Prince of Shadows

Prince of Shadows ~ 6" x 6" oil on hardboard panel

For sale on Daily Paintworks…bidding starts at $39.00

Click here to bid…the link becomes active the afternoon of Dec. 19

My love of horses has been with me since I was a child. I remember so vividly, a spirited Morgan/Arab cross that I was riding with a friend one day. She was a beautiful bay that looked very much like the horse in the picture I painted. My own horse was a placid and gentle quarter horse and was no challenge for my friend who hadn't ridden much. Being the experienced rider  we decided to switch and I got to ride that gorgeous Morgan. She was a dream, with a smooth gait and lightning speed. 

About an hour into our ride, five kilometres or so from the nearest house, the horse I was riding went down on her knees, and tried to roll, saddle and all. I didn't know her well, and thought that maybe she was just trying to dislodge the saddle. When I saw her eyes, though, they were filled with pain, and I knew she must be colicking. Colic is a painful intestinal condition, that can severely injure a horse, and is very very serious. If they don't get medical attention, they can die. 

I forced her to her feet, and we took off, at breakneck speed, through the woods. My only thought was to get her to a house where we could call a vet, as soon as possible. She would run, then stumble and fall…every time I had to jump off of her back before she rolled on me and then my friend and I would pull her to her feet, and I'd get back on and run more until, battered and bruised, we made it to a friends' house that had experience with horses, but she wasn't home. Only her young daughter was there. We called the vet, only to discover he was already out on another call, and it would be hours before he returned. We got a bottle of vegetable oil, wrenched the horses' mouth open and poured it down, and then took turns pulling her to her feet, and making her walk in circles. I was always told to never let a horse roll when they were colicking, as it could cause serious damage. At any rate, after a few hours we were exhausted, and still no vet. My friend finally came home, and said we should probably shoot her! I refused adamantly, as it wasn't even my horse! Finally an uncle showed up who had a pain killer for animals, and the horse calmed down. And then the vet came, and finally all was well. The vet commended us for saving her life! 

Sunlit Bay

Sunlit Bay  6" x 6" oil on panel

For sale on Daily Paintworks

BID HERE

My attempt at showing strong sunlight on a dark horse...I must say he was a bit of a challenge, but I really enjoy working with the rich colors. 

This little guy is on Daily Paintworks starting at a really reasonable price. Click the link above, if you're interested.

Sneek Peak ~ New painting in the works

Preliminary sketch for new painting

Here's a sneek peek at my upcoming painting. This one will be larger than my little 6 x 6's...at 16" x 20".

As usual, I combine multiple references and lighting effects to come up with a composition that works for me.  I try to stick with the rule of thirds for my center of interest, in this case the beautiful highlight on the face and the horse's eye.

I also have some really exciting news today! I was the featured artist on ArtPromotivate, a popular art site. I'm so thrilled!

Check out my interview HERE

Happy New Years!

I hope you all have a fun night:)

Thoughtful ~ White Horse Portrait

Thoughtful ~  6" x 6" oil on panel 

For sale on Daily Paintworks

CLICK HERE to bid

bidding starts at $35

Happy Solstice, everyone! And happy new beginnings. According to the Mayan calendar, today doesn't mark the end of the world, but the end of a cycle. Today is the first day of the new cycle, which is supposed to be characterized by enlightenment, where great changes take place to thrust us into a new age of evolution as individuals and as mankind. I wish you all peace on your new journey.

Today also marks the shortest amount of daylight this year...Thank goodness as of tomorrow the days will be getting longer! I can't wait for the sun to come back. But really, isn't winter a time to settle in, slow down, ruminate, and recharge? Just like the plants do under the soil. They rest so that they can return, with more growth and beauty than before, when the sun returns. 

The Shaggy Pony

The Shaggy Pony 18" x 18" gallery wrapped canvas

$1200.00

This pony reminds me of Ireland...they have lots of beautiful, shaggy ponies...It inspired me to write a poem, which I haven't done in a long time, but I've been longing for the place lately...

O beautiful misty land of my dreams

I want to unfurl you agains my skin and breathe in your scent like a lover

I want to tangle my hands in the manes of your shaggy ponies 

and ride through your hills of heather

I long to dive from your cliffs and dance like a child

to the music of my ancestors.

This has to be the pony I dreamed of when I was a little girl. All messy mane and liquid eyes, multicoloured and fluffy...I fell in love with him all over again when I saw the photo, and I had to ask permission to paint him. The great reference photo was from Rapscallion...which would actually be a great name for this little guy...He looks like a rapscallion :)

Sundance the Buckskin

"Sundance" ~ 12" x 16" oil on Raymar Panel

BID NOW on Daily Paintworks

My newest painting...I've always been particularly enamoured with the buckskin, ever since "Dances with Wolves". I wanted that horse so bad! I love the feeling of exuberance in his pose, like he's about to explode into flight. I tried hard to achieve that feeling of liquid gold, how the sun glistening off of a horse's coat can sometimes look metallic. The photo didn't turn out very good this time. I'll try to post new photos when the paint dries and the glare dies down.

