New Fjord Pair Watercolor In The Works

The New Year celebrations are over.We enjoyed dinner with fellow artists and their spouses.[the unsung heroes!].Artist Susan Renee Lammers and her husband Robert invited us to a lovely dinner highlighted by a delicious seafood chowder that we shared with Gregory Dunham, his wife Pat and their daughter.There was much laughter and talk....a great start to the new year 2012. Now it is time to get back to the studio with new conviction and to create.

"Fjord Pair"  watercolor  ©2012 Kathi peters

I have started a watercolor of a driving pair of Fjords horses.It is almost done at this point. A second painting,a casein on paper sits on my easel, and I work on that while I wait for the watercolor to dry between glazes. I am not one for hurrying up the drying progress of watercolors with the use of a hair blower....I prefer to let nature take it's course and elect in stead, to use that time to change direction,with new eyes and work in another medium.....still a water medium... but in my first love casein!

And I have prepared a copper panel for a new oil....Now I need to get that idea sketched out onto the copper.  A new year...new ideas!

Maine is cold now.This morning the temperature was a bone chilling 3º F. Nellie and I are trying to work up energy to head down to the barn to do barn chores.Just a another cup of coffee and I should be ready to go!!

Cold frozen ground,with clouds rushing by. © 2012 kathi peters

Driving Through Flowers

"Driving Through Flowers"  casein    24 x 12"

Yesterday I finished this casein on board.....Another painting inspired by the beautiful Friesian mares of Tanbark Acres Farm in Cana, Virginia. They are in the middle of foaling season on their farm now.....I am hoping for more beautiful Friesians to paint from their bevy of beauties!
Thank you, Tanbark Acres!  The painting is available and can be seen on my website.

Part of being an artist is making decisions. Decisions on what to paint?,,,what medium to use?..what format to do?...how to start and when to finish each painting.??  And then what paintings should go to what galleries?..... what invitational shows?.... even what to blog about? [ If one chooses to blog...another choice! ]  I am very bad at making decisions.....and that is how my day started today....What to eat for breakfast? One or two cups of coffee? Stay in my pj's to paint? or actually get dressed in jeans? ......I am tired already.

But I need to feed the horses hay again and do barn chores..........so, I think I will stay in my pj's under my snow pants, bundle myself into my down coat and head to the barn. All those other decisions can be decided on later.....as we say in Italy.."Domani Domani!!

Our Cobs mares.... waiting for hay!

A Turkey For Every Pot

We have turkeys everywhere. They are in my gardens, under the bird feeders, kicking up the snow and leaving their calling cards splattered behind them. As much as I do enjoy hearing their chatter in the distance,and see in them  as they cross our fields... THIS is too much ,thank you! I was working in my studio, when I heard them outside my door where they declared their joy as they cleaned up the bits of seeds left by the song birds. I grabbed my camera and shot a few. [ I don't have a gun.] Some of the photos I took were shot through the screens that are still up on the windows, but I still was able to get some fairly good shots of the marauders! I am thinking that the soup kitchens should come to my garden and harvest the bounty of Ben Franklin's "national bird"! 

I have been working on a 12 x 24" casein painting of a driven Freisian horse, forward moving and trotting out!  I thought I might show you the work in progress. The painting is on a gessoed board.

The first layer of paint is where the highlights and shadows are done with a watery watercolor affect. At this point, I have used Payne's Gray,Yellow Ochre,Terra Verte, Purple, Ultramarine Blue, Naples Yellow and Titanium White.The gesso soaks up the watery paint.

Now I have started going in with a thicker mix of casein paint with less water,more pigment. This is where it is today. I am letting it dry while I varnished some new caseins, and ship off some work.

I even went for a walk down to the barn with Nellie. She sat and waited while I fed out hay to the horses.....I am sure she was calculating how long it will take for our snow-pile by the barn ,to melt.

while looking for turkeys!

Nellie and one of our many  driveway snow piles!

Back Into 'A Pair & A Spare'

"A Pair and a Spare" A work in progress. copyright 2011

With days of snow, snow, snow..and then more snow.....I have had time to get back into a large canvas I started some time ago. I am easily distracted....and some smaller works have been started and finished since I began this casein painting. BUT,  it is moving along famously now....I can see the light at the end of the tunnel with this piece. That always excites me!

