discussing chestnuts, but cover one of the more complex palettes I use for my more involved paintings. I’m going to use a recently completed example, “Eye Spy,” seen above. I realize I included this one in a post a few weeks ago, so sorry for the repetition!

As I look over my notes for this painting, I do have to laugh. I've written, "various from palette!" meaning, no doubt, I took what was there from whatever I'd been working on before, and started mixing and slapping stuff on! Not very scientific, sorry. 

"BS, CY, CR, BU, RU, TW; UB etc.!" (Translation: Burnt Sienna, Cadmium Yellow - light? medium? Who knows! - Cadmium Red (light, because it's all I have), Burnt Umber, Red Umber, Titanium White, Ultramarine Blue.) Yes, sometimes I take better notes than others. 

When I'm working over an underpainting, it's like having a roadmap, but not exactly paint-by-numbers. What the above colours give me are a few options for that orange we talked about last week, and this gives the painting more life, more form. This past weekend I had someone comment on my work saying, "It's like you've sculpted it." It made me so happy to hear someone say that, because that's exactly what I'm trying to achieve with these more involved paintings. I want you to feel the anatomy, not just see the colour!

So we have Burnt Sienna (which is quite orange on its own) and Cad Yellow (I'm going to say Light, because it's what I've always mixed with BS before for bays and chestnuts) to start. Then Cad Red and Burnt Umber, like from my limited palette for a redder orange. Then Red Umber is also pretty orange on its own, in a nice dark glowy way. Add white for lighter areas. Add blue for darker.

Chaos!

Some artists you'll see working quite meticulously from the get-go. That would not be me. I'm all chaos to order, slapping down paint, then blending to even things out, then building on that.

Blended to some semblance of order.

The next round sees the introduction of some other colours. This time with Burnt Sienna I have Cadmium Orange, with some Viridian Green in there to tone things down. My lights are Alizarin Crimson and Naples Yellow...and Titanium White. 

A lot brighter, yes? Of course there's some environmental light playing a role in the difference in colours between the two photographs, and the background and other elements also influence the final result. From this last image to the final painting above, I've brought the background up to speed, painted the fence rail, finished his mane, which is a cool flaxen...and added those snowflakes which insisted on being there. The details of all that is kind of beyond the scope of my discussion on painting chestnuts here, but feel free to ask if you have any questions about it!

Next week will be the final instalment of my chestnut discussion...but definitely not the last of the palettes I've used to paint them!

All The Best Ones Are Red

"Ophelia," 7 x 5 oil sketch from April 2019 Thirty Horses, Thirty Days

If you ask me what my favourite colour of horse is, and if you push even after I respond with my pat answer, "A good horse is never a bad colour," I will not say chestnut. I do, however, have a soft spot for chestnuts, and of the six horses I've owned, three have been chestnut mares!

I've painted a lot of chestnuts this year. "Soar," with Gryphon; the painting I shared in my last post, "Eye Spy;" one of the featured February Foals, "High Hopes." Chestnuts took up their share in Thirty Horses Thirty Days, and my recently-completed commission (which I have yet to reveal) included a chestnut mare.

When I paint a chestnut, I don't always use the same palette of colours. Not all chestnuts are created equal!  😉 I thought over the next few weeks it might be fun to look at some of the colour combinations I used in the above paintings.

First step: the (very imperfect) burnt umber sketch.

For the Thirty Days paintings, in most cases I used my go-to limited palette: burnt umber, cadmium red, yellow ochre, ultramarine blue, and titanium white.

Basically working dark to light.

To explain the process in a very basic sense, it goes like this:

1. Draw the form on the canvas with burnt umber.
2. Block in some mid-dark tones with burnt umber and cadmium red (burnt umber is technically a yellow, so that gives you an orangey colour! Because some chestnuts are really orange, not red, right?).
3. Move to a lighter midtone of yellow ochre, cadmium red, and burnt umber.
4. Place in the darkest darks by adding ultramarine blue to the mid-dark mixture.
5. Place in the lights by adding titanium white to the midtone mixture.
6. Put in white markings and highlights.

Easy, right?  😀 

The finished sketch is at the top of the post, so you can see what refinement went on from the one immediately above.

Next week we'll look at something more complex!

Let June Begin!

"Eye Spy," 12 x 24 oil on linen. 

Okay so it's the third, but most people have weekends, so that's fair, right? I don't count, but that's okay!

Saturday being the first of June was a bit significant for me, from a work perspective. A client came to pick up a recently-finished commission. That might not seem like a big deal, but it is always an important day for me.

