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Monday, December 30, 2013

Snow bound And Two New Small Horse Paintings






The blanket of snow that covers our farm will become a subject to be painted in the near future, I am sure. I have said it before and I will say it again....I could stay on this farm and I would have enough scenes that I could paint for my life time.

Here is one..... !!!!

Friday, December 27, 2013

Winter Horse Casein Painting & Feeling Like Christmas

Winter Horse Casein Painting & Feeling Like Christmas






 Every winter morning on the farm, the horses are turned out to spend their days eating hay and meandering around their fields and paddocks. The winter months are lazy days for them In the spring we start back driving....but now you can find scenes like this casein painting as a daily occurance.  This painting is the latest painting added to my Equine Art section on my website. It is offered at a reduced price , unframed. I hope "The Cob On A Winter Morn" will make someone happy for Christmas.

Today it snows...The horses were out all morning , but when the snow started building up on their backs, they wanted in...back into their cozy stalls and out of the cold winter mix of snow and sleet that is covering our farm.  I am working in my cozy studio on the last of my commission work, and then I will have to get into Christmas mode. The Studio already has a small Christmas tree giving it a festive air.


Then after the holidays I have some great work that I hopefully will be revealed....Time will tell.

Now I need to paint!!

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

New Painting Of Dosing Drafts Done

This was originally posted on my studio blog .  10/20/2013


 
“Sleeping Grays” is done…. and I am back working on one of several commissions that I accepted. "My Studio Clean up Sale" is still on…so don’t forget to check it out, as I have added a few new paintings to the sale and will continue to do so for a bit longer. Thank you to everyone who has helped me so far clean out and gain back studio space for creating!

My days in the studio seem to fly by and Nell is always with me when I work. She works too. Squirrel guard is a very strenuous job…..Sometimes she needs to take power naps [too]!
 


My gardens are still providing color and eye candy. Soon though, all will be gray surrounding the farm, until snow comes and blankets it all with white, and the blue and purple shadows of the long winter light.
 
 


 
Each season has its own glory. I enjoy them all.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Respite, Another Painting Inspired By Maine's Acadia



 
Winds have blown and rains have come .The brilliant fall colors have slowly fallen, dulled and now just a hint of the brilliance that was, is left along the edges of the farm. Soon it will be time to hunker down and settle in for another long Maine winter. I love it!

 
 

 "Respite"  Casein on paper  9 x 12"   ©2013 www.kathipeters.com
 


My days have been spent working on commission work, but after several days of doing just that I HAD to change out and do some original work. As I had my caseins out and at the ready I worked on 9 x 12” casein on paper of big gray drafts that captured my interest up at Wildwood Stables in Seal Harbor, Maine. Another summer subject became a painting. Then after finishing “Respite”, I started second 9 x 12” casein of 2 Wildwood draft horses. I am so enamored with them, big grays with a rainbow of color reflecting off of their wonderful coats in the summer sun.  I work on the second painting today, but “Respite “is already on my website and available.
The rest of my Sunday afternoon will be spent painting…….. ”Sleeping Grays”.
Back to the easel I go.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

The Studio Is Emptying Nicely, Thank You & New Work Added To Sale



Last week was spent going through boxes and picking out paintings to add to the “Clean the Studio Special Fall Sale”.  Lots of folks have taken advantage being able to obtain these discounted artworks…. and I quickly boxed work up and moved them out, winging their way to their forever homes…..or maybe they will become Holiday presents for someone special.  I want to thank everyone who is helping me clean out and get my studio space back. Nell thanks you too. Now she has more room to throw her “babies” around and chase the cat.

Here are a few of the framed works added to the sale.
 



And when I was not packing and shipping…. I was working on a large commission painting of a carriage driving pair trotting through a lovely spring field. It is a lovely scene and I am so stoked to have been picked to paint this wonderful scene. I look forward to doing more original paintings .  New paintings coming SOON!

Thursday, September 26, 2013

New Painting Of Irish Drafts... And The Studio Clean-Up Sale



My “Specially Priced Works -Or My Studio Clean –Up” Sale is going well. I have added some new works to the mix there, and hopefully everyone can find something to love and help me clean up my studio space. I am busy packing up work that has been bought…..and want to thank all those folks for their interest in my work, whatever the medium……casein , watercolor, or oil…..they are all good! Nell thanks you too!  

