Thursday, May 26, 2011

Two as One... work in progress .. stage 3


Two as One - stage 3

 
The saddle and jeans are now completed.. and Ive now started work on the horses chest and neck... the colour in the riders shirt is still up to debate..
I may make it all pink or shades of pink.. or a mixture of colours to give the illusion of texture with out detracting from the rest of the drawing..

 
Two as One will be 12" x 24" approx upon completion

 
Catherin McMillan

Original artwork for sale
Commissions welcome worldwide

Gift Vouchers & payment plan available


Pay Pal Welcome

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Two as One .. work in progress Stage 2





Two as One .. work in progress Stage 2

Really happy with the progress of Two as One .. Ive finished the horses rear end the shadows are important to give the impression of muscles and movement in the horse..

A good start has been made on the saddle and saddle blanket.

After marking in the blue for the jeans and the highlights on the girls shirt...I called it quits for the day

Two as One will be 12" x 24" approx upon completion


Thank you so much to Vicki Ostendorf for the use of her great photo


Catherin McMillan


Original artwork for sale
Commissions welcome worldwide


Gift Vouchers & payment plan available


Pay Pal Welcome

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Princess


Princess

Princess is my latest memory equine portrait... Its such a wonderful feeling to create that special memory piece for an owner of their much love equine or companion animal.

Princess
14" x 21"
pastel

 
Catherin McMillan

Commissions welcome worldwide
Original artwork for sale

Gift Vouchers and Payment plans available


pay pal accepted

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

‘Burrowed in the high Country’, Burro with Rider Western Watercolor by Debbie Flood.

Burrowed in the high Country Medium Web view
Burrowed in the high Country
14 x 20 inches
Watercolor on 300lb Arches Watercolor paper.
$1,400.00 Original, No Frame or Mat.
Plus shipping & Handling, Ships Flat, sealed in a clear Art Bag with foam backing board.

Today I finished this Watercolor Painting of the Burro with a rider. What attracted me to this scene, was the woman’s boots, kerchief, and the fact that she was riding a Burro! It was a perfect combination for a painting.

To see more of my Western and Equine Themed Watercolors, check out my Website http://www.debfloodart.com

Thank you for reading and enjoying this little Burro.

Debbie Flood

Friday, May 6, 2011

The Post Parade, A Lesson Painting, Part II ~~ Kimberly Kelly Santini


ABOVE, DETAIL FROM "The Post Parade," 5" x 14", depicting the post parade at Saratoga Springs Racetrack on a sunny summer day, done in Golden Open Acrylics on an Ampersand panel, priced at $379 (scroll down to see the finished painting in it's entirety).

Interested in adding "The Post Parade" to your collection?Then by all means, please email me and we'll make it happen!

Yesterday you got to see the beginning stages of the painting - today I'll take you through to the final brushstrokes.

The changes may seem trivial, but these final three views include numerous tweaks and adjustments to the riders' bodies, the horses' legs, the rail, the dirt, and adding other sorts of details that make the painting sing.

And, believe it or not, there was more time invested in studying the piece and working these out than there was in getting to today's starting point!


ABOVE: "The Post Parade," finished!!

Thanks for sharing my artwork with your friends and family, and here's to a safe trip for all!
Kim


My Grandfather
No one else in my family followed horse racing - it was something Grandpa and I shared. Some of my fondest memories are of us watching (televised) races together.

Grandpa and Grandma retired to Arkansas (near Oaklawn) and I eventually moved to California, then back to Michigan, but we always touched base during Derby Week to share our picks and predictions.

Grandpa passed away a few days after last year's race. But that hasn't kept me from sharing my pick with him. It IS tradition, after all, and isn't that what The Derby is all about?

I think his money would be on Archarcharch - he always loved the Arkansas Derby winners.

I like Brilliant Speed myself - it's that Dynaformer connection.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

The Post Parade, A Lesson Painting, Part I ~~ Kimberly Kelly Santini


ABOVE IN PROCESS: "The Post Parade," 5" x 14", depicting the post parade at Saratoga Springs Racetrack on a sunny summer day, done in Golden Open Acrylics on an Ampersand panel, will be $379 (when finished tomorrow). Interested in adding "The Post Parade" to your collection?Then by all means, please email me and we'll make it happen!

This morning I felt like tackling a challenging painting, so I pulled a mess of reference photos, dug out a loooong panel, and got busy. Here's what I accomplished in a few hours' work:


I started with a bold underpainting, and roughly built my first layer to reflect the composition - Light Ultramarine Blue on top, with a mixture of Cadmium Red Light, Light Magenta, and Naples Yellow on the bottom.


Then I roughly sketched in my composition. I laid down the curve of the rail, began defining basic values in the tree shapes, greened up the infield, and lightened the track. There are pockets of the underpainting exposed all over the surface - this will add vibrance to the finished piece (see how the green "sings" alongside the exposed orange?). I also retained a strip of the underpainting to indicate where the horses' feet would hit the ground.


I continued adding loose details, working from the middle of the canvas outwards to retain proper spacing. I am concerned with the progression of shapes, making certain there are relationships (defined via body language) between the ponies and their charges. I'm also paying attention to scale, making the horses at the head of the parade proportionally smaller than those in the front right edge.

In the 4th step (illustrated at the top of the blog), I'm still working with the barest of details. I've pushed more sunlight in by lightening up the track in the foreground and graying out the background trees, doing this with several layers of glaze. Notice the horses still don't have legs, many of them are also missing their heads - once I am finished with the background (including the infield), I'll start in on those sorts of details.

Tomorrow you'll get to see the finished piece! Meanwhile, I'm headed back to the easel!