Also, it snowed here, at least 6 inches over the last few days. It makes it much harder to get good photos. I usually take photos of my art outside, on an overcast day, which isn't usually hard to do here, because it's usually overcast! But the snow bounces light all over the place. I'll have to come up with another solution.

Well, Bye for now:)

Rapscallion -- the shaggy pony

Rapscallion ~ 6" x 6" graphite on bristol

For sale on Daily Paintworks BID NOW

This is my newest little guy...I'm still on a horse kick. I don't think this one will end for a while. I'm having too much fun. I've named him after the website of the guy that took the picture. I fell in love with his photo, and emailed him for permission to use it. Have a look at his great work here.

I think I'll do a larger color version soon, too. I love the square format. 

While revisiting my past love of horses, I also had an urge to revisit my past love of graphite. 

For years I only drew. I was afraid of color. Afraid I'd be no good, and I spent hours and hours rendering dozens of pictures in pencil. I got quite a few commissions, and sold quite a few pieces, but then I tried painting...and it was so fast! It was like someone gave me wings! And I didn't suck, lol!

So for years, I haven't looked back. Why would I spend hours and hours labouring over something when I could be finished in a few days or hours? 

Well, as part of my artistic "healing" I guess you could call it, I've found solace in the simplicity of the pencil. Not much is needed for materials, you don't have to have a lot of room, and for me I don't have to think much. It's kind of like meditating.

So maybe I'll do some more. Mix it up a bit.

If you're at all curious about why I needed artistic "healing", I've written about it in my newsletter, along with a bit of a review on the book that helped me immensely. You can read it here.

That's it for now, folks. Have a lovely day!

Beautiful Blue ~ Overo paint mustang

Beautiful Blue ~ 12" x 16" oil on Raymar panel

For Sale on Daily Paintworks BID NOW

Isn't he gorgeous? I've always had a fascination with blue-eyed animals. They are so rare yet so striking. I designed this guy with dramatic light to accentuate that blue eye...

Like I've probably already mentioned at least a dozen times, I used to be completely infatuated with horses. I started drawing them when I was six, I owned one by the time I was twelve, and she was my best friend. A chestnut purebred Quarter Horse named Miss Peeti Poco...I just called her Peeti. I drew her so many times that by the time I was a teen I could draw an anatomically correct horse, muscles, veins and all, with my eyes closed. I think I drew horses so much, that by the time I left home, I actually got sick of it, and started drawing people.  My horse passed away 12 years ago, and I miss her still. It has been years since I really spent any time with horses, or any time drawing them but lately my love has been rekindled. I have the opportunity to take up riding again, and also to get some great photo references. So expect at least a few more horses on here!

Equine Trio ~ three of my recent horse portraits

 Backlit Beauty 6" x 6" oil on panel (SOLD)

 Golden Boy ~ 6" x 6" oil on canvas panel

Black Charger~ 6" x 6" oil on canvas panel

Here's a few of my recent little horse portraits. The top one sold from my Daily Paintworks page last week, I'm happy to report that the middle one is taking part in the Christmas Art Show and sale at the Quesnel Art gallery, along with my "Sunset Cows", and the bottom one is still for sale through Daily Paintworks. Stop by there, it's a steal!

Teamwork~ 10" x 10" oil on gallery wrapped canvas

I finished these guys a few days ago, but I kept forgetting to photograph them until it got dark!

So...now it's done.

This gorgeous pair of draught horses are the hardest workers in Barkerville, an old restored mining town that operates as a park in the summer. I've talked about it in previous posts, and done many paintings from there. It's one of my favorite places. It is a  place that has roused my imagination and created a passion for our history in my soul from the time I was a young child, running through the streets, shooting at imaginary gunfighters with my pop gun from the Mason and Daly general store.

Two new paintings -- Lion portrait, and Equine Painting

   The King -- oil on canvas panel
bidding opens around 5:30 pm, May 22.

Bid Now

Bidding starts at $39.99

My newest painting today...and my second newest, below...

I'll Come Running 5" x 7" oil on canvas

bidding opens around 5:30 pm, May 22.

 starts at $39.99

Bid Now

I've been having a lot of fun painting smaller canvases lately. I don't seem to have a heck of a lot of time, with spring gardening and stuff coming on, so it's the easiest way to get some productive painting time in.