I'm not sure why, after over 30 years of doing commissions, I still get stressed at that moment, but I do! It's always a relief to know the portrait is a) safely in their hands, and b) a success! They had approved it electronically, and that gives me a high level of confidence because art always looks better in person, but it's extra-nice to get that reaction from them. This was a fairly involved portrait, which took about six months, so having it completed and delivered is a happy thing.

Here's the catch – I can't share it yet! It won't be presented to the intended recipient until the end of the month, so I can't risk showing it! Sorry!

I have two more commissions-in-progress right now, but getting that big one done frees me up to start a new one, which will happen this week. That one I can show progress on, so it will be fun to be able to share the steps as I go...even if it's a far simpler portrait.

I've also finished a few speculative pieces in the past few weeks, and recently had them professionally photographed for portfolio purposes. This week I'll send an email out to my mailing list, because I always give them the first opportunity to purchase new work (and always at special prices). If you're not on my list, look for the signup in the left-hand column of the blog! I'd love to have you there!

This Is Home

It's funny – I have a blog associated with my new website, but I can't seem to get into the routine of posting to it. I miss this blog – for many, many years, I routinely posted here. I still refer to it for various reasons. To remember timelines, and stories. I miss those days!

Soooooo....I'm going to endeavour to revive it. In the process, I'm hoping to start populating my new blog as well. Maybe in time, I will get people reading over there, rather than here, and archive this. I don't ever see myself deleting it, however. Far too much history!

The blog on my site has its restrictions, which is part of the problem. It's not merely a matter of lack of familiarity. I can't schedule posts, for some insane reason. No one can subscribe to it, so it's hard to promote a following. Such is life, I guess, until the hosting platform fixes those things!

Anyway....this is me, being accountable. I'm going to start posting every Monday. That will be my June challenge! And it will be in keeping with the vibe of this blog all along. Informal, sometimes photos, sometimes artwork, along with whatever might be in my head.

Is there anything you'd like to see more of? Is there anyone even out there?  😉

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!

Forget A Village, It Takes An Army!

Welcome home, Peaker. Photo from Renee Fukumoto.

Peaker has been home four weeks now, and I've been meaning to write this update post with The Whole Story since she got here, safe and sound, because it's been quite an adventure. Firstly, thanks to everyone involved, from those who were hands-on, right down to those who just thought, "I hope she gets back safe!" In the midst of everything that happened, I did think it takes an army. Several friends helped in the outcome in various ways, LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement provided moral and financial support, many of my very loyal art collectors contributed to the funds raised, Ecclestone Horse Transport saved the day and brought her home in style, and so on! So grateful to everyone.

For those who don't know who Peaker is, I foaled her at my farm on February 10, 2007, on a very cold morning. She was the first foal of the mare Too Clever, who had been purchased by my client, UnStable, and also their first homebred. Officially named Clever Peaks, she became the first of their homebreds to win a race, and was always trying, always competitive. Unfortunately one winter she was claimed from them, at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas. Her new connections took her back to Minnesota after the winter.

She did well for her new connections. They were good people, and when she injured herself in a race, they retired her. I was actually trying to get her back at that point, but they ended up selling her to a local man with the agreement that she was not to be raced. This was written on her foal papers, though not formally sent back to the Jockey Club, which is quite an involved process. This man intended to breed her, so I just had to hope that in a few years we'd be watching her babies on the track.

The morning after she arrived - not the robust mare I remembered.

Jump forward to this February, two years later, when I was shocked to get a work notification for Peaker, at a track I'd never heard of, in Iowa. The owner who had sold her to this man contacted me and updated me on what she knew. She asked, if she were able to talk him into giving her up, would I still be prepared to take her, and naturally, I said yes. He had apparently tried to breed her, not gotten her in foal, and put her back in training!

That middle owner went to the track and explained that the papers were marked as not for racing, and the track agreed not to let her run. However, this man (who I'll now refer to as "trainer") hired a lawyer to contest that, and as the papers had not been sent to the Jockey Club through the official process, they had to let her run. All of us who knew this mare, and the story, were horrified.

Her first race back was June 23/16, and I watched online and cheered backwards, you might say. "Go slow, Peaker! You don't have to run, you don't have to do this." Maybe she heard me, but either way, she clearly did not have what was needed to be a racehorse anymore, and finished last, beaten over twenty lengths. On the one hand it was hard to watch, as she was always such a trier, but given the injury she was racing on, I was still glad. I hoped after this he would retire her. But no. A month later, she showed up with another work, and then August 28/16, she was entered to race again. This time, she was beaten more than 30 lengths. I was angry and frustrated and heartbroken all at once.

