Roses are Bay

I finished this gal up a couple weeks ago, but have neglected to find time to put her up on the site. So, she's a great excuse for a blog post! And because I've been lax in my blogging, I'm putting a veritable smorgasbord  of photos up! Rose is a commission piece and is not for sale.

But you know who is for sale? This fabulous *ceramic* Darcy! This is #1 in the edition of 25 and is up on eBay now as a benefit auction for Laura Behning's SouthCon show. 

Click HERE to go to her auction page with all the photos!

Painting Peek!

Lots of horses are getting painted and preparing to get out the studio door over here! I haven't had time to crop or edit (to correct color when necessary) any of their photos yet, but I have these guys pictured below photographed and uploaded to my computer. I have a Victrix in there as well, though she was a day late to join these for their group photo shoot. Probably a good thing as my background was barely big enough for these five!

Stay tuned for more photos of these five and the Victrix shortly! And then five-six MORE horses after that! I'm on a painting spree!

The McDermott/Scott Exhibit

Last post I promised a viewing of the small collection of Deb McDermott resins I've painted over the years. Oddly enough, after uploading them all to the blog, I realized they were all chestnut base horses! At least the new David in progress (see previous post) is a palomino. I've got another David, my final copy, I plan on doing in dapple gray. I've also got a Pearl (the 5.5" one) I'll paint something (still don't know what for sure) for a sales piece way in the future, and a customized Gomez I'm going to have a hard time parting with that will be a buckskin going gray. We'll see what else ends up in my "stable" in the future as well.

So the exhibit. I guess we'd better start with the horse that really started it all, a David painted homozygous tobiano. He was quite the topic back when I did him several years ago. I remember I had been struggling with dapples. I decided to try a different technique than the one I'd been working with at the time and I still use it to this day. Oddly enough, the David in progress took that technique one more step further in my quest to get amazing dapples. He was also the first horse I shot with my new camera and I was still playing with all those features trying to get a good shot. 

The next McDermott piece I painted was a Persuasion - the original big'un the little Pearls were modeled after. She was finished shortly after the David above. I remember being so jazzed with how he came out that I wanted to start another horse right away. Since Persuasion was my only other piece of Deb's at the time, I chose her thinking if I'd had such great luck with him maybe it'd cary over. It did. While it doesn't show the amazing quality of depth and color in the photos, this horse is probably my best chestnut *ever*. No joke. This is really a must see in person horse.  

Next up is another great chestnut. I warned you about the chestnut thing okay? This is Bint Soraya, another traditional Arabian mare. I do love the toasty color of this horse! I also remember struggling capturing that color on film. For some reason, with my usual neutral background, she was coming out orange in photos and   I just couldn't color correct it to where it should have been. So, she got a black bg and all was good. This mare was one that finished up quickly - a week! Some of these kids just go easily and without a fuss like that. Trust me, I wish they all did. 

Mini Pearl I won't post too many shots of since you already saw her two posts ago. This little gem is definitely the most recent McDermott piece completed, being just a few days old. Coincidentally enough, she is owned by the same gal as the Persuasion above. 

So, seeing as how I have so many chestnuts, I've got a new goal to paint more of Deb's resins so I can add some new flavors to the mix! :)

Misty Monday

I love misty (or in Colorado's case cloudy) days. The weather obliged me this morning, wrapping our little valley in a blanket of light fog as the clouds rolled through. It was wonderful, even if it didn't last as long as I'd like.

Then it was time to drive to the new Smooth-On distribution center that just opened up in Colorado a few weeks ago for supplies. I am thrilled about this! It's only about an hour's drive and I don't need to spend a stupid amount on shipping. I basically used to pay so much for shipping that I could have bought another product instead. Not only is it a cost saver to have the center local, but it's also a time saver. No more waiting a week for product! That's wonderful when you have a deadline. Bad when they only had one gallon of rubber though when I needed two. ;) Oh well. Can't win them all. The salesman that was there was wonderful to speak with about the products, even if he was the reason that second gallon of rubber wasn't there for me. We both agree on which rubber is best apparently. :D Anyway, it was a good time visiting the location and starting my relationship with a rep who'll be seeing a lot of me.

Besides packing resins for shipping today, I did get a chance to work on a few more painted pieces. There is a live show coming up and I for once want to see some of my own pieces on those tables. The first is a Darling resin in bay tobiano with lots of white, which is a commission for S.P. Her other side will have even less color. So far I think she looks smashing and very much like a groomed paint you'd see on the hunter circuit.

The next was going to be my donation for the NAN raffle this year - a painted Llanura. However with the release of Quick Draw to my mailing list I decided he needed more exposure and asked my NAN rep if I could switch them out. So, I'll be finishing this gal up for the show anyway and also handing a cast QD to Teresa B.

I am debating on leaving her color like this or putting some dry-brushed layers of oils on her and see where she goes. Sometimes chestnuts turn out best when there's no plan in mind and you just let things happen. Either way she'll have a blaze and one little sock.

My problem is I'm being indecisive as I can see her in a few options at this point - rabicano roan, bird spot appy, the see-where-it-goes chestnut or leave her as is. You'll just have to wait and see along with me where this gal ends up!