Volare Study

 

"Volare-Study" charcoal and gouache, 5 x 7"

It's time for horses playing in snow, brilliant blue skies against winter's white snow.

I have an idea for a larger painting  and this the study for that painting.

Stay tuned for the painting....AND the study can be yours now.

Shipping within the continental USA is included in its price.

Lady Whip

 

"Lady Whip" , oil on canvas on board, 12 x 12" Sold

Watching horses being harnessed and hitched to their carriage always fascinates me. One can tell a lot about  people around  horses, by just watching how they handle their horses. This lovely scene of a lady whip as she hitches her handsome pair of hackney horses on a hot summer day captured my muse and had to be painted. I worked on this painting over time, working on it a bit, then putting it face to the wall, as I worked on other paintings. It is now done. As soon as I had it done and posted on line, it was “sold”. I am very pleased with that.

 

Fall has arrived on our farm. Much needed rain has come and quenched the thirsty ground and fall color has exploded in the forest around our fields. Each afternoon I take my JRT, Nell, for a long walk around our fields and through our woods.

Our gardens lay waiting on cleaning before winter sets in. Until that time our resident gleaners are harvesting the drops in garden and orchard. I love fall and all it brings. It brings hint of winter…….

 

AND It is that time of year when folks ask about commission work. Yes, I do accept commissions. If wanted for Christmas, time is getting close.Don't miss out. And I do give gift certificates, so that someone special can pick out that special painting to grace their walls....or get a painting of their horse or driving turnout.

Christmas IS coming!!  

 

But for now I wish everyone a happy and blessed Thanksgiving day!

 

Until then I will paint.

New Painting - Cavallo Nel Campo

"Cavallo Nel Campo", oil ,12 x 12"  www.kathipeters.com

  Summer comes and goes too quickly it seems. It feels like only yesterday that we were planting seeds and waiting for them to sprout. Now we spend days mowing grass that grows too fast and trying, in vain, to keep up with the gardens and farm work. Days spent carriage driving at Acadia are few and far between . But I am getting into the studio and am painting and drawing as time allows. I have so many photos to pour over for future painting......as I actually look forward to slower days with the coming of fall.

 

"Cavallo In Campo" [ meaning Horse In The Field in Italian] was inspired by one of our horses, who often just stands watching what is going on in the woods surrounding our fields. He can stand for what seems hours just watching........watching life go by in the world around him...in the world out side of his pasture....his world.

 

 

By Summer's End

"By Summer'sEnd" , mixed media, 18 x 18" copyright 2017

   There have been so many horses that have come into our life over the years. Some we bought. Some we were given and some were born into our arms.  With horse ownership and the love of the horse, comes a lot of responsibilities. I think that when we accept the horse into our life we owe them a promise of security and care for the rest of their life. In this painting I was thinking about that responsibility and hopefully I have captured it metaphorically. The end of summer....a season , a era ending.

 By Summer's End is on gallery wrapped canvas and is ready to hang.

 

A Painting.....Like A Copper Penny

"Like A Copper Penny" , mixed media, 18 x 18"  copyright 2017

 

A chestnut horse running in sunshine... in a field colored in spring.......so beautiful. It's coat of orange shines like a copper penny.

Full of joy!

Again I am exploring abstract landscape....and attacking my subject matter with a more realistic brush. The work is done with charcoal, acrylic and casein. It is a difficult painting to photograph, as it has gold in it too....in the brilliant golden spring sunshine streaming thru the wooded back ground and onto the copper coat of the chestnut horse.

 This painting is offered unframed, but doesn't really need to be framed, as it is on gallery wrapped canvas and is ready to hang. A contemporary look.

 

Spring is a busy time for us here on our small farm. Gardens are starting to bloom and grass needs mowing. Our carriages and harnesses are coming out of winter storage and time is spent with our horses, getting back to driving. I know trips to the carriage roads of Acadia are in our near future. Life goes on....and it seems to be at lightning fast speed lately.  I try to get into the studio on a daily basis , but must admit that seems to be more sporadic that before.  But I will paint.

