Beautiful Jim Key DONE For The Mural

My panel is done and ready to be shipped..........Nice to have it done....

and now I am able to get busy on some other works, some commissions and works for upcoming shows, that I have had to put on hold because the deadline loomed for the Le Cadeau Du Cheval- The Gift of the Horse. I will be checking for my panel to see when it gets up onto the mother image.

It is hot today in my loft studio........95 outside. This is hot for June in Maine. I guess I need to start working outside a bit when the weather is like this!!

Yesterday we took the day off and headed north the I favourite spot...ACADIA! No artwork was done but I did get some awesome photo shots for future paintings. I love Acadia National Park! It always feeds my muse!!

Almost Done- ALMOST

I must confess....I have been in the garden more than the studio ....but, heh...it was a long cold winter and that is my excuse. That and the fact that I have too many gardens and am making more all the time. With me it is like potato chips....one is never enough. That is also my excuse for why I have 4 horses. This is the walk way to our home.......gardens to the left of me ...gardens to the right!! But I love it and they feed my soul.
[There are also gardens behind the house]


This is where I am with the panel for the mural "Le Cadeau Du Cheval" . I think I only have to add some highlights and then it will be good to go. I think..................


The painting that is sitting on the easel behind it needs to get done................
I guess I do NEED to get out of my gardens...for a while at least.

Le Cadeau Du Cheval-The Gift of the Horse

Several weeks ago I received my panel for a mural that I am working on with an impressive bunch of artists from around the world. The project is directed by The Mural Mosaic team and the mural we are now working on is called "Le Cadeau Du Cheval" or "The Gift Of The Horse". All artists receive a panel already toned with color and we have to create our own painting staying within the realm of the tones and values in the panel. I received #174 [see above ] and have started my panel with a sketch of the subject matter which I chose.
I elected to do a painting of Beautiful Jim Key [the smartest horse in the world] and his owner Bill Key. I am reading the book about Jim and his life right now! So far so good!


So I have sketched Jim and the Dr. in charcoal and have already started painting in casein. Below is the sketch after in the first day of work.........figuring out the composition and what information I want to portray in the work. I also will be adding a building into the background.

Since then I have added some casein and added a background of the pavilion where Jim was introduced to the world at the 1904 World Fair...........It is a fascinating story about Jim...his owner and trainer and the start of the American Humane Education Society. William Key, an ex-slave from Shelbyville, Tenn. , a Civil War veteran and an acclaimed horse-whisperer, is recognized for helping to start a worldwide animal rights movement. And Beautiful Jim Key was the star who helped with that humane movement.

As the panel progresses I will keep you posted............ this is fun!