I have gone back into the painting with more detail work and worked on shadows and highlights on the horses and  the spilling over hayrack. With only a bit more to do on this painting, I am heading to the studio now.

Details added but a bit more to go! The canvas is 30 x 40"

Nellie is telling me I need to take her on a walk first.....Today we are blessed with abundant sun and temperatures up into the mid 40's. It would be a shame to miss some of the sunshine....so off we go! The painting can wait a bit more.............

February sunshine- Winter snow

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



What Words Can Not Express

Sweet Adeline  6 - 20 - 2000  ~ 1 - 12 - 2011

Last week was a week of storms, tears and loss. We lost our Sweet Adeline, a 10 year old Pembroke Welsh Corgi. She was my heart dog…that special friend who was always beside me ….watching me…..looking for a signal from me about a task at hand to be done…be it a horse that needed herding , a cat that needed putting in its place, a Jack Russell who needed a warning not to touch something. Addie came to us a wee snip of a pup, but all ears…..and then her nose grew…..her body lengthened …but her legs did not.

"Pembroke on Persian"    casein         10 x 10"

She was a fine specimen of Corgwyn…..and with a vocabulary that was longer then her body and just as pointed as her nose. She sat by my side in the studio and talked to me while I painted. She always had something to tell the vacuum cleaner….a story to tell anyone who came through our house door. When I came home from hospital in 2006 after suffering a stroke, she would not leave my side. She had to be with me, watching and making sure I was ok and not leaving again.

"I Am Watching You"       casein           6 x 8"

 And now she has left me alone…Even having our Nellie here with me, it is not the same. Nell is sweet…and loving….but she fills different voids…different needs with her company. She is not Addie.

"Cob And Corgi"     casein       12 x 12"

We knew our time with Addie might be short from the get go... Addie was born with a heart murmur, and suffered congestive heart failure…..But we were blessed with her presence for 10 lovely years. She was my muse and often painted. Words come hard right now….maybe a painting IS worth a thousand words. Tears come easily.

"Pokey Pembroke"      oil on copper        5 x 7"

“There is sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.”  ~Washington Irving



Lift Off

"Lift Off"                              8 x 13"                           wateroolor

This watercolor was finished earlier this week.......it is available on my website.

After this watercolor painting, I am putting away my watercolors for a bit and getting back into my caseins. It has been a hard week for us here at Cob Cottage ...........but more about that later.

Gypsies....I LOVE THEM

"The Gypsy"      Casein on board             8 x 10"  

Consider this painting done. Now it needs to dry a few days. Then I will will varnish it. This Gypsy is one I saw on my Kentucky trip last September. She was at Gala Driving Center in Georgetown, KY. where we were given a tour of their wonderful grounds and carriage driving facility. I captured some other shots of this gypsy and also a lovely Irish Draught there.....more inspiration for future works.

A big box sits at our front door waiting for the FedEx driver. Packing and shipping is a time consuming evil when you make your living as an artist. [Or should that read 'try to make a living as an artist' !??]  This  box of paintings is heading to Cazenovia ,New York, where my work will be hanging in the Reisman Hall Art Gallery's invitational show  "Le Cheval". This  exhibit opens Nov.3rd with a reception from 4 - 5:30 pm and it will be there until Dec. 9th .

Life has been exciting lately...my heavens... I was picked by Blogger as a BLOG OF NOTE !! I am not sure what the criteria is for receiving such an honor, but it certainly has increased the hits on my blog!! I can't believe it was picked for the world shaking posts I make!! Now I am haunted by the specter of witty dialogue. Appropriate for the season, I suppose.....it being Halloween and all!!    

Which reminds me.....I need candy.  

Fall Is Here

The sky at sunset from our deck last night.

Last week was hot and summer like. Yesterday the weather turned towards fall. And the end of the day blessed us with this lovely evening sky....pink, purple and promising a bright day today.

There is the usual fall scrabble to get things cleaned up and put away for the season. The garden needs cutting back, fall tilling and garlic bulbs planted for next year's yield. I will take it all one day at a time. That is the best I can do. I have to paint....seasonal commissions need doing and the passing days press me to get them done. I always look forward to the new year, freeing me up for more "me" time...to actually get the original works done that I so want to do. But for now I will work on the the work that needs doing.

Addie sleeps on the couch,waiting for a walk.