New Casein Painting Of Horses & Snow

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"January Snow' , casein on board , 12 x 12"  copyright 2017 kathipeters.com

 

 

We are finally deep in the frozen depths of winter in January, here in Mid-Coast Maine. Our horses are bored to death.... and they seem to be taking their  boredom out on the board fence.  I have been busy finishing up one more  pre Christmas commission that is now done and delivered.  After Christmas time was lost as both my husband and I were sick as dogs for over a month. But now we are out of the woods [so to speak] and life goes on. I am back in the studio each day and Les has been busy moving snow around.

 

"January Snow" is my latest casein painting finished and is now available on my website. How fitting a subject and title for this time of year!    AND  I am back painting!

In The Middle Of Winter

 

 

Winter has dropped her blanket of white on our farm. It means more studio time for me, after the shoveling and barn chores are done I head to the studio each day. I love this time of year. The farm and the forest that surrounds our home seem magical, cloaked in white as more snow falls softly from the skies.

 

I have been busy shipping commission and sold work for clients nation wide. New works are in the making...I hope you will find one that 'grabs you'!

 

"Arriving Back At The Barn" , watercolor, 9.5 x 20"   copyright 2016 kathipeters.com

 

The recent watercolor that I did of a four-in-hand carriage scene, up at Acadia, "Arriving Back At The Barn-Acadia", was sold as soon as it was put up on my website. I'm leaving my watercolors out for future watercolor work.... it feels good to be back into them. But I also will continue my foray into abstraction with representative work.

 

And so I paint [ in my cozy studio].

White Fight - A Charcoal Study

"White Fight" charcoal and gouache 8.5 x 11" copyright 2016 kathipeters.com

 

Another charcoal and gouache study done of winter horse fights...when they are bored and cold.This might be developed into a painting.

This study is available now unframed , and shipping within the USA is included in its price.

New Works Done - I'm Pushing My Artistic Envelope

 "Rolling In The Deep" , mixed media, 12 x 12"

 

 

 It seems that I have been creating representative artwork for ages. I have. I feel a need to break out a bit from the artistic mold I have created for myself. Mind you, I am sailing unchartered waters for me...... but I am enjoying this voyage ....and I think it still nicely fits with my older work. So for the time being, I will be posting these new works in the same collection on my website as my more representative work. I only hope my collectors will come with me on this voyage. Hop abroad!!

 

"Rolling In The Deep" is the first...... It  happened at Acadia. A handsome spotted draft...one of a four-in-hand team.  A good roll after a good drive. It always seems to happen after a good bath too! If you have horses, you have seen them roll......often in deep something!!

 A mixed media work, it is done in acrylic, oil and casein. It is varnished and it is on a cradled board and does not need to be framed, but can be hung as is for a contemporary look.

 

"One In A Blue Moon" mixed media  , 6 x 6"  copyright 2016 kathipeters.com

 

 The second mixed media abstract work was done smaller...... same mix of media. The subject was one of two Belgians in a draft horses team working up Acadia this summer. I saw them when we were up at Wildwood Stables with our Morgan driving pair. Often I see a horse whose face captures my heart. This handsome Belgian guy was one of those horses. I really enjoyed painting this small work. "Once In A Blue Moon" is available framed .....and is ready to go!

 

The third one done so far is "Snow Drifting". I went into it very abstractly and then ended up finishing it in a more Japanese feel. I have always been fascinated with the woodblock work of Hokusai and Hiroshegi....I went for that feel, with an abstract spin. I really enjoyed creating this one too , as I wondered what I would do... as I worked through the composition. Another foray into abstract and representative work.......A chestnut horse rolls in the winter sunlight in his paddock of snow and hay. Dappled winter shadows , blue and purple surround the golden hay and sunlight. I have been there.......seen that.

 

"Snow Drifting" is also on a cradled board, with no need for a frame...ready to hang.

Ready to ship! 

 

"Snow Drifting" , mixed media, 12 x 12"  copyright 2016 kathipeters.com

 

Now I have to get back into some commission work I am doing.....so I paint.

My Interview With A National Magazine !!!

