"Tribute To Glory" - New Palomino Oil Painting

I’m somewhat of an expert on Things That Can Get In The Way Of Painting. Everything else always seems to be more important, urgent or compelling. Or, I avoid the studio because of that Fear Of Failure thing: wasting time on Facebook or forums or trolling the internet in pursuit of things I don’t really need but must find Right Now.

One of those Things the past three weeks has been a project to go through 40 years worth of business and household records in order to take them to a company that shreds documents for businesses. I suppose it started with the end of the year project to evaluate the past year and prepare for the upcoming year which meant going through last year’s records. It was necessary because we had run out of space for storing records!

Once that project was completed, I felt the need to go through my mother’s papers in an effort to consolidate them all in one box  which could be put away in the crawl space until the day comes when it is safe to discard them. It was quite a chore since some of them were pretty disorganized and scattered in three different places, but now that project is also done.

I’ve become a big believer in Feng Shui, and getting rid of all those old records and getting my mother’s papers consolidated and out of sight has gotten rid of a lot of negative energy in the house and especially the studio, I’ve found. Just for good measure, I took all the piles of unfiled papers off of my studio desk and put them in my son’s room to deal with later. Walking into the studio to see a clean desk has really helped me feel much more positive, hopeful and energized about getting creative again.

And just in time, too, because I have a show coming up in April and needed to get some new art done. The first piece I picked out was a photograph of a palomino mare which was my horse’s best friend when I bought him. She was also a favorite of mine. Like so many  horses, she came to the barn with some history. For some reason we couldn’t fathom, no one liked her at her old home. She  was starved for attention when she arrived, and we were happy to oblige. With kind treatment and care, Glory soon thrived. She could be a little ditsy at times but was otherwise a sweet gentle mare.

Although Glory was a Quarter Horse, she had a bit of a dished face, and this photo of her, which shows it, had always appealed to me. What you see above is the painting to date in the underpainting stage. She looks kind of like a dappled gray in this version but that will change when the color is added.

Glory’s new job was as a broodmare and occasional riding horse. Sadly, she died foaling several years later, and so this painting is my “Tribute To Glory”.

Winter Scotch - Finishing The Horse

I'm not a fan of getting older, but my body has other ideas. Since the beginning of the year, I've been exercising regularly which is something I haven't done for a long time. One day I do leg exercises and the next I do shoulder and neck exercises. These were all prescribed by the physical therapist for various injuries and the arthritis I have in my neck and shoulders. Unfortunately, this week I suffered a setback when my shoulders and neck pretty much seized up, and I could barely lift hand to mouth to feed myself. (that might be a good thing if it weren't so painful!) Lifting my saddle around to clean it was just too painful to even contemplate, so it still sits in the laundry room in pieces as does the bridle.

Clearly, a change in strategy is in order.

My horse is advancing in years also and has been lame in the hind end for over a month now. He had his second chiropractic adjustment on Friday and will soon be going on a joint supplement. I ordered a quarter sheet from Dover last week which I hope will help him to warm up safely when we ride which I should be doing more often, for his benefit and mine. He's now wearing his winter blanket since we've had so much sub and near zero weather of late, and I'm sure he appreciates that immensely, even though he gets it dirty by taking his morning roll in the arena after his breakfast grain. He'll be 24 on April 15.

Several years ago I decided that when Scottie can no longer be ridden, I will quit riding. At this point, I'm not sure which of us will give out first!

Yesterday, I was recovered enough to work on this painting again and managed to pretty much finish the horse last night. Although he could use some adjustments, I'm so happy with how he turned out that I'm debating whether or not to just finish up the background and call the painting finished. The horse looks just like Scottie, and this painting will remain in my collection no matter what.

It's time to start thinking of what to work on next.

The Peppermint Kid Update

There was no progress on Bard yesterday due to an allergy attack that leveled me for the day and required an afternoon nap; something I never do unless I'm sick or exhausted. Cleaning out closets and drawers brought it on due to all the dust stirred up.

But, today was another story. After a run to Traverse City for an appointment and a stop at the Goodwill to drop off former closet inhabitants, I was able to get in an hour of painting before dinnertime. Click on the image above to see a larger version of today's progress on my website.

I was quite happy with today's progress. As you can see, Bard now has a real eye. I also did some more resculpting of his face and added some lighter highlights. They will need another application to bring them up even more, but they're good for now and serve as a guide for the final touches. They were mostly dry brushed on which proved to be too subtle, so next time the application will be heavier.

Tomorrow I plan to paint most of the day and hope to have Bard pretty much finished before we head for Deer Camp on Friday. By the time we return, he'll be dry enough for the final touches and a final background layer.

Today's photo was again taken using the easel light, so the lighting isn't even and has washed out the upper half. Perhaps I can get a better one tomorrow.