Signs Of Spring

"Signs Of Spring" , oil on gallery canvas, 8 x 10" copyright 2018

 
We have raised several foals on our farm....two Tennessee Walking colts and two Welsh Cob foals, a filly and a colt. I have painted them all over the years. I could not get through this spring without foals. So I have painted some.....not ours this time. I do miss having our own foals running around the farm, but I can paint them.

This fine foal is feeling the joy that is spring, in a world with sweet new green growth and blue skies. He's looking for his forever  home! 

 This oil painting is on gallery wrapped canvas, ready to hang on your wall.

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.

 

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.

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".

Three Sketches and Drawings Available

 

"Two"  graphite study ,  9 x 12" ©2016 kathipeters.com

 

While working on several paintings in the studio, I worked on several drawings/studies ......and here are three that I have decided to sell. They are available on my website.  At least one of these will become a painting.  I am always a day ahead of myself. 

 

 

"Alone With His Thoughts" , graphite , 16 x 20" ©2016 kathipeters.com

 

Days go by and I can easily loose track of what day of the week it is, but I always know what I am going to do tomorrow in the studio.That is a comforting feeling.

 

"By Sun's Set-Study" , 18 x 12" ©2016 kathipeters.com 

 

 

 

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.

 

"Empty Nest"   oil on copper   5 x 5"

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"

Angels And Horses

This 8 x 10"  still-life oil painting is almost done.

Today a winter storm rages outside the studio.  I am cloistered in this cozy space, working on several works..... but the above oil painting on copper panel, is almost done. It depicts objects that I love, and that all have a connection to my life. The angel is one of my angels that came with me when I came back to America after living for years in Italy. I have a small collection of these angels, angels who I imagine came out of churches at some time in the past. I bought them in street markets near our apartment in Milano....How I loved shopping there with my mother.There were no supermarkets in Italy then. Everyday we shopped for our fresh food and vegetables. And while my mother food shopped, I hunted for treasures, like my angels. Today they guard my sleep in our bedroom. The book "The Art Of The Horse" sits on a table in my studio, to always inspire me. The Indian block print cloth underneath, was a gift from a dear friend. They all have meaning for me...and hopefully someone else can relate to these...all depicted together.

The view from my studio today.

I will stay painting in my studio. The horses are bedded in their stalls out of the snow and wind. And the storm  blows outside.

New Painting Done In The Spring

"A Winter's Day"       casein on board      12 x 12"

I know it spring here on the farm, but I have just finished this painting of a cob on a cold snowy winter's day. This is our chubby little princess 'Maggie'  [pictured above] and her ever present pile of hay. The girl lacks for nothing...except maybe a bit of work! This painting will be able through my website.

Today the mail brought me notification that two of my paintings have been accepted into the New Jersey Equine Artists' Associations "Art Of The Horse 2010" exhibit which will be hanging at the Somerset Art Association in Bedminster, NJ. The show opens My 20th and runs until June 20th. I hope that you can get a  chance to see the works there...some of the best equine art work around!!This show is only a short distance from the USET headquarters in Gladstone.A perfect location for an art-show featuring the horse!! One of the paintings is also a winter scene...and a Welsh Pony too.....

"First Snow -Revisited"        mixed media       8 x 10"

This fellow was our granddaughter's first pony.His name "Frolic". Old Frolly won the hearts of many young girls...and elder women too! One of those once in a life time treasures of a horse!

Some other news  [Things are happening at Cob Cottage Studio!!] is that  my watercolor titled "Hello"  has been chosen to grace the May cover of Equine Marketer magazine ! This is the second time this publicatio has asked for use of my work for cover art. I am very honored to do so again!

So now back to the studio. I am working on a hunter jumper painting..almost done, this is a 40 x 30" canvas work......and I am still working on a figurative commission.....that also is almost done.

But first the dogs need walking...

Nell is getting ready to get up from her nap! 

"Rough Life For Nell"        @kathipeters 2010

The Sunbathers

The wind howls around the house, but the pups are cozy basking in the sun. Nell keeps lookout for turkeys in the yard. Addie snoozes.... Life is good.
I saw this scene and have to capture it. My good friend and fellow artist Karen Pettengill just did a painting of her Koda dog sleeping in the sun....and our scene here so reminded me of her painting!
Check out her work!

I am waiting on the farrier now, the horses' feet need trimming...another sign of spring. I don't want to get into a painting and then have to stop when he arrives..so I am posting this for my blog event of the day!

Fence To The Pond

"Fence To The Pond " is done and the two small pen and inks [ 8 x 9"] will be put on my website in the Sketches and Studies Collection.....

Today the rain is falling and the wind blowing something fierce, so I am headed out to clean stalls and put the horses in. They are not happy campers at this point.

Trevallion Victoria , our Welsh Cob mare, imported from Great Britain as a yearling, is 22 years old now. It is hard to realize that some many years have gone by...I first met Ms Vicky when she was a 3 year old, fresh and not very well behaved. She and her sister, Trevallion Fergie, where paired and then put together in a four in hand driven by Mr Stacy Lloyd of Berryville, VA. I groomed for the Lloyd's each summer as they drove their Cobs on the Carriage Roads of Acadia National Park. The horses were boarded at Wildwood Stable. We drove every day...and Stacy [as he asked me to call him] taught me the intricacies of carriage driving and Auchenbach.....the German discipline of handling the reins of driving horses. That era is past.

Victoria now lives on our small Maine farm and teaches her daughter, Thistle Mead Margaret, how to behave.......in her queenly manner. For me lately , the ages of our horses [ one at 28 yrs, two at 22 years and the youngster coming 5] have made me sad. Time goes so fast..too quickly... but oh, the good memories we have!