Now I need to get back to a commission painting!!

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

A Fall Special Sale Of Selected Works

  It has to happen....I have never done this before, but my studio is getting too crowded....and if I want to continue painting, [and I do] I HAVE to move out framed works. This dilemma is your gain. So grab a cup of tea, coffee or a glass of wine and virtually walk around my virtual art sale. It is a great way to collect my work at discounted prices. Collect for your own walls... or for that special person on your holiday shopping list.
 

 
 

 
 
 
These are just a few of the paintings that are being discounted. I invite you to look at the Special Sale Page... and I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised! Nell and I need more room to stretch out and get to work in the studio........
 
 

Nell says "Shop 'til you drop!!!!! Woof!"   :-)

Sunday, August 25, 2013

A Change Of Address.....Or A Need To Simplify My Life

"Ground Driving The Belgians - Acadia"  Casein  6 x 6"
I have moved....well , no I haven't moved....my blog has. It has been a long time it seems since I started my blog on BlogSpot....ions ago. It is time to make my life easier NOW. I am not getting any younger.....in fact the opposite seems to be so. So, one less Internet connection would be nice....less bother .I am moving [or HAVE moved my studio blog to my website KATHIPETERS.COM

There you can find my usual  mundane chatter and new art works in the making, ... or already done. Just like I have been doing here for nigh on 6  years now???? Wow , times sure flies when you are having fun! And I am having fun! Finally back driving our horses, and enjoying life to its fullest!
I hope you will come on over to my NEW BLOG PAGE .......and stay in touch. I love to read your comments and to have you continue to follow my art... and collect my art!  I have to feed those horses you know!  So bookmark the new blog page.....and come on over.
 
Sit and visit for a while.....you are always welcome at Cob Cottage Studio!
 Nell and I are waiting for you!
 
 

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Great Paint Makes A Painting Greater

Back in the spring of 2011,  I was contacted by Sennelier of France and asked if I would help them with a blind test of their watercolors. They had seen my website and liked my work.. and so invited me to help them improve their product
.
 I have used Sennelier paints and pastels for years and am familiar with their high quality product line. When I lived in Italy I used their pastels and tempera ...and loved them! Their watercolors are primo! I was really happy to be chosen by them and more than happy to join in to the blind test. It was a fun test,  with several tubes of each watercolor color to compare with each other. It really made me think about the consistency and fluidity of each tube as I compared and rated them all, then finally picked my favourite from each color group. They told me they would send me a thank you for my time at the end of the testing. The time spent was fun and I even learned something new about what I actually look for in each color I use each day on my palette. I finished my evaluation and submitted my findings to them.
 When several weeks later a big box from France was delivered to our home I was more than excited about the contents! I now had new watercolors to use....new pastels to play with and new oil pastels to try! AND lots of new 300 lb watercolor paper to put to good use, along with some new watercolor brushes! I was more than surprised...I was elated.  I said " Thank you, Sennelier!!!"  Believe me, the pleasure was all mine!! Below is one of the paintings that I completed with the test paints which I liked the best!!
Later in 2012 I was again gifted another package from France.....Sennelier had sent me a lovely watercolor pochade with the NEW tubes of Aquarelle Watercolors that I had helped them perfect and I was so excited about them!! I also received the book "Sennelier-A History In Color" ....inscribed with a personal message from Dominique Sennelier thanking me for partaking in their product developement. Again...the pleasure was all mine!!
Then last week I was contacted by Sennelier and invited to share my work, on their website  Sennelier.fr  on a special page that they have set up for  their artists..... "Atmospheres".  I didn't have to think twice! Again THANK YOU SENNELIER!!!

My studio has seen me occasionally lately. Summer is here and we are busy driving our horses, mowing our lawns and my gardens keep calling me out of the studio to enjoy their colors. But over the weekend I found myself with some alone time,I sat on the deck  with my pen and inks and my Aquarelle watercolors and enjoy a bit of plein air, a fine old French tradition. Thank you Sennelier!!
 
Great paint !! Try them!!

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Sometimes Life Throws A Curve





 
"My Duster" , a watercolor portrait I did of my boy.