Not long after than, I saw her photo on the Canter Minnesota Facebook page – and was relieved that at least he was sort of doing the right thing and not just shipping her to an unspeakable fate. He was asking a ridiculous sum of money for her, and the post was full of untruths about her physical and breeding soundness, but I wasn't prepared to have some unsuspecting person take her, only to discover the truth and discard her. I contacted him, and we agreed on a price, which I resigned myself to pay, just because she needed to come home safe. He was, at this point, quite cooperative, and took care of her health papers and kept her while I worked on transport back to Ontario.

A glimpse of the Shield Maiden within.

Just so you know - getting a horse from Minnesota is not such an easy thing. LongRun was helping me with the transport, and first option was to get her to Winnipeg, where one of the big local companies could pick her up on the way back from out west. I began to try to arrange transport from Minnesota to Winnipeg – with absolutely no luck.

I was given the name of a professional US shipper, who I contacted about doing that trip. They came back immediately and said they could bring her right to me in Ontario. Yay! The price was reasonable, so I started putting that together. I paid the broker they wanted me to use, and then waited...and waited...and waited...for them to give me a date. One excuse after another. The health papers are good for 30 days, and time was running out, as was the trainer's patience. Finally, they gave me a date, October 25, after a month of erratic communication. I paid the deposit, and then...I waited, again. I emailed for an update...got no response. I emailed again...still no response. I called...and the phone kept cutting out, so that I could not hear what was being said. I emailed again...and was now told it would be another 2-3 weeks. I was back to being angry, and frustrated and bordering on distraught – and more than a little worried about Peaker, as I didn't entirely trust the trainer to take care of her properly.

Then I heard about a new, local company, who travelled to that area. I contacted them – they told me they had a van coming back from Minnesota that Friday, and could certainly bring her back. They assured me that while the health papers would have just expired, they were used to dealing with that and it wouldn't be a problem. Their rate was competitive, and they took off the brokerage fees which were included in their quote, saying they could use the company I had already paid. And, Peaker would travel in a box stall, rather than the 1.5 standing stall I had booked with the other company. They also strongly suggested that company, whose reputation they knew (wish I had!) SHOULD give me back the deposit, given what had gone on. On the one hand, I didn't care about the deposit, because Peaker's health wasn't worth waiting for whenever they got themselves sorted out enough to get her, but on the other, considering the cost of this whole adventure, it would be nice to have.

Definitely not the shiny, muscled horse from the CANTER photos. Photo from Su Schmerheim.

The driver for Ecclestone Horse Transport picked her up on Friday, October 19, Peaker the only horse on this huge,  posh, air-ride transport van. The driver, Su, gave me updates, and talked about how sweet Peaker was, what a good passenger she was. She said she thought Peaker looked a bit thin, and sent me a photo. More heartbreak. I can only assume the trainer stopped feeding her as soon as I paid for her, so I was all the more grateful that EHT had been able to step up and pluck her out of there so promptly.

Travelling in style! - Photo from Su Schmerheim.

They arrived at 9pm on Saturday, October 20. My good friend Renee came out to lend me a hand, as I had to walk her back from the road because there's no way a semi is getting down my lane – which is about half a mile (0.6km). She practically dragged me down the lane, back to the barn, and into her waiting stall. Ribby, undernourished, dull coat, still with Minnesota mud that had been on her a while...but she was home. I groomed her and put a blanket on her, because it was a cold night, and she settled right in.

Even in a few days, she was looking better. Now, she's regained a lot of muscle mass, and has her energy back. She's not fat, but her coat has a nice glow, her eye has that spirited look again, and so much of that tension in her body is gone. Her injured ankle is pretty ugly, though she's sound per se, and I will be getting it looked at so I can know what she might or might not be able to do.

Even a few days made a big difference! Our official "before" photo.

That transport company that let me down so badly? Refused to give me my deposit back. They finally conceded a credit, so if anyone in the midwest US/western Canada needs to move a horse, let me know. I'm sure they think I'll never use it, so I'd really like to see that proven wrong! Not that I in any way recommend them. They out and out said, after I contacted them about refunding the deposit, that they don't like coming to the Toronto area. Why they strung me along and said they'd do the job, I don't know. So...please, if you're looking for horse transport, be aware that Elliot Equine Transport is rather horrible to deal with! On the other hand, I can't say enough good about Ecclestone.

Mud therapy!

So...there you have it. Last week Peaker had her teeth done, which will help her continue to gain weight. She's got a lovely turnout buddy, another hard-knocking mare with a happily less dramatic history, who has just been retired sound. Between them they have 65 starts, eight wins, and $290,000 in earnings. I call them the Shield Maidens, as I've started watching Vikings, and been intrigued by the culture where some of the women fought alongside the men.  So here's to the Shield Maidens, and the War Horses:  tough, hard-knocking Thoroughbreds who are a testament to the breed.

The Shield Maidens welcome visitors...especially those bearing carrots!