When I haven't been thinking so much about the past, I have been busy in the studio...working on updating my website and trying to get an email newsletter written. I have new works done, but haven't uploaded them to my site........... I have started another watercolor of our Ms Maggie. She always inspires me to paint!

Today was cold and windy out..clouds raced across the dark sky and the sun peeked in and out....a taste of what is to come....winter in full gear.....and I spent time painting our barn doors. I know I should have done it earlier when the weather was warm and sunny. The story of my life I guess!!!

Hue and Saturation

Today I worked on my panel ..........it is coming together ...and I feel I need to get it done, so I can varnish it before sending it off to hang in the mother image.........I just found out today that I am almost OUT of purple........Shiva Violet! This is not good.....I know I cannot find Shiva Casein paint any where near Belfast ...never mind Morrill, Maine!!! I need to make a note to myself to always have two of every color! Lesson learned!

Tomorrow I won't get much done in the studio.....the vet is coming to float teeth on the equine kids and to give everyone their checkups. I am sure the horses will be so happy. NOT!

Two Black Horses

It is raining......foggy and wet around the farm. But our 4 horses wanted to get out ... so they are out and now know the folly of their antics in their stalls. When it is time to come in... I hope they appreciate their clean and dry stalls!!

Today I have been working on a study of a lovely little Morgan in harness, that will be a watercolor at some point. I also am waiting on a casein to dry and wonder if that would be happening today. It is a 16 x 20" gallery wrapped canvas of two driving horses whom I met last year at Acadia. They were not in driving harness, but rather were on their way out of the stables for a stretch walk with their owner, along the carriage roads under the Triad. It probably is best to let this painting sit for another day and work on the other casein painting...a 12 x 12" Thoroughbred racing scene that I have going.

'The Two Blacks' [at Acadia] painting is depicted above......at the point it is today....needs more work...but not today. After the rains.....

Shades of Black As Seen From Above

In the literal sense, this painting is really seen from above, but that is because my digital camera decided to quit on me after I shot this one shot... so it all is a bit skewed. But this a 16 x 20" casein I finished today, of one my black geldings, looking down at him from the hayloft. How cool is that?!

I find it fascinating how many colors I can see in a black horse. This pursuit has kept me busy over that last few years....and still excites me.

I am not done yet!! And I started yet another 16 x 20" casein of two black horses today.

What I Do When I Procrastinate

After taking care of our four horses, walking the Corgi and shoveling the snow that was steadily accumulating, I headed up to my studio with a cup of hot tea and "whipped" out this pen and ink on illustration board. It is of two horses who were taking part in a Civil War reenactment. Their bridles are like what the army used back then...........but this was an reenactment...I am NOT old enough to have seen the real thing!!! The photo reference of these horses came from a fellow Equine Art Guild member.

But doing this sketch gave me a needed break from the paper cutting I am working on.... a hunt scene with very small detail. I get so "into" a zone when I do paper cutting, that I forget the time and very often I also forget what I am supposed to be doing. Today was not a good day to be cutting. But it turned out to be a good day for a small [ about 7 1/2 by 8 1/2" ] pen and ink rendering.
I will be putting this work onto my mixed media gallery page on my website.

Today I finished two more caseins for the “Shades of Black” series. There will be only one more painting in this series on the study of how black absorbs color and how light plays off the black horses on our farm.

Light, shadows and design…………..words that describe my work and that excite me about what I am doing. Both "Shades Of Black #8 "and "Shades of Black #9 " will be up on my site soon…….

Tomorrow I start a new paper cutting…..A hunt scene that depicts a sidesaddle rider and the hounds………..what fun this will be. I only hope my hands keep steady for the cutting!!

Four-in-Hand at Acadia

Last weekend we went up to Acadia National Park carriage driving with friends. Wildwood Stable was getting ready to close for the winter season. What a wonderful time we had, with weather that was awesome. Maybe the fall colors weren't as brilliant this year as other years, but there were splashes of color that delighted the soul.



This casein painting above, done on Colorfix paper, is one of the works from the body of work that I am painting now. The four-in-hand in this painting is a team that was up at Acadia on an other occasion.

It always amazes me that these horses stand and wait , calmly, for the hitching and for the whip to take up the lines ......and then off they go! It makes me think that this is how we should approach life..............wait and then when the moment is right................off you go!!!

In past years I have enjoyed summers at Acadia, with my husband, driving our Welsh Cob mares. Lazy summer days with the pair trotting down the carriage roads built by Mr. Rockefeller, so that he could enjoy the spectacular views of Mount Desert Island and coastal Maine. If you have horses and haven’t been there, you need to go!!

At Wildwood Stables, where we camped with our horses, I took many shots of the draft horses there that pull the carriages that take the tourists through the carriage roads, so they can get a glimpse of the beauty that hides on these roads forbidden to the automobile. This casein is of one of those big boys, on a respite. I have done several versions of this draft, in different mediums- in casein, watercolor, acrylic, liquid gold, and pastel. Some of those can be seen on my website.

“A Quiet Spot” is the latest version of this gentle giant.

Warming Up At Acadia

My favourite place to be in the summer [spring or fall] is Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Isle , Maine. For years we have been taking our horses there to experience the wonder of the carriage roads that John D. Rockefeller left to our nation. There we can enjoy a step back in time, on carriage roads created to be travelled by horse drawn carriage or by horseback. I have also had several art shows in Seal Harbor , where the main body of works exhibited have been works depicting scenes at Wildwood Stable, horses and the people who go there with their horses.

This casein depicts a scene where a driver, exercises her horse before hitching for a drive, and two ladies in their wicker phaeton prepares to head out onto the carriage roads from the grounds of Wildwood Stables. The Triad stands behind with outcrops of granite showing through the trees. It is a beautiful day!!

How I wish I were there today instead of working in my studio!!