It has been a long month …this past month was one of worry and sadness. My old Duster horse was not doing well. He had been “my boy” for 28 years. I was there when he was born out of my Tennessee walker mare Ebony, and he had been with us throughout his life. It is hard to lose a fur kid…and our horses are a big part of our lives. They are our lives now.  Over the past month the vet was here regularly as Duster failed .and we hoped he would rally. It was not to be. So last week we had to say goodbye to my dear boy. My heart broke with this passing, but I can only pray that he is now somewhere running free across the Rainbow Bridge. I have done several paintings of Sundusts Glory Boy B [aka Duster]. One of my favourite ones is a watercolor of the boy…done when he was a bit younger.

 During this ordeal I managed to paint a bit. But it was hard to concentrate. I was inspired to do a small painting of a small bird’s nest that I found shortly before Duster’s passing. I think it is a hummingbird’s nest as it is so small. It had blown down to the ground during one of the rain storms that blew through our farm while Duster was so ill.  It seems to be woven with Duster’s mane and tail hair…..black and gray….with a mix of browned grass. I don’t think it was ever finished and I hope no eggs were in it when it fell. I have kept the nest in memory of by sweet boy. I was impelled to painting it…I did it in oil on a small copper panel.  It is done and available. I have my memories…maybe someone else can relate to the painting and find joy.


June is always a magical month in my gardens that surround my studio and cottage. I am afraid the gardens are a bit neglected at the moment, but hopefully I can find time to get into the gardens now…. between preparing for new paintings and getting work ready to ship to Equidae Gallery for the race season in Saratoga Springs, NY.   
Taking time to smell the roses.

"The Garden Hat And Roses"  , oil on copper,  6 x 8"

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Celebrating 100 Years Of Acadia's Carriage Roads & My Paintings In A Show


"Around The Mountain Break - Acadia"  Casein on  board ,  16 x 20"


 I have delivered my art work,  including my newly painted casein painting  "Around The Mountain Break - Acadia",  to Skyline Farm Carriage Museum, in North Yarmouth, Maine.  My work will be hanging there during their "100 Years of Acadia National Park's Carriage Roads" exhibit.

I feel so honored to have been asked to hang a solo showing during the summer months, and also to have been asked to do a "Meet The Artist" talk in mid June... to speak about the stories behind my paintings exhibited there. The show opened May18th , and that day was also their annual "PLOW DAY" with a scheduled 6 draft teams that  plowed the earth to prepare the farm's vegetable gardens. Love spring!


Colors of spring at Cob Cottage.

The Hawthorne tree puts forth its joy.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

