And....We're Off....With Instant Issues!

It's tradition here in my studio to start my NaMoPaiMo horse 2 weeks after the start of the event. I'm a bit of a procrastinator with my own projects and this one is no exception.

Part of my procrastination is not only gathering my thoughts on what I'm going to do and how to do it, it is also mixing the color in my head before I start, and clearing my work bench of pressing items so I can enjoy the process of creating my NaMoPaiMo horse.

My belief is if one isn't "in the moment" with art and enjoying the process, no matter how difficult a time it may be giving you, why is one doing the art? Seriously, one must always ask themselves that question if they are not having fun making art.

As is tradition, I started "Cerberus" 2 weeks late and as is also tradition I immediately had issues. The moment I put the first layers of acrylic on his body I saw I missed two areas while prepping. These were areas that needed attention quickly. In the past I've ignored such prep issues thinking I'd get to them "later" only to have them become bigger issues later. These were in crucial spots and they needed sanding. Once sanded, I was left with two huge white patches of exposed resin.


Two prepping issues sanded and smooth now.

So, you're probably asking, "Now what?"

A few of you might be in a similar situation and the first step is not to panic, but to remind yourself that as long as you can match the color you can cover it perfectly and hide the boo boo. This first step is key in hiding such a mark. Match the original base color and you'll never know.


For Pastels:
I water down gesso and apply to the sanded areas. Two or three smooth coats. If you find there is tooth left then take a very fine sandpaper and gently sand down just the gessoed areas to make it smooth. Wipe dust clean and then begin the process of pastelling from light to dark just in the marred areas till you reach the color of the rest of the horse. Keep adding dust till it eventually blends. This process is fairly lengthy with pastels, but it is totally doable. Have patience and don't give up.

For Acrylics:
The first thing I do is seal what Ive already painted in acrylics. Seal that good color up....boos and all. It's ok, remember, you'll be covering up the boo boos in no time and you want to protect all the good stuff you're already painted. Spray it and let it dry fully.

After everything is dry start mixing the base color and apply it directly ON the area that is good. (Remember the horse was protected so if the color you mixed isn't correct you can use a 50% rubbing alcohol to wipe the test brushstroke away without doing any damage.) Do this so you know you have an exact match of color. You may have just started painting and haven't mixed much of any color which makes covering even easier, but, if you are well into the painting production you will need to test match the color.

Once you have found the exact match then start covering up your boo boos. Start with light layers. The first layers won't cover. You will most likely need 10-15 layers of acrylics to hide the unwanted marks. If you are hand painting you will need to keep the layers watered down so strokes don't form.

The process will take a long time, but keep adding those layers. Eventually all the boo boos will literally disappear into the background. To speed up the drying process in between all those layers of paint, use a hair dryer.

Boo boos all covered and
the piece is ready for the next layer of color.

Dappled & Broken

Breyer's new "Malik"
sculpted by Sarah Mink. Customized and for Sale.
It's been a very busy week in my studio. Dapples have been the main focus this week as I completed two pieces. One dappled piece, a new Breyer Malik, is a grey dapple with lots of fading dappled areas. The other, a "Abrantes" resin, is a mulberry grey. Both were challenges and I walked away feeling as if I learned something new about color and patterning from each piece. One offered lessons on fading while the other offered lessons on individual hairing of the dappled pattern.

Malik is for sale. Click HERE for more info.


Abrantes Resin all dolled up.


More views of Abrantes.

Commission books are open.
Email at jenndanza@gmail.com

The other time spent this week was on restorations, especially this foal. She was in a state of woe and it took about two weeks total to get her back together. This is probably the most breaks in one piece Ive ever encountered in the studio. The most difficult part of this restoration was figuring out what broken piece to adhere first! She is all better now.

Japan china before restoration.

Same china after restorations

Although my restoration books are currently closed they will be opening back up at the end of the month.

For more information you can visit my restoration page on my website: Restorations by Jennifer ODonnell Danza

NaMoPaiMo 2019

Brigitte Eberl's "Cerberus" resin
waiting to get painted.
NaMoPaiMo 2019 has begun!
This is the model horse industry's time to come together and paint a horse and share their journeys! It is a time of being together as collectors and artists. Even if one has never painted a model horse before, the celebration of NaMoPaiMo is the time to start! Participants pick one model horse, a color, and they determine what they would like to achieve and then they start in on their project.

This year I have chosen another one of my nakid resins from my personal collection to paint and to explore color theory with and on. The Cerberus resin has been in my collection for a long time and I have always envisioned him as a dappled bay with very dark points. I never dove into painting him for two reasons. One, I never seem to have enough time to paint my own pieces and two, I was afraid Id mess him up. I had envisioned these lovely dapples running throughout his barrel and on his neck and I could never figure out how to make them look the way I was seeing them in my head. There aren't too many of this mold around and messing him up would be upsetting. But, NaMoPaiMo is about diving in and just doing it and learning. So, off I go....