  

 In the middle of our summer driving 'marathon " in Acadia  National Park this year, I was contacted by Ann Pringle, the editor of Driving Digest, about doing an interview for a feature article in their fall issue #203. I was more than pleased and honored to be offered this opportunity to show my work and to answer Ann's questions about my life and my work. It's no secret that the majority of my body of work depicts the world of the driving horse. It is a equestrian discipline that I love to participate in and to paint. I hope everyone has had the chance to read the article, and to see a sample of my work as Driving Digest featured it so wonderfully. Thank you Driving Digest and Ann Pringle!!

 

 

"The Wheelers", oil , 12 x 16"  copyright 2015

 

 

I am back in the studio now....busy with the start of commission work for the holidays and new year.

I am also working on new original work. My art work is very important to me....Life goes on.

 

 





The Wheelers At Acadia - A Sketch Now, A Painting Later

"The Wheelers At Acadia", charcoal and conte, copyright 2016 kathipeters.com

When the four in hand coaches come driving at Acadia, there is never a lack of inspiration for me. Often the four horses in a team are taken out as pairs....only two pulling the carriage. Its a good way to exercise the horses or get them familiar with their new surroundings. Sometimes one of the four might have a problem that keeps them from being used........and then I get to capture a pair.....its all good! "The Wheelers At Acadia"

 

This sketch is available. I will be painting this scene...edited a bit. But now I am offering the sketch , unframed. Shipping is included for shipments within the USA. You'd be surprised how low the price is on my sketches!!   I do ship overseas...but that of course costs more. Contact me for that.

The Fall Pair - New Casein / Mixmedia Painting

 

"The Fall Pair" ,mixed media, 12 x 12"

 

They work in the fields on the farms. They are the heavy horses who help get the produce to the markets. They are the gentle giants who helped build our world. The Fall Pair are the workers...gentle giants,

I used casein, acrylic paint in this work.

 

This painting is offered now unframed. Shipping within the USA is included in its price.

Looking Homeward

"Looking Homeward" , oil on canvas, 16 x 20" ©2016  kathipeters.com

 

 

The image for this painting started as a graphite sketch in my moleskin sketchbook. I kept looking at my sketch and the image of the chestnut horse looking into the distance...[ looking into his future? ] and it kept saying paint this. The landscape was not so important in the scheme of the composition. The sky was as important an element, for me, as the subject himself. I used my palette knife mostly in the painting of the sky and the landscape. The pensive horse was painted with brush and more detailed, but with a bit of knife work in his mane.  

 

I enjoyed looking at this painting as it stood in my studio on my easel. I enjoyed painting it. And I was very happy when one of the galleries I am with, asked to have it in their gallery after seeing it on my website and my Facebook page. I was changing out work with Equis Art Gallery and agreed to send it down with new work that they wanted.  I explained that it was just dry enough to ship.....and would be send down unframed. They agreed to that. So off "Looking Homeward" went to New York. And then I was pleasantly surprised to heard from Equis Art Gallery that THAT painting had sold as soon as it arrived in the gallery.......a half hour after it had been unpacked. I thank Equis Art Gallery and owner Juliet Harrison. I know that pensive chestnut horse is in a good home where he will be taken care of and loved. That is what I want for all "my horses".



 

 The graphite sketch in my Moleskin sketchbook that prompted the

finished painting of "Looking Homeward".

Drawings, Watercolors and Spring Is Here

"A Fine Cob" , charcoal, 16.5 x 10.5"   SOLD

I have been drawing a lot lately.....It is always a good practice to draw...free hand ....To get your values correct before starting to paint. Time spend drawing is time well spent. It helps get my creative brain working, seeing my subject and while I draw I start envisioning how I want to approach the subject matter, what medium, what support, what direction. The charcoal drawing "A Fine Cob " was drawn with charcoal and when I finished the drawing [which was immediately sold after posting it on my Kathi Peters Art page on Facebook] I knew I wanted to try to approach the same subject with my pastels. I haven't had them out for a long time and I felt it was time to get back into pure pigment and build pure color. I am working on that now, and I am grateful for the fact that pastel is a medium sitting patiently waiting for my getting back to the painting.