May Is Stroke Awareness Month For Me



May has a new meaning to me....at least it has since July of 2006.....I am again prompted to tell my story, abridged. This following blog post was first 'aired' May 6th in 2008. I am reposting it today to explain.....and maybe it can help someone else deal with whatever life throws at them. Read on.........
May has always been a special month for my family…spring is in full swing; my husband’s birthday falls in May and of course so does Mother’s Day. But this year [2008] [and last year – 2007] May has taking on new meaning for us, as it is designated as Stroke Awareness Month.
And we are very aware about stroke. Now!
On July 29th of 2006, my husband and I, along with my sister who was visiting from California, were all headed from our farm in Morrill, Maine to my eldest brother’s home in New Hampshire to celebrate his 70th birthday. It was a surprise party for him and for the first time in a long time, my siblings and I were going to be together to party and have a good time. We arrived on time and I got out of our car to greet everyone, feeling so happy to see us all together. My sister-in-law, Bev walked up to me and started talking …I could hear her, but I couldn't make out a word that she was saying. I didn’t feel right, but was busy looking around at everybody when I realized I couldn't see my right hand or arm and I couldn’t figure out where they were…and I was still trying to understand Bev. She sounded like a slow broken record and her words were all jumbled to me. I looked around for my husband, Les,  and when I saw him I asked, “Where’s my arm? And he said “By your side? What’s the matter?” Then I guess everyone saw something was wrong with me. I remember them helping me into the shade of a huge tree on the grounds and helping to lay me down on the ground. I looked up at everyone…I didn’t know what was happening. I couldn’t  talk and tell them what I felt as a sea of faces looked down on me. But through it all a strange feeling of calm and peacefulness filled my being and I knew it would be all right. I was suffering a stroke. I missed my brother’s 70th birthday…….
To make a long story short…I was rushed to a hospital in N.H. and then was transported by ambulance to Portland, Maine, and admitted into Maine Medical Center. This was done in order that I should be closer to my family and doctors.
Tests were started.. The left side of my brain had been ‘attacked’ when the blood flow was interrupted or stopped due to a blood clot. A significant part of my left temporal lobe was affected and this left me with right-sided paralysis and Aphasia. Aphasia is a condition where language problems make it difficult to talk the way I used to ,and it makes writing very difficult for me. Something that was so important to me in my life [I have worked as a newspaper reporter and fashion editor in the past…and always wrote poetry] ....was now something that was so difficult. My understanding and comprehension of speech were unimpaired, but speech itself became hard as my speech related muscles wouldn’t cooperate and my brain could not find the words to say what I wanted to.
But what was more important to me, as I lay on the hospital bed with my family around me…could I draw??? I managed to get the nurse to understand what I wanted…. a pencil and paper. She brought them and everyone looked on as I sketched an eye, a horse head….okay… I could live with the limitations I had a this point. I could draw, and this would mean I could paint. I am professional artist….. Life was good!!!
In the weeks that passed in between hospital tests, MRI’s and blood work, I sketched some, slept a lot, but I knew I needed to get home, to our quiet farm where I would be alone with my husband, see my Corgi and our horses, see and smell our gardens and get down to the business of getting better…. to getting ‘Kathi’ back!
The year and half that passed was difficult, very difficult. Our horses became my therapy, as I brushed them while walking with a cane my hand and arm gained strength. I cleaned stalls using  the muck fork to help me stand up. Throwing hay and lifting shaving bags became my upper body strengthen exercises. I had a speech therapist come and work with me in our home. She helped me start to get over some of the Aphasia problems And an occupational therapist  helped me get my eye and hand coordination back.
And I painted…and drew and I slept. I slept a lot. I still sleep during the day needing naps to replenish my energy.
I started a blog after my therapist suggested that I do it as an exercise to recapture my language skills. Each and every blog entry has my recovery in it. Metaphorically each of my paintings tells of my struggles and my victories...most in the form of equine art, but lately broadening to works depicting Maine and my surroundings.


But through it all I knew that my attitude about what I was going through was more important to me that what had happened to me. My recovery depended on my attitude. I cannot control what happens to me in life..but I can control my attitude. And that is my life’s  mantra now……….’if it’s gonna be….It’s up to me.’
And so I paint………………….


Wednesday, April 24, 2013

My Work In Two Exhibits 'Down South '


 Just a quick up date and reminder.....My casein painting "Warning Signs" can be seen at The Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art - "The Horse In Fine Art", at 30 Atlanta Street, Southeast Marietta, GA from April 13 - July 2, 2013. AND  this Art Show overlaps the Spring "AAEA Invitational ...Exhibition" at is hanging in The Anne Wright Wilson Gallery , Georgetown College, Georgetown, KY. April 12 - May 24, 2013. My work can bee seen in BOTH venues for the AAEA Spring Invitational. Hope you all get a chance to see the shows!
I have been busy, finishing up a commissioned watercolor and now working on a large [for me] casein of the coaching carriage crowd at Acadia National Park in Maine. This painting will be included in a one "man" show that will hang in North Yarmouth, Maine at Skyline Farm Carriage Museum that opens next month....I will write more about this in another post.
Now it is time to clean stalls.....

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Spring Invitational Art Exhibit In Kentucky


"The Wicker Pheaton"          casein , 9 x 12"     ©2013 www.kathipeters.com

 I want to invite EVERYONE in the Lexington, Kentucky area to come to The American Academy of Equine Art's reception for their Spring Invitational Exhibit of "The Horse In Fine Art" Artists Reception at the Ann Wright Fine Art Gallery!! FRIDAY EVENING !! April 12th, 5pm - 8 pm. The gallery is on the Georgetown College Campus at the corner of Mulberry and College Street. I have work in the exhibit. The show runs until May 24th......!!