Thanks for sharing my artwork with your friends and family,
Kim
Detail from Step 4 of the painting in process.
Derby Details

Get all the info you need to make the most of Derby Day celebrations at any of these links:

The Bloodhorse - all things related to Thoroughbred racing
Churchill Downs - the official website for the track where the Kentucky Derby is run
Mint Julip - what's race day without a julip? Alton Brown'll show you how to fix one here.
Hats - every lady at the track will be sporting a fancy hat of some sort. Or a riding helmet.

And just for fun, take a peek at my friend Bob Clark's website - he's painted many a Derby winner for their connections, and I don't doubt for a second that he'll get commissioned to paint Saturday's winning horse, too.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Monster ~~ Painting a Dog a Day by Kimberly Kelly Santini

"Monster," 6-3/4" x 10", portrait of a Thoroughbred racehorse, done in Golden Open Acrylics on a Raymar panel, $449. Want your own Monster? Just ask nicely.

We've been hanging at Linda Shantz's farm all week - first you got a painting of Spider as a baby, then Billy who's just started his racing career. Today brings Linda's mare, registered name "EntertainingAngels," barn name "Monster."

Monster's job right now is nanny to yearling Baby Girl. Monster's supposed to keep Baby Girl out of trouble and teach her some manners during their days together.

Stay tuned because tomorrow we move from the farm to the track and I'll paint a race scene. Or two. Maybe even some fancy hats.......

But first, I haven't even asked - who's your Kentucky Derby pick?

Thanks for sharing my artwork with your friends and family,
Kim
A Slice of Beauty
I am grateful for whomever originally planted the deep row of daffodils in our back garden.

Our home is nearly 80 years young, and these bulbs have been welcoming warmer weather for the 8 springs we've been here. How many others have they ushered in?

(In the background is one of my new favorite things - a tile from the brilliantly talented ceramic artist Laurie Eisenhardt. Here's a better pic of the hand, which The Princess chose when we visited Laurie in her studio last weekend.)



Trainers in Training - update

Trainers in Training update
Ive made a start on the mouldy railings the children are standing on.. finding it necessary to darken their cloths a little more to stand out against the rails.

Green is such a challenging colour to work with..

Trainers in Training is on target to meet my entry deadline for the upcoming Inglis exhibition entries... phew
Trainers in Training

14" x 21" unframed size upon completion
Watercolour
Catherin McMillan
http://www.animalarthouse.com/
email: catherin@animalarthouse.com



Original art work for sale
Commissions welcome

Lay byes & gift vouchers available


Pay Pal accepted

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Billy ~~ Painting a Dog a Day by Kimberly Kelly Santini


"Billy," 4" x 6", portrait of a Thoroughbred racehorse, done in Golden Open Acrylics on a Raymar panel, $239. Billy's painting will go to the first one asking nicely.

Billy's another horse who's been in Linda Shantz's keep, foaled on her farm and raised under her watchful eye. Under the registered name of "Oil Be Clever," (did you know that racehorses have simple barn names by which their immediate family knows them, and then unique Jockey Club registered names under which they race?), he ran for the first time last Sunday.

Billy's race is on YouTube (he's the number 1 horse). He ran excellently, first along the rail and then in some traffic in the stretch, never losing his cool, finishing in a very respectable 5th place.

His connections - and myself - are eagerly looking forward to his next start.

Thanks for sharing my artwork with your friends and family,
Kim


"Thanks, Mom, for my new friend! I'm going to love him and pet him and take very good care of him...."
Finnigan, with his now deaf and nubbin-tailed thrift store stuffy

Monday, May 2, 2011

Little Spider ~~ Painting a Dog a Day by Kimberly Kelly Santini

"Little Spider," 6" square, portrait of a Thoroughbred foal, done in Golden Open Acrylics on Ampersand Gessobord, $299. Spider's painting will go to the first one asking nicely.

It's tradition in the studio that, in honor of the first Saturday in May and the Kentucky Derby, Painting a Dog a Day gets turned over to the horses during Derby Week.

Spider's doing the honor of kicking things off in grand style. Hailing from a girlfriend's farm (fellow artist Linda Shantz), he's now a strapping 2 year old in training, learning to put those long legs to work.

And Linda's got a crop of 3 new foals this year.

Lots and lots of dreams waiting to be fulfilled!

Thanks for sharing my artwork with your friends and family,
Kim
And More News From the Equine Front.....

Over the weekend, two Painting a Dog a Day pieces earned special honors at the Dancing Horse Farm Equine Art Show.

"Freedom" received 3rd Place, and "A Gentle Breeze" took 1st in the Paintings category.

Many thanks to the jurors and exhibition staff for these awards!

And special thanks, too, to Dog a Day collector MB for sharing photos of her pony Nitro, who inspired the paintings.

Both paintings are available for purchase.

You may also order notecards of either painting:


Sunday, May 1, 2011

Trainers in training

Trainers in Training - work in progress






Trainers in Training is currently a work in progress and is one of my entries for the Inglis Equine Art Prize here in Australia..


The theme for the exhibition is life on the stud farm... it seemed an appropriate image to paint of these 3 kids almost inspecting this young thoroughbred horse... assessing its prospects as a future winner.. and there becoming the industries future trainers..


Trainers in Training is a watercolour and will be 14" x 21" unframed size upon completion.. I'm enjoying the complexity of the fabric folds in the kids shorts...

Catherin McMillan
http://www.animalarthouse.com/
email: catherin@animalarthouse.com

Commissions welcome
Original artwork for sale

Lay byes & gift vouchers available

Pay Pal accepted