Tell Me A Story

"Tell Me A Story"   Oil on copper   12 x 12"   ©2012  www.kathipeters.com

The weather has been gray. My computers ....BOTH computers....were on the fritz and I have been feeling alone, isolated and out of touch from the world!!! But good things do happen and my desktop PC is back ....and I am painting and the weather seems to be warming up a bit. So all is not lost!!!



I have two shows opening  [and opened] in Lexington,KY. where my work is hanging. The American Academy of Equine Art has their Spring Invitational show "The Horse In Fine Art" exhibited in the wonderful old Spindletop Hall. The show will be hanging until May 26th ...if you are in the Lexington area check it out. You will not be disappointed...this years show is stellar and I am very happy to have my oil painting  "Angels and Horses" hanging in the show.Work is for sale in this exhibit...and it is a great chance to add you art collection!!

"Angels and Horses"   Oil on copper        8 x 10"   ©2011 www.kathipeters.com

I also have work in a show opening next week at Gallery B in Lexington proper....but I will post about that in a bit................

Now I am working on a casein on Ampersand Claybord...a neat substrate to work on. Almost as slick as oil on copper , but the clay gesso sucks up the paint and it all dries to a lovely matte finish. So back to the drawing board for this...I am working on my drawing table because the paint would dribble if I worked on my easel. ... I work as if I am working in watercolor on this claybord. So back to the proverbial drawing-board!!!!    

New Painting In The Works

"The Yellow Door"  a work in progress............copyright 2012 www.kathipeters.com

Spring seems to have arrived. Nell and I have been taking walks out into the back pastures and I have been inundated with ideas for new paintings, all inspired by our farm, our horses, my world. This casein on canvas pictured above is the first .....and I have a copper panel ready for an oil landscape. I know that soon [ if the weather cooperates ] I will be called outside to prepare gardens and dig in the dirt. I can't wait! So I am driven to create more now, so I can garden later!!

My work has been invited into the American Academy of Equine Art's Invitational Exhibit "The Horse In Fine Art"  to be hung in Lexington,KY at  the historic Spindletop Hall. The show opens April 2 and hangs through May 26, 2012.

I will also be having work again in the 10th Annual "Festival of Art" in Belfast, Maine at The University of Maine's Hutchinson Center. This show opens May 10th with thier reception and then runs through the 13th. These are two are some the many shows I am particapating in this spring ...more to come this summer. So I guess I need to keep focused and painting.....   so hard when spring starts calling!!!

Spring pushes back the snow from the fields. copyright 2012   www.kathipeters.com



Keeneland Study

"The Paddock Walk"    oil   6 x 8"    copyright 2012     www.kathipeters.com

I have been looking through photos for reference material for new paintings. I have just finished [?] this small 6 x8" study in oil of a Keeneland Paddock scene. I was planning on maybe doing it bigger ,and more involved. I love the colors in this. I tried to keep it loose...keep it simple. The oil is giving off a glare now,and so I will get a better shot when things dry a bit. This is done on canvas on board, so it will take longer to dry than my oils on copper panels do. I will probably put it on my website when done.

The studio smells  of oil paint and medium.... so Nell and I took a walk into our fields that are now open, with only snow around the woods line. The sun shines brightly today, with a nippy March wind that is refreshing after a morning in the studio. What a blessing to have this spot to walk in, explore and enjoy. There was so much I saw in this short walk that I want to paint. God willing. So back to the paint.

The Birches In March   copyright 2012  www.kathipeters.com

Another Small Casein Painting - Keeneland Morning

"Keeneland Morning"   Casein on Board   6 x 6"   ©2012 kathi peters

It might be cold and wintry here in Mid-Coast Maine,but I am keeping warm in my studio painting memories of past summer visits to Kentucky and the behind the scenes racetrack excitement. I love the hustle and bustle that goes on, the training and conditioning of the horses.So many paintings to be done....keeps my winters busy here.

The above is a small 6 x 6" casein of morning training.....a familiar scene there. The painting is available on my website,and is offered framed and ready to hang.

The Grapes Are Ready

The grapes are ready.....   copyright 2011 Kathi Peters

A sure sign of fall is the ripening of the Concord grapes on our arbor.I am ready to do a painting of them,and have been checking on their progress each day.The time has come!! Now if the rain would stop....just for a while...I will do a painting of them in their lovely purple hue...it will be an oil on copper....I can't wait!!!