Spring has finally found us in Mid-coast Maine!! I am finishing up painting commissions and doing new work for up coming shows...Trying to get it all done before the gardening rush starts. The brook is bubbling and my flower gardens are starting to show bulbs bursting though the earth as the spring sun beckons them out of the dark ground.  

Our horses a bend on covering themselves with coats of mud and I fight the daily chore of trying to keep up with the mess!! 

Such are the rites of spring.......and HOW I love it all!! 
 





 

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

March Winds Promise Spring

"Wild Eyed"   Casein on board      12 x 12"
Winter was reluctant to leave Cob Cottage Farm [and Studio] and several snow storms have blown through, [literally] and left us with deep snow to shovel and plow. But time passes, and slowly the promise of spring is creeping into the fields and woods that surround us. I have yet to see a bulb peeking through the ground, but it is a given that this too will happen when the time is right. I have learned over the years that faith can help us weather the worst of times........and so I can sit here, awaiting springs arrival, with faith, that it WILL come.

I have managed to a get some studio time...and a few new paintings have been created.The "Wild Eyed" fellow above was inspired by one of my grandsons....This red head is Max....our eldest grandson.....and soon there will be another painting of his younger brother, Logan, to rival this! What fun these two paintings prove to be!!


"Joy Of Life"         oil on board               6 x 6"

"Mother and Son"        oil on board           6 x 6"
And then the arrival of spring makes me remember all the foals that were born on our farms, here at Cob Cottage and earlier on our Thistle Mead Farm in Pownal, Maine. This make me want to paint foals...and the  spring joy they bring to everyone who sees them. So two small oils came to life on my easel. They are available on my website....new spring foals looking for a good home!!  [Reference photos were provided by friend and photographer Vicki Wright]

If I am not updating fast enough about what has been painted in the studio....Please feel free to join me on Facebook   ......on my Art and Studio Page. Follow me on Facebook!! 


Now back to painting....I am working on a watercolor commission and it is almost done. I need to get it done before the spring buds burst. I have faith that they will, soon .

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

The Three P's Of Being An Artist

"Acting The Fools"           watercolor            11 x 17"  

Sometimes  life gets into the way of good intentions.....and it seems that as been my mantra of late. Maybe I have too much on my plate.....but "my intentions are good!!!

One watercolor, "Acting The Fools",  and one casein of carriage horses at Acadia's Wildwood Stable, "Between Drives" are done... Now   PAPERWORK has taken over my life, and I haven't even started taxes yet! I have so many paintings in my head that need painting, I think I will have to start getting up earlier and stay up later!!

"Between Drives-Acadia"    casein on canvas       8 x 10"

So I work each day waiting for spring to find our little corner of Maine........it will I know. Ad I want to be ready for it!! So I will plug along with the paperwork,shipping paintings. But wait.............. some good news is that I two paintings headed to the American Academy Of Equine Art's Spring Invitational Exhibit "The Horse In Fine Art". It is always an honor to be invited to have work hang with the some of the best equine artists of today. So I am in the process of packing and shipping those paintings to Kentucky and shipping other works to new collectors .......and hopefully I will actually get to paint too....today!   So back to Paperwork, Packing and Painting.....the 3 P's of being an artist!

Monday, February 25, 2013

Winter Continues And I Paint

"Ground Driving"  casein on canvas  6 x 6"  SOLD

 Each weekend of late has presented us with another major snow fall. Last weekend was no exception.But Monday morning dawn sun-filled and a brilliant white landscape delighted the eye!! I am so grateful for the sunny days where spirits are raised and snow is shoveled......preparing us for the next event!

While it snowed, I retired to my studio and I took our my casein paints and did 2 smaller works depicting scenes  from my life."Ground Driving"  has sold and been shipped to it's new home already. The second is being varnished , then it is ready to go.


"Between Drives At Acadia"  casein on canvas    10 x 8"

I love the gentle giants who pull the carriages
over the carriages road at Acadia National Park.If you have been following my blog fora while you probably know that driving horses and Acadia have been a big part of my life. We are so looking forward to actually getting up to Acadia with our own new pair of  horses this spring. We are SO ready for spring!!



But until then....Nell is trudging through the snow that newly fell on our deck....wondering where a JRT can lay and bask up the sun while it is out...where?... with all this snow covering our world today!!

Nell wants sun....spring!  ©2013 www.kathipeters.com