The dogs seem to know that this a busy time for me....that walks and play time has to be done around my schedule.....that I can't be bothered when I am in the studio and when I am in the middle of some important part of a painting. They sit and wait....sleep and snore..... just being  good dogs.

Nellie and her cleaned and bushy baby.

Nellie sits and waits for me, her baby [an unstuffed fox?] always by her side. The "baby" keeps her happy while I work. With the 'baby" washed and sweet smelling, she waits for a chance to play, throw that baby around and " shake it silly "......there is a time to play and a time to work.  To work!

Equestrian Fine Art Exhibit And Auction

With many stunning pieces of art ,this exhibit is a MUST SEE if you are in the Saugerties,NY area next Friday, 10th of September! My painting "Riding With" was juried into this show and is available for purchase AND you can bid on line too. Check it out at http://www.hitsshows.com/

Cowboys and Winter Squash - It's Good To Dream

Casein on canvas-Work In Progress- As it stands now

The days flew by this past week and I didn't get much done on this casein canvas of the three drafts. [A Pair & A Spare] But I did want to show those who are interested in my method, at what point the painting is now .I have done a bit more definition,with lighter lights etc, BUT  the work has a long way to go still.

 I also started two oils on copper panels, a 10 x 10 equine piece and a 10 x 10 garden scene. Working on those two works got me dreaming...dreaming about heading out west to paint cow-ponies and cowboys ...stark western landscapes and bright colors....all while sitting here in green green Maine. Travelling in my head! But it is a dream that I will pursue at some point. You have to have dreams!

My winter squash hanging out in our garden!

The grass keeps growing around our cottage lawns...[needs mowing] and the veggies are growing rampant on the farm! I have winter squash and cukes climbing our garden arbor, vining around my grapes and morning-glories. What a splendid display of the effects of spreading composted horse manure around the gardens!  So I decided to paint my garden's bounty! Last spring these veggies were just a dream. So I hauled old manure and tilled the soil and watered the seeds...and now Voila! Beauty and bounty!

I can just hope that my artwork can yield the same .....and I can get out west and paint those cowboys!!

I have a dream...............

Catch Me If You Can

After trying to get this painting shot in a manner that does it justice..I am going with the best shot I have at the moment. This 5 x 7 casein on canvas on board, Titled "Catch Me" is available and may be put on my website at some point....when I get a "round to-it". Let this be another lesson for me [and I keep having to relearn this!] that varnished caseins are very hard to photograph! This scene is a view of our Cob colt as a weanling...and he often gave me this view when I went out to catch him from the pasture where he was turned out with our geldings. Legacy was a sweety...but like most Cobs...opinioned. He has turned out to be a great boy..super driving Cob and is campaigned by Mary Gray for the Gorman's.

I am working on getting my "news" together and will soon be sending out the latest from Cob Cottage. Last year was a stellar year for me in spite of 'myself'! Already 2009 plans of passing that!

Stay tuned!!

Icelandic-Head Study

I have been captivated by Icelandic horses since a friend introduced me to them..she raises them. I actually first saw them at Equine Affaire years ago.....the awesome drill team and their thrilling exhibition of the Icelandics gaits! Mind you, I ride Tenn. Walkers........a very comfortable ride..but the Icelandics have it over them in spades as far as thrill!!!
This handsome "guy" was at Equine Affaire....I loved his mane and eye. I captured him in a 11 x 8 1/2" watercolor and am putting it up on my website.

Can It Get Any Better Than This??

This is one of the nicest days weather wise .......the fall colors are a blaze and the sun is shinning. I just ate my lunch by the garden fish pond, listing to the running water and the rustling of the leaves as the squirrels and Corgi play in the woods. I am delaying going up to the studio..because some hornets took up house-keeping in the studio while I had the deck sliding-doors open to let in the warm fresh air. Good excuse, huh?

But I do have to post that this watercolor is done...........12 x 12" on watercolor board....it was fun painting it and I had a neat photo as reference from a Peruvian Horse Farm in Texas. JyW Coyote Creek Ranch. They breed the beautiful Peruvian Paso Horse on their farm.... and this is a painting of Three Peruvian Paso Horses.. full of 'brio' !!! Love doing portraits like this! I am calling it "Trio Brio"...neat huh?

I guess I have to get to work today. My sister arrives this week and I will be having fun and visiting with her over the next weeks.....But it won't be all playtime...I am sure I will get some work done!!! Not!