My last roses of summer are on the bush....I think I need to do a painting of them too.This all needs to be done soon....the days seem to fly by....I feel a need to capture the sweet songs of summer  and of fall as they slip away.

My roses   copyright 2011 - Kathi Peters

This Friday,Nov 7th is the opening reception of the TWO PERSON SHOW at Gallery B in Lexington,KY. I regret that I will not be there in person....but my artwork will share the stage with the work of Veronica Clark...and I will be there in spirit. I am also donating a portion of my sales  to the American Stroke Association.....so please help me to help them!!!
and enjoy the show!!!

New Mixed Media Equine Painting

'

"Champion"    Graphite & Casein on claybord     12 x 12"

The second work is done in a series I am doing where I am depicted a horse in graphite and then going back in to highlight selected area's with my casein paint adding color.I have done a driving horse,a hunter jumper now and will be doing at least 2 more of various disciplines.
They are done on Ampersand museum series claybord,a very archival substrate. "Champion" will be put on my website for sale.

The house has been in upheaval..with no time to clean!!!!.The studio was full with packages and wrapped paintings heading down to Lexington,Ky. and Gallery B for a show that opens on October 7th with a reception .....The show will be a 2 person show...I share the show with fellow artist Veronica Clark of North Carolina. I will not be able to get down to the reception,but I do hope that everyone will check out the exhibit...and add to their collection of my work.I am giving a portion of my sales to the American Stroke Association.As a stroke survivior I am invested in this Association.....and their purpose. Help me help?

Thought you might be interested in seeing a studio in flux.....here is how it was earlier this week before the paintings were boxed and sent.....

Pre shipping

And this is how it looks today!!

I have my studio back!!! and I am looking forward to making use of it!!

Hard To Get Good Help

Studio helper.

As the days pass, and yes, they are shorter now, I have gathered up my work to pack and send down to Gallery B's 2-person show I am in, for the opening date of Oct 7th....in Lexington,KY. The latest watercolor that I finished, needs to be taken to my framer to be framed and I still need to frame a few small works that I will frame myself. Nellie helps me in the studio...and checks out each painting to make sure that it is tagged and signed! I would be lost without her!

I am almost done a 12 x 12" mixed media work......here are two shots of the work as it is in progress. I am playing with a new approach to what will be a series...I am sure. This is done on Ampersand Clay Board and I am loving this substrate!

Getting the drawing  right.........

Almost done the drawing and then going in with the paint......

Back to the drawing board.....I will post the finished work very soon. I am in with the paint already as my studio help sleeps....getting her beauty sleep!

Painting With Casein While Juggling

"Storm Brewing"  Still in Progress   Casein on Board         12 x 12"

Lately I have been working on paintings from photos from my last year's trip to Lexington,KY. I have a life's worth of subject matter filed, ready to be painted. I am sure I won't get them all done in my life time, but I will have fun trying! The above painting is almost done....I think it needs a bit of a tweak...and will get it done today. Then "Storm Brewing" will be up on my website. Remember all work bought from my studio is shipped free in the USA....even if it is framed....so don't hesitate to buy through easy secure Pay pal.....!!!

My poppies.

The almost summer days are busy now...gardens call.....horses call...sometimes even hubby calls...Kathi,Where is ..???..etc etc!!" I am trying to juggle....so far so good.

Now to the studio now....

Cluck - New Casein

"Cluck"                casein on board                     6 x 6"

Maybe it is because I am thinking Spring and Easter eggs and green grass.....but here is a new little casein done on canvas on board. For me, chickens mean spring......"Cluck" is available on my website.

"Durham Fields", pictured below, is another small casein  that was prompted by my thoughts of summer flowers and back roads. The old barn in the painting used to be standing on that field in Durham, Maine. The road that past by it was a dirt road and I rode my horses past this barn for years,until the road was paved....the barn fell down ...and new houses were built in the fields. Sweet memories.

We still have patches of snow around the farm. Some of those patches are two feet deep! But winter is leaving and a glimpse of spring it evident...this always makes my spirits soar! I have had good days in the studio,  new buds are starting on the trees and bushes outside, new paintings are sprouting inside!

