Bigger and Up Close?

I have received some requests to see the Lipizzaner watercolor up close...especially the eye.........so here it is. You can see that my work is really pretty loose when seen up close.

Enjoy!

Lipizzan Work Ethic

In spite of weather that is calling me to come out and dead-head spent perennials in my flower gardens…and to pick zucchini that are growing bigger by the second….I have been working on a watercolor and an new mixed media work. The watercolor is done, 18" x 8" and is called ‘Lipizzan Work Ethic”. When I saw the intense eye on this Lipizzaner and the power in the neck…I knew I had to paint this. Consider it done. And again I want to thank my good friend Juliet for your inspirational photograph.

I also finished the watercolor of Herefords and sheep, a winter scene from our old farm in North Pownal. For years we raised our own meat and veggies during our ‘ back to the earth” phase. Talk about being ‘green’? We were green before it became politically correct!

The mixed media piece I am doing, I did first in graphite to get my values right and to decide how I wanted to put the composition together…and I have now decided to do this one in acrylic and casein. I will be using the paints together, and this gives the work a different finish………another farm inspired work…getting ready for the Skyline Exhibit in September.

I am loving my new website and the fact that I can update it and change ” whatever” whenever I want. Check it out……… and the new artworks !!

Back Home Again

What a trip! The whole experience went by too fast. But I am happy to be home in Cob Cottage !!!

The Kentucky Horse Park is huge....and it was HOT and this ole' New Englander is not used to that sort of heat. But with downing a lot of H2O I managed to survive.
On the evening of 18th my friend, Bobbye and I went to the opening and book signing of "Equestrian Style" at Gallery B in Lexington. It was so neat to meet Vicky Moon and to actually see the gallery on Main Street. My contact with Vicky, prior to the publication of the book, was all email and by phone. I had never been down to Lexington to see the gallery either. It was a lovely reception...good food, wine and very interesting people to talk to. Lyn Raff, photographer and editor of Horse Art magazine was at the signing too and we got a chance to talk. I enjoyed my 'outing'.

Bobby and I spent two days doing the Kentucky Horse Park and Keeneland Race Track... we even got to The Red Mile to see where I have been showing for years at Tattersall's Harness Tracks of America's Annual Art Exhibit and Auction. My paintings and papercuts had been seen and been hung in these spots..but this was a first for me! I was able to get neat morning shots at Keeneland stable and exercising shots.... Bobbye, who grew up there as a kid while her father 's horses raced, knew where to take me ...what to see...so I was able to get the feel and aura of the this racing Mecca.



The demonstrations at the Horse Park were great and afforded me a primo chance to get wonderful reference shots for future paintings. This shot above of a Spotted Saddle Horse 'dancing the pole' is just one of the shots that I have to inspire me. [I am wondering if my Walking Horse , Duster and I can do this???] The best surprise though was getting to see Clay Maier and his Friesian pair that he rides tandem! Awesome!

The Champagne Run Horse Trials were going on too...I got some neat dressage shots.

And I actually got to see the American Academy of Equine Art's building and to watch Shelly Hunter doing a sculpture workshop. The Carriage Association of America's Museum was closed..that was a let down.....but we did go into the Horse Museum to get out if the heat for a bit.

My advice....if you are into horses...plan a trip to the Kentucky Horse Park. I will go back ...but next time it will not be done in the summer!!! I will stay home in Maine where Life is like it is supposed to be!!

Her Horse Was Blue

At least that is how he looked to me.... very blue...! This casein is done. It is 12 x 9" and is painted on Colorfix paper. I finished it this afternoon as my corgi lay beside me in my studio. While I waited for this work to dry, I worked on the two watercolors I am doing, one will be going to the 'Fertile Ground' show that will be exhibited at Skyline Farm, in North Yarmouth this September. More on that later.

My bags are packed and I leave on Thursday flying down to Lexington, KY for the first book signing of "Equestrian Style", Vicky Moon's new book at Gallery B. I shipped out my papercuts on Friday that will be shown at the Gallery ...That all will happen on Friday evening , the 18th. I hope to get time to see a bit of Lexington, the Kentucky Horse Park and the beautiful farms around that part of Kentucky on Friday and Saturday.

I am going to have a vacation from shovelling horses stalls!!! YAY!!!

Lipizzan In The Works

Yesterday I started this watercolor of a Lipizzan horse , what a powerful horse he is and you can see the power and movement in his eye and neck. A good friend of mine, Juliet Harrison, who happens to be an accomplished photographer, gave me permission to paint this shot. I am always so excited to see her new work ...and this [ a bit edited ] is from a photo shoot that she did in New York. Thank you, Juliet!

I started with a rough sketch and this time I didn't do a value study with graphite, but have gone right into the work with watercolors. This work has a long thin composition, and my scanner can only show part of it...
I will keep you posted as I make head way on this. I am working on a watercolor of Herefords at the same time ...oh.. and a new papercut! My muse is working overtime!

But I must admit I have been a bit reoccupied at the moment getting things finalized for a trip down to Lexington, KY to go to the opening book signing for Vicky Moon's new book 'Equestrian Style"...and to show a few of my papercuts at Gallery B. And while there I plan on getting to the Kentucky Horse Park.....and Keeneland ...and The American Academy of Equine Art.
This will be a fast trip...but fun I am sure. And for 4 days I will not have to clean stalls or throw hay!

Here's Looking at You!

The quick watercolor of 'Wizard Kitty' is done..........and here it is! I went in with some pen and ink and gouache for fun. Done.....so now I need to get back to work on the new caseins and two papercuts that are ready to be cut.

Last evening UPS stopped with a package for me...I love getting packages!.. and wasn't I surprised to see it was a complementary copy of Vicky Moon's new book sent from Random House. How exciting! And I stand corrected as just my paper cut made 'the cut'........but I am 'over the moon' about it!!! It is book full of lovely photographs of horses, the people who love them and the homes and life styles they enjoy. Brilliant!

Good thing I am back doing a few cuttings again!!

The cutting that was chosen for "Equestrian Style" will be at Gallery B in Lexington, KY during the book signing in July. I should be there too!!!
We will have to see about that??!!

Green Paint

The art show “ Hip to be Squared” at Gallery B located on 145 West Main St in Lexington, KY is running until the end of July. This is a neat show with all works in it done in a square format. I have 3 caseins in it. One is a still life that includes a bottle of wine and a half full wine glass…and some other hidden items that were required by the gallery in order to participate. The other two caseins are of a filly at different times in her ’childhood’ growing up process.

The weather has been VERY muggy here lately. Afternoons seem to bring thunderstorms and then fog. I have had a hard time getting varnish to dry on paintings that I needed to get out for clients and for shows coming up. When weather is like this forget about trying to do a paper cutting. The humidity makes my paper soft and then it tears. I quests it is time to get the air conditioner up and running. I am trying to be ‘green’ and not use it!

Speaking about green…I just realized that I was green before it was in vogue. I do works in casein, a milk based paint that does not pose a health hazard. It never dawned on me until I was speaking with a client recently and I was explaining about casein and its properties. He was interested in the fact that it wasn’t toxic like oil paint can be…a plus for me in my studio which is small and off the bedroom.
Back to the watercolor work and a casein painting I am working on. The watercolor is of my wizard kitty, Mittens!