Happy Halloween!

Happiest of Halloweens to all! Thanks to all my viewers who visit my blog! Thank you!
Brought the mice out to play today!

"Byte the Vampire."
Graphite, Watercolor and Acrylics on
Archival Plate Bristol
"The Princess"
Graphite, Watercolor and Acrylics on
Archival Plate Bristol
"The Halloween Kiss"
Graphite, Watercolor and Acrylics on
Archival Plate Bristol

More Affinity

The "Affinity" resin has taken center stage in the studio this weekend. Once I start dappling it's hard to stop and as I reached the point where I'd add more darker points around the dapples, I thought it would be cool to snap some shots of the mare to show how she is progressing. It's cool to see one side complete and the other still waiting for a bit of haring.

Half and half.
Dappling getting close to
finish on the one side.

A Poem

I love poems. Pablo Neruda is one of my favorite poets. This is probably my second favorite poem he wrote.

"The Exchange"
Graphite and Watercolor on Watercolor paper.
If You Forget Me
by Pablo Neruda

I want you to know
one thing.

You know how this is:
if I look
at the crystal moon, at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,
if I touch
near the fire
the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you,
as if everything that exists,
aromas, light, metals,
were little boats
that sail
toward those isles of yours that wait for me.

Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.

If suddenly
you forget me
do not look for me,
for I shall already have forgotten you.

If you think it long and mad,
the wind of banners
that passes through my life,
and you decide
to leave me at the shore
of the heart where I have roots,
remember
that on that day,
at that hour,
I shall lift my arms
and my roots will set off
to seek another land.

But
if each day,
each hour,
you feel that you are destined for me
with implacable sweetness,
if each day a flower
climbs up to your lips to seek me,
ah my love, ah my own,
in me all that fire is repeated,
in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,
my love feeds on your love, beloved,
and as long as you live it will be in your arms
without leaving mine

Affinity for Dapples

Acrylic and pigment basecoat.
Dapple grey was the color request for this "Affinity" resin and so dappled grey it was for this pretty Thoroughbred. I decided to document the painting progress on this particular piece cause I thought it might be interesting, most especially, for the owner to see her horse coming to life a little at a time.


Adding hair with a gesso/acrylic mix.
More hairing....
....and even more hairing.

....and yes, more hairing...which is
actually a lot of fun once you get a good
rhythm going.

And Sometimes They Break

Shot taken after several
attempts to fix him.
Sometimes they break and sometimes they are very difficult to put back together. For whatever reason this Peter Stone Arab was difficult to fix. The normal methods (acetone, Zap a Gap, and Glue and Baking Soda mix) just didn't seem to hold the leg. Im still at a loss over this and have to wonder about the contents of the plastic itself.

I welcomed the piece into my studio to figure things out and finally got the leg back together, but not without a bit of a struggle. I documented the fix in case it might be handy to someone now or in the near future. Again, the normal methods just wouldn't work.

The only glue that seemed to work
was "E6000" which is an
industrial strength glue.
After the E6000 dried for 24 hours
I added a strip of "Amazing Sculpt" epoxy
to the broken seam. The leg was glued
but it needed to be totally secure.
The Amazing Sculpt was then smoothed out.
Once dry the broken area was sanded and
spot primed and painted.
The horse is ready to
go back in the show ring again.

"Little Angels in the Field"
Graphite, Watercolor and Acrylics on Watercolor paper.

What Do You Do?

A very large showhall.
Sometimes they are a little smaller than this.
"So, what exactly do you do?"

Time and again I am asked this question and each time it seems difficult to try and explain what I do to fill my days. Today I thought it might be helpful to take some photographs during a recent model horse show.

Ok, so you have miniature railroad enthusiasts who collect and set up trains and houses and little train stations with little people. There are some railroad hobbyists who play with their trains all throughout the year, not just during Christmas. Well, imagine that mode of thinking, but with horses. There are all types of breeds, saddles, bridles, stables, riders, and equipment. If the real equine industry has it, so does the model horse industry and we play with our miniatures all throughout the year as well.

Our favorite past time with them is taking them all out to shows and showing them off like a big dog or cat or horse show. I cater to this industry by offering painting services and I also fix show horses when they break.


Horses lined up and
ready for the classes.
Some set ups get very intricate
like this handmade wagon.
The straps, buckles and
even the little numbers are all hand made.
And just like the real shows
ours includes big ol ribbons.
A Peter Stone Arab
who didn't make it into the ring today.
But sometimes the show horses break either on their way to the show or during the show and that is where I come in. I set up shop right at the live show and offer repair to any one who needs it. I fix scratches, breaks, and rubs and pretty much anything else that happens to the show horses. In most cases the pieces can be fixed on the spot and they go back into the ring to show that day. Some pieces, like the broken Arab need a little more TLC and they wind up coming home with me into my studio.

And so, that is what I do when I am not doing the other art stuff I like to do.

Ready For The Show

"A Stolen Moment"
Graphite, Watercolor, and Acrylics on paper.
I'm all packed and ready to do repair at tomorrow's live model horse show. Everything was packed, even my glasses when this image came to me. Using whatever was left near my desk I quickly sketched it out. Yes, my little mice love pizza. Don't you?

Memory Lane

My (old) Dog "Doodles"
There are sketchbooks everywhere in my house. In the office, in the downstairs studio, in my den, in my kitchen and even in my attic. I grab sketchbooks and go and then toss them about when I return.

I came across a fairly old one this past week and had forgotten all about the drawings inside. It was almost like looking at an old diary or journal. I soon remembered places I visited and people and animals I saw along the way that intrigued me enough to draw them. It was a fun trip down memory lane. I thought it would be cool to share some of my favorite drawings from the sketchbook with you.

I lived in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
My roommate had a cat. She was mean, but fun to draw.

LOVED the way
her hand was resting. Captured it.
Straight ink on paper. Boom.

Ive always
loved to draw horses.
This was a more successful sketch that year.
A hot dog
making serious headway on the city streets.
The corner deli
in Park Slope.
The pickle and egg
jars you couldn't pay me
to touch in that deli.
Waiting for the show
at the NYC Aquarium.
One of the seals captured
in pen on paper. Boom.
Where I lived
in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
A beautiful woman on the train
traveling on the Q from Manhattan into Brooklyn.
Doodling things while watching the baseball game.
The Mets were loosing...obviously.
My mom's cat
"Bonkers"
That year the cicadas were LOUD!
Beauty in decay along the city streets.
Had to draw it!
Doodling a rabbit
character. Never finished that idea.


And the most wonderful of all sketches in this entire sketchbook. A sketch I forget I even made. A sketch I could never ever make again no matter how much I wanted. A sketch of my grandmother's living room. When someone passes on and their things are long gone from your immediate memory you forget all the details. That is, until something like this brings all those wonderful memories flooding in. For a moment, I was back in the house I loved with one of the most wonderful women in the world; my grandma.


My grandmother's living room.

Live Show Repair

I like name tags.
Live show repair this time at the Finger Lakes Open Classic Live in Horseheads, NY.

Repair.

Lots of it.

During the mayhem I couldn't resist having a little fun. Now, time to forget about model horses at least for the next 24 hours.

"A Kiss In Fall"
Graphite, Watercolor, Acrylic and Decoupage on Watercolor Paper.
"Even so she kist his brow, his cheek, his chin,
And where she ends she doth anew begin."

~Venus and Adonis

Tonight

Tonight on the desk? A Morgen Kilbourne resin going dun. Took a quick shot. Thought it would be fun to share.

A Kilbourne resin slowly getting
a dun colored coat.

Fun shot of his palette.