"Durham Fields"     casein on board         6 x 6"

 Gallery B in Lexington, Kentucky, is having the opening reception of their  "Spring Invitational" art show on March 31st. My work is included in the mix that will be showcased there. I hope my Kentucky friends and clients will be able to get to see the show. I have sent some new work down to them....stop in and have a glass of wine and enjoy the art!

I am thinking about getting the rake out and starting to clean some of the garden.....but rain and s-n-o-w are predicted for later this week............I need to paint.

And Yet It Snows



"February Chill"             casein on board               6 x 6"                   copyright 2011

It snowed yesterday. It is snowing today. As I write, the gray skies are spilling white onto our farm, covering the woods and fields with another blanket of white. The horses are settled in their stalls after having a morning turnout while their stalls were cleaned. Nell has played in the barn, moused and inspected the stalls for treasures. Now we wait, cozy in our cottage, for the storm to end......then we can continue the endless shoveling. I think of Italy a lot in the winter!!!!

I did the small casein painting, pictured above, after watching Duster [my 23 year old Tennessee Walker gelding ] as he ate his hay that was spread over a snow mound. The day was cold and white. The days have been that way a lot lately!

The painting is available purchase on my website.....along with many other works!

My work is being featured in the art show "All Creatures Large and Small", that has it's opening reception February 3 , 2011 at Gallery B in Lexington, Kentucky. It is a fun show where a portion of the profits from the sales go to benefit the Lexington Humane Society. So I am hoping my Kentucky friends and clients can make that show and help the Humane Society ......it is all about the animals.

The snow is falling harder now.....Nell is so glad she has a cozy house.....she is one of the lucky beasts!!



Cozy Nell



New Painting In The Ring

 

"In The Ring"     mixed media     12 x 12"

In spite of the distractions of the hint of spring in the air and the gardens needing raking, horses needing shedding and dogs needing walking.....AND the fact that my studio space is STILL neither here nor there....I have finished a 12 x 12 casein and acrylic painting of a gray dressage horse titled" In The Ring". 

I also have received the exciting news that my oil painting "Four-Up At Acadia" is to be exhibited in an invitational art show ,  "The Horse In Fine Art  'A Salute to the World Equestrian Games' " which will hang in The Lexington History Museum in Lexington,Kentucky during the summer equestrian games.The exhibit is organized by The American Academy Of Equine Art in partnership with Keeneland Foundation and will be on display from April 16 through November 1,2010. I will probably not get down to the Lexington History Museum show until September when I will having a show opening and reception at Gallery B..also in Lexington and on the same street!! 

I also have been doing my 20 minute ink sketches religiously....and having fun doing them...Check them out!! They are right here on my blog!!

Look up ^   up below the header!!! ;-)

Now time to haul some more 'stuff' down to the new studio space.........

Another White Horse

I have been working on this 11 3/4 x 13 3/4" casein for a few days now, on and off. Yes, another white foreshortened horse. This is a subject that I can not get tired of exploring. And I will be doing more white horses over time...a series of sorts. [Like my 'Shades of Black' series that can be seen on my website.] This is a stallion from the Darley Farm in Lexington KY., a wonderful Thoroughbred Stud Farm that I was privileged to visit last spring.You don't see many farms like this here in Maine!

It is quiet today at Cob Cottage Studio...Nellie, our non-stop Jack Russell Terrier, is at the vet's, where she will spend the night, recuperating after having been spade this morning. She is doing well..or so I was told when I called a bit ago to check on her progress. Addie, our Corgi, is enjoying her reprieve from her nemesis and napping and taking leisurely strolls around the farm. How Nell has changed our life...for the better....since she came into it a year ago. But for today we are enjoying a quiet time.

A Jack Called Punky

This handsome fellow was all Jack when we visited Cobra Farm in Lexington,KY. last May, during my solo show at Gallery B. Though I was taken with all the beautiful thoroughbred horses at the farm, it seems the dogs I met there have come alive on my canvases first.
This is a small 8 x 6" casein on canvas on board.

Another rainy day finds me back in the studio for the afternoon. My pups are sleeping.The house is quiet. It's a good time to paint.

Knowing Where I Am Going

I have been asked by so many about my process of painting, how do I paint? How do I pick my subject matter and how do I approach a work?

Writing my process is the hard job...[ Can you say Aphasia?].......
but maybe showing it might be easier for me!