If you'd like to learn more about NaMoPaiMo and join next year, check out the official Facebook page.

Restorations & Repair Studio: CLOSED

Piece visiting the studio
for full out restoration.

RESTORATION & REPAIR STUDIO
CLOSED until end of February 2019

Why?

THANK YOU all so much for your enthusiastic response to my restoration and repair services. At the present time I've had to close my studio to all new restorations and repairs for a short spell. I am doing this so I can properly focus on all that has come into my studio within the last 2 months and so that I can do an excellent job on all the pieces that need restoration.


I am currently being inundated with a barrage of emails, tweets, instagram messages and facebook notes from people about their restorations and repairs and I do appreciate all that is coming through, however, I cannot seem to get to all of them fast enough for people, nor can I keep straight where everything is coming from as many are sending the same note to me multiple times on multiple platforms and this is causing stress for me.


I want you to note that.....
I keep a pretty tight and disciplined schedule in my studio as I do have another job outside the studio which requires I quit all studio work by 2pm. Some days working from 7:30 am till 2 PM is just not enough time to create and although I try to answer emails on Mondays and Fridays, some Mondays and Fridays the creative bug just hits, or a tricky restoration gives into me and I continue working. I try not to let that happen as I know answering correspondence is very important. Being reminded that Im not doing a good job of this from potential clients in emails or PMs causes stress and closing the books until I can handle emails properly and handle what has come into the studio is best for me, for my current clients and for my potential clients.


Many don't understand that if I spend my entire mornings online answering everything and reviewing all the images that have come in from everyone then I have that much less time to paint commissions and restore. That in turn makes those waiting for their things to get finished and come back to them angry. So basically me trying to please everyone all at once is just making someone mad at me and making me miserable. :(
I am a one trick pony here. I have no assistant. No one else but me cataloging all coming in, fixing/painting, contacting, invoicing, quality checking, packing, shipping and then corresponding once again with tracking numbers.


So please understand I am closing the restoration books so I can catch up and not fall grossly behind which makes everyone stressed, even me. I anticipate reopening the restoration books the third week of February and my news members will receive notification of these openings first.
And if you were wondering, yes the image is of a Japan china that arrived broken in several places . This particular piece will take well over 2 weeks to complete. At the present time I am three days into just attaching the pieces and have one more piece to attach then I can start the actual restoration. Each piece is set against gravity then requires 24 hours to cure. Thats only ONE broken piece. I show you this piece so you can see how complex many of the pieces I receive can be. I cannot stress enough that if one wants super quick ASAP work then I am not the restoration artist for you. Its not that I am lazy or incompetent. I am thorough and each piece is handled like the fine art it is and some pieces, like this one, naturally require more time to complete.

Thank you for your time and your understanding.
~Jennifer

Huge issues with this piece.


Restoration once completed.

Happy New Year

Goodbye Old Site
Happy New Year!

Every new year there are resolutions and promises to one's self. Promises to change aspects of life that aren't quite going as planned. For me, 2019 prompted a very heavy and serious decision about my online presence. Although Ive had a website online since 2000 the entire site went dead during my divorce and eventual move to a new state around 2010.

I had spent countless hours up until that point creating my site and updating it, continually tweaking the html. Then, life happened and the site fell very silent. Not having the time nor the means to update the site properly started to weigh heavily on me. Another year went by and another promise was made to myself and another resolution broken, but I kept promising myself I'd update the site. Then, the years just started to fly by and pile on...

2012, resolution broken.
2013, resolution broken.
2014, resolution broken.
2015, resolution broken.
2016, resolution broken.
2017, resolution broken.
2018, resolution broken.

Finally, in December of 2018 I was done breaking this promise to myself and took the issue firmly in my mind and hands and propped it right into the fire and started working on fixing this once and for all. I literally worked for four days straight turning this promise into a reality.


New site. Opening page
Visit: JENNDANZA.COM

New interior pages

Although I will miss my old site because it was my creation 100%, it served its purpose well and its time had come. The new site is lovely and so easy to update and its all mobile friendly! So many things have changed in the world of website creation since 2000 and one needs to stay on top of such things in the world of art, even if its just art on little model horses.

Overall, I'm very thrilled to unveil it and the best part is that every aspect of art that I dive into is in one spot. All my ceramics, all my landscape painting, all my illustrations and all my equine art are all on one site.

So if you get a chance definitely head on over to

jenndanza.com

and check out all the different portfolios!

And, to end this first blog post of 2019 I'd like to say my final farewell to an old friend......bye good friend. Thanks for all your help throughout the years.....

Last glance at the interior pages