 

In the mean time I have finished the two new watercolors featured below. Both of these watercolors are now available for purchase on my website. The cute colt is a Welsh Cob foal ...all legs....and foals are a sign of sweet spring. Our spring is slowly appearing here. All snow is gone from our farm, and left in its wake the season mud, that seems to cover our chestnut pair as they sleep in the sun. I captured them standing together in the winter sun in a 12 x 16" watercolor, "The Winter Chestnuts". No mud coats at that time....white snow and winter's barren trees abound.

 

"The Bay Colt" ,watercolor, 10 x 8" 

"The Winter Chestnuts" watercolor, 12 x 16"

 

On the recent days, ones where we were blessed with sun and warmth, I have been out starting the cleaning of winter's debris....stones and dirt on the lawn, stones on the grass surrounding our stone pathway to our cottage and matted leaves burying the perennial gardens. I have made some headway, but there is still lots to do. It is always a labor of love and time spent out of the studio, cleaning the creative cobwebs out of my head, is always good for my soul.  Fresh air and sunshine.

A Second Draft Pair Painting And The Gift

 

"The Grays" , casein on board, 12 x 12"  ©2015 www.kathipeters.com

 

 Again from our summer days spent at Acadia......the gentle drafts who work at Wildwood Stables, pulling their carriages full of tourists on the beautiful carriage roads of Acadia. These handsome grays wait as their carriage is being loaded.....ready to do their job. I did this painting in casein , and it is on board, cradled and ready to hang. The Grays.

 

 I have been sketching a lot lately. Some of my sketches are sketchy at best. Some end up being more 'finished', and I offer them on my website , as I have found over the years ,that some folks like the sketches, the drawings that usually end up as a painting, rather than the painting its self. "The Gift " is one of those sketches that falls into that category. It depicts a scene that any horse lover has seen many times.... The sweet moment when your horse reaches down to you, sniffing your outstretched hand in anticipation of a treat, an apple, a carrot...a gift. How appropriate for this time of year....the time of the year where we reach out and remember the gift that we were given a long time ago when a baby was born in a stable as the greatest gift of all.

 

 

"The Gift"  , graphite study , 12 x 9" © 2015 www.kathipeters.com

 

 

 I am busy this time of year. I'm finishing up the last of 2015 commissions and trying to get into the new year mode. We are still waiting on our snow......and until it comes I paint.

 

 

Ponies... More Ponies At Acadia

 "Ponies At Acadia" , casein , 9 x 12" ©2015 www.kathipeters.com

This is my latest casein painting done. The subjects , the handsomest four-in-hand of gray ponies,.... who I saw up at Acadia this summer. They were just coming back from a long drive. We were just leaving with our carriage, loaded on out trailer and were heading back from a month of driving at Acadia.

That leader pony, watching me, captured my eye.... I had to paint that inquisitive face. Why didn't I include the carriage and passengers? Because for me it was more about the horses......."Ponies At Acadia"

Most of today was spent in the studio as summer continues it hot muggy and frankly not too pleasant weather. I am not a lover of humidity and heat. But soon winter will come with its blast of frigid cold and snow.....I am hoping for some cool sun-filled fall weather about now. So for the time being I will be cloistered in my studio cave....painting.

The Power and Strength , A New Oil Painting

"The Wheelers"  oil , 14 x 16" ©2015 www.kathipeters.com

Driving a team of four horses pulling a carriage is a sport of gentlemen. There is an old saying that a gentleman doesn't drive more than four. For me, seeing the power and strength of a smartly turned-out four in hand is a thing of beauty. I appreciate the scene in its entirety, but sometimes by looking at the whole, you can miss a piece of it that is special. That is what I did with my latest oil painting done. I honed in on a piece of the whole.  A four-in-hand team is made up of two pair of horses; the strong wheelers who are closest to the carriage and actually do the majority of pulling of the carriage, and the leaders who are usually the flashier pair, finer and brave to be out front.  I have taken a view of the wheelers, up close and in the draft, pulling their carriage. The driving lines to the leaders cut across the wheelers profiles, cutting the composition and providing movement across the painting. It was an interesting and exciting element and fun to paint and develop.  “The Wheelers” is now on my website and available.

 

Our Maine weather has been so hot and muggy this August. Perfect "stay in the studio and paint" weather. I am taking advantage of it and have more paintings in the works. It is a joy awakening every day to work that I love to do…… and so I paint!!