I recently started a large canvas of a horse and rider that I saw when I was at the Kentucky Horse Park. I was down there for my solo show at Gallery B in Lexington, in May.There was a hunter jumper 3-phase going on at The KHP that peaked my interest, so I sat and watched it for a while. I watched the stadium jumping and the warm up arena where there were various equestrians warming up, practicing and some were even taking last minute lessons with their trainers.There was eye candy for me everywhere and so hard for me to focus on what I felt I needed to capture. But this one rider and her horse kept piquing my interest....they had movement and excitement. So that is how I pick my subject matter ...to start. Above is the charcoal sketch I did on the 40 x 30" canvas.

Then I go in with my colors to give it some design....some definition as to what colors I want to use ..the darks and lights, and the entire composition element of the work. I have decided the depth of the work and where the light is coming from.

With casein, I have to wait while the paint dries between phases.....before I can go back in to glaze the next color over or if I want to intensify the current color. In my process I glaze, cross- hatch, dark over light...or light over dark...what suits my purpose. There are NO rules...and with casein I can do thin washes , graded washes,or do scumbling or broken colors techniques. I sometimes add a bit of acrylic into my casein paint....sometimes I add a larger concentration of casein emulsion into my paint. What I do in one painting is not necessarily what I do in the next.
I guess that is how I address life. There are no rules. Life changes and should the input and out put.

So this is where I am with this painting so far. Have I answered any questions?

Kentucky Sunrise

This is a detail of the finished "Kentucky Sunrise" casein [18 x 18"] on canvas. The entire painting shows a panorama of the fenced fields at Darley Farm in Lexington. This stallion is Hard Spun who stands at Darley and who was an undefeated Stakes winner as a two year old. The power of this man, even standing as stud, is undeniable. The morning that we visited him he had just rolled in dirt....living the good life at this point in his career!

More handsome studs from this farm are in the works. So many and so awesome! I will be posting the whole view of the painting on my website. But we are still dealing with a sick Corgi and farm chores and life that just seems to keep getting in the way. Blog entries will be short and sweet for now!

Trivia Galore

Well, I received the new palette and have filled it with some of my casein colors that I use. I almost don't want to touch it now, as it is so nice and pristine. But I know I need to "bite the proverbial bullet" and get down and dirty with it. I just needed to show everyone how nice it looks!! :-)

I have been busy going through the pile of photo shots taken in KY during our visit. Here is a shot of Bobbye and I in front of the American Academy of Equine Art. Bobbye and Ed were our hosts and tour guide during our entire stay. They gave us a royal tour of equine highlights in Lexington and Louisville; and then in Cincinnati we got into the arts and architecture of that great city. We can't thank them enough!


I have been painting some, but the past week was also taken up with caring for our Corgi, Addie, as she tries to get over a bad eye infection. Part of the ordeal is also keeping the puppy, Nell, away from Addie as the poor girl heals. Like kids!

Back to the drawing board now as I finish up a casein painting of a Lexington thoroughbred stallion who posed for me ....I know he wanted to be painted! I am putting the finishing touches on it now.

Be Aware This May

May is Stroke Awareness month. It is also the month that my solo art show titled ”Finding My Voice” opens in Lexington, Kentucky at Gallery B, with a reception on May 8th from 5-8 pm. The works in this show were recreated over that past two and a half years…since August of 2006. That date is pivotal in the theme of the show. But let me digress…read my blog entry of May 19th, 2008 that explains a lot. ....

"What May Means To Me Or Why I Blog" MAY 19TH 2008

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 [and last year] 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 really talk and tell them what I felt and 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.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 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 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. Life was good!!!

In the week 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!

This year and half that has passed has been difficult. Our horses became my therapy, as I brushed them while walking with a cane, my hand and arm gained strength. I cleaned stalls needing the muck fork to help stand up with. 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, who helped me start to get over some the Aphasia problems…and an occupational therapist to help me get my 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 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 I have also been blessed with a wonderful husband who has been beside me through it all. Les has been the wind beneath my wings.So in a nutshell….that is my story. Why I blog.. and the road leading up to the beginning of my blog. That is my story and I am sticking with it.

SO…. next week, May 2009, we head down to Lexington, KY. for my solo show and a chance to explain to folks about stroke and the ramifications of it on it’s victims and their caregivers. I am one of the “lucky” stroke survivors…After a life time of suffering TIA’s [ little mini strokes ] and not knowing what they were really about…I feel a need now to tell more people about stroke and it’s symptoms. If I had paid attention to the TIA’S over the years before, maybe today I wouldn’t have the language skills deficit and the right-sided physical problems that I have today. What I didn’t tell doctors kept me from having the care I should have had before the stroke even happened. If I can help one person from experiencing stroke…it is worth it. Folks just don’t know ……maybe I can help?

But on the bright side….I do hope to see you at my reception…May 8th…5 to 8…be there!!! I will be looking for you!!!

It Might Look Messy

But there really is a method to my mess...it works for me. I think I have explained before, in previous posts, that I do not paint in the time honored traditional ways. My palette is not set up traditionally. My entire studio is none conformist! The story of my life!!
I have been asked by several folks, artists and clients, to show a peek at my palette…so aiming to please.. here it is! ” Ah?” You say…..”It’s a mess!!” Maybe by some standards it is. But the most important fact is that I get the paint out of this shamble and do manage to put it down in the right spots on the canvas or board, or paper!
The other question I am frequently asked is "What colors do you use?"
At any given time I might be using Naples Yellow, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Red Scarlet, Ultramarine Blue Deep, Cobalt Blue, Cerulean Blue, Paynes Gray, Shiva Violet, Raw Umber, Venetian Red, Halftone Black, Golden Ochre, Raw Sienna, Terra Verte, [ I LOVE Terra Verte!!]Cadmium Green and of course Titanium White. I don't use a Ivory Black but will often mix my own black black if I need it.
All these colors are employed my casein painting...and I use them on canvas, paper, gessoed board...I love them!
I also love watercolors , but that is another ball of wax!

So my palette might be messy...I agree!! But I think this painting [ "Driven" ] is neat! I am hating to part with it. I sometimes get that feeling about a finished work and hang on to them...this is one of those! But"Driven" is slated to hang in the Gallery B show next month. We are starting to pack works that will be shipped down to Lexington over the next two weeks. My shipper is snoring on the couch at the moment! So I will continue to paint!

Doesn't "Driven" look lovely framed?

Framed Again

The past few weeks have been riddled with the distraction of getting a solo art show together of my works for a lovely gallery in Lexington, Kentucky. Gallery B is hanging a show of my artwork that has all been produced since my stroke in the summer of 2006. As I pulled all these works together, I see a definite change in my work since that life changing event ...yes, I have been able to paint since, during and before....but there is a certain "Je ne sais pas que" change in it all. I can't wait to see it all hung in one gallery to make a collective statement. Opening reception is May 8TH at 5-8 pm. I hope all you blog followers who live around Lexington will come and see me and my work....and a portion of all sales will be donated to the National Stroke Association

The Show is called "Finding My Voice". Like many victims of stroke, I was left with language skill deficits ...spelling, finding words, numbers and writing all became hard or at times impossible..but my Lord, my art,our horses and dogs, my gardens, some really great friends and the quietness of our lovely little farm in Maine healed me and life does go on...And golly gee!!!! I am having a solo art show in Lexington, KY....The Heart of Horse Country, USA!!

Two of the smallest paintings are pictured above. These are both from my 'Shades of Black' series, and are done in casein on board...the paintings are only 4 x 4"...neat little squares! This series is a study of light and shadows on black horses at different times of the day and different seasons.

I am excited about the upcoming show..but our farm keeps me grounded.....with cleaning stalls and shedding out dusty winter hair-coats from 4 equine beasts and two canine beasties.

The Equestrian

I am painting today when I should be getting things together 'better' for my solo show with Gallery B in Lexington, KY. in May. But I really believe one [ meaning me!] needs to paint while the muse is hot. So I finished this mixed media painting [ 10 x 10 1/4"] of my mother as "The Equestrian". As I explained before in an early post on my blog, and will explain again.....I am working on a series of works depicting my family and times in their lives. I feel a need at this point in my life to make a statement about my family's past. I am hoping that someone will connect with this statement and understand what I am trying to say. At times I don't really know What I am saying?!! So good luck to us all!!

The wind has kicked up a notch here on the farm and gray clouds have replaced the sun that shone earlier. Spring is being it usual fickle self. I don't mind though as the promise of bulbs bursting and flowers blooming is so evident! So while the weather brews a storm, I will take care of things that need being done for the May show and think about what I plan on doing in the gardens when weather permits. It will at some point! It always does!