Dolce Castana......Missing Italy A Bit?

 

 

 "Dolce Castana", casein on paper, 9 x 12"  ©2015 www.kathipeters.com

 

Watching horses grazing in their summer fields always gives me a feeling of peace. All is right with the world, in that moment in time.

I titled this casein painting "Dolce Castana"  ..... It means "Sweet Chestnut" in Italian. Memories of Italy. I thought I had finished it yesterday,  photographed it and then looked at it on my pc monitor. I wasn't happy with the values.....so I went back in and finished it today. It is done.

 

 

I have been in the studio working while Maine is blanketed with hot humid summer weather. My studio gardens are growing too tall and blossoming like crazy. So I paint horses?

 

 

 

 

 

My Gardens Are Growing & News

 

Summer has really arrived. …physically and figuratively! I sit writing my blog on the deck. A lovely breeze stirs the green heavily laden trees .The sun shines down on the farm encouraging the gardens to grow. The rugosa roses scent rises in the warm air, bathing the deck in their perfume. Birds are busy at the bird feeders that hang in front of the grape arbor, flittering back and both from the trees to the feeders. A humming bird flies by me as he makes his rounds to window boxes and hanging baskets filled with petunias, zinnias,nasturtiums, marigolds and begonias. Nell sleeps in the shade beside me. Mittens sleeps under the table, half in the sun, half in the shade. Life is good in the summer a Cob Cottage Farm.

 

Most days , weather permitting , we have been driving our Ginger Boys up at Acadia National Park National Park. Each year we wonder if this is going to be the last year of us being able to do this. I pray that it won't be… but we aren't getting any younger and everything is  getting so expensive too.... fingers crossed that art sales keep coming in and our life can go on.

 

"Chestnuts Two" , casein on board , 12 x 12" ©2015 www.kathipeters.com

 

My news on  the art front?  I have my painting “ Chestnuts  Two.” In the current art exhibit at River Arts Gallery’s Members Show. What a talented bunch of artists I am in the company with at River Arts!!!!  Hope you all can make it to the show.

 

Then I have decided to not have my sketches available for purchase anymore on my website and I will be taking off the ones left on my Sketches and Studies page, in a very short time. The ones I do have left up on my website are seriously been discounted! Don't miss out !

And over the next few weeks, I might not be painting much. Time to reflect on my current art work, spend time with my husband and enjoy our days carriage driving our two Morgans. It is a fun sport which  you can share with friends who don't ride or drive… we love doing that!

 

And I  love to paint carriage horses!!

A New Watercolor And A Maine Art Exhibit

 

Our apple trees are laden with blossoms.

 

The month of May has been flying by, it seems. With so many beautiful weather days, I have been getting work done outside in my gardens and with our horses. In the studio I have been busy with a Maine landscape painting and several smaller works that I am still on the fence about. Contrary to popular belief not every painting done is worthy of being shared. Sometimes I have to sit on a fence a day or so after finishing a painting, before I send it out into the wide world for other eyes to see. I know I am not alone with this practice. Quality control at work! 

 

 

"The German Pair" , watercolor on paper, 9.25 x 14"  copyright 2015 www.kathipeters.com

 

I also did do a watercolor of two handsome driving horses. They are of the Polish breed called Heavy Schlesier. They originate from Schlesien, which is now a region in Poland, but before the World War it belonged to Germany. How big and strong they look, yet are wonderful driving horses. “The German Pair" “is available to purchase on my website.

The other work I have done might be added to my website…we shall see!

 

This month was time to clean up and organize my pastel colors. I did that and believe me it was no easy task. Now my pastels are all in one pastel box, organized and at the ready for my foray into pastel work. When THAT will be I don't know but soon ?!

 

 

 

Again this year I have work in the Annual Festival of Art at the Hutchinson Center in Belfast, Maine. The show opened May 21, with an opening reception at 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The show ran May 22 and 23, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday May 24, noon to 3 p.m. I hope you made it to the show. It always has an interesting mix of artwork in this Maine exhibit!

Life goes on at our ‘farmette’……..spring is in full swing with its bountiful display of blossoms and each day’s new color. At the moment….lots of green.

 

And so I paint!