The Horse in Art Exhibit, Invitational Seippel Center for the Arts. Debbie Flood

The Horse in Art Exhibit at the Seippel Center for the Arts, Beaver Dam Wisconsin. April 17- June 5, 2011.

This is an Invitational Group Exhibit. My Grumpy draft watercolor painting will be among some wonderful Equine Art there. I'm very honored to be hanging with so many highly acclaimed Artists.
A few Giclee Prints of Grumpy draft will be available at this venue as well.

I hope you are close enough to visit the Exhibit. This exhibit will also be going online as well as being in the Seippel Center. 

~Debbie Flood

http://www.debfloodart.com

Boots & Spurs

Boots & Spurs

Boots & Spurs is the 4th completed watercolour painting for the invitational exhibition in August this year... I have to rephotograph it in order to have the white background show up clearer...


I will be offering limited edition of 50 prints of Boots & Spurs ...each print will be signed and no. and come with an authenticity certificate.
There will be 2 sizes on offer A4 @ $50.00 + postage and A3 @ $75.00 + postage
If you would like to reserve a copy of this print drop me an email: catherin@animalarthouse.com


Catherin McMillan
http://www.animalarthouse.com/
email: catherin@animalarthouse.com
Commissions welcome... Original Art Work for sale
Lay byes and gift vouchers available

pay pal accepted

My Painting, "Just Me" on The Chronicle of The Horse Cover This Week

My painting, "Just Me", and 8"x8" oil painting is on the cover of "The Chronicle of The Horse" magazine this week! Check it out!

Pulling out the orphans... plus dressage!

One of the advantages to being able to pursue both commissioned and self generated work is that I get to start on a lot of really cool paintings that I might never get the chance to work on if I were relying on a client commission.  Many clients want a carefully controlled painting, starring themselves, their horses, their dogs or cats, their subject, etc, etc, etc.  Since this is exactly what a "commissioned" painting is, I'm perfectly okay with that!  If you as a client have the idea and the concept (and the money), I will paint whatever you want in any way you may desire.  And hopefully at the end of the (painting) day, we both go away happy.

On the other side, there's self generated work.  This is work that is done either as a self promotion piece or a learning curve or to fit a possible show theme or simply because you have an idea that you want to try and capture in an "artistic" way.  Since there's no client looking over your shoulder, there's no pressure to get it done a certain way, and lots of happy accidents can occur.  On the other hand, unless you are shooting for a predetermined deadline (upcoming show, advertising, etc) there's no real incentive for you to finish the thing quickly.

Sometimes these paintings sort themselves out wonderfully.  They practically paint themselves, and at the end of the day, you have a nice new piece of art to hang, sell, use, enter, etc.  And sometimes...

... there are the orphans.

Every artist knows what I am talking about.  THOSE paintings.  The ones that are just too cool to throw away, or the ones you've invested too much time/work/paint/frustration in to walk away from (or slink away in defeat), or the ones that are really kinda sorta NICE... if you can just figure out 1) what the problem is and 2) how to resolve it. Sometimes I'm rapturously in love with a single square inch of board, and that square inch is the sole reason for the painting's continued existence.

This is one reason why art studios are usually pretty cluttered, by the way.  It's very hard to give up on a painting or drawing, and so they get stored away, tucked into portfolios and behind cabinets, and then they multiply like evil little failure rabbits.  But every once in awhile, it's nice to unearth them from the clutter, dust them off and see if you as the artist (and master of your own destiny) can make some magic happen.

I've got a bunch of show deadlines in the next few weeks.  A ridiculous amount, actually, the kind of number that drives me from my bed at 4:00 in the morning to come into the studio.  (Hello everybody!) And this is where the orphans come in handy.

As I write, there are 9 paintings/ drawings hanging out in the studio with me, propped up against walls or scattered on the floor.  After carefully reevaluating them with fresh eyes (some of them have been in an unfinished state for several... years (sigh) now), I think there's enough promise here in a few of them to pull out the old paintbrushes and make a concerted effort at finishing a few of the damn things, thus putting me at least a few hours ahead from the dreaded "blank canvas" stage I'd be in otherwise with deadlines looming and panic attacks and all that.  Huzzah!  So now instead of having to start and finish a few paintings by... oh, let's say April 15th... now I only have to FINISH three of them.  And that is much more workable.  (And then start on May's deadlines!)

Really.

Here are a few of my (favorite things) orphans that came under review this morning.  If all goes well, hopefully you will see these guys in their completed incarnation this year in various and sundry venues.

All images © Joanna Zeller Quentin 2011.  All Rights Reserved.  www.MoosePantsStudio.com

© Joanna Zeller Quentin 2011.  All Rights Reserved.  www.MoosePantsStudio.com

© Joanna Zeller Quentin 2011.  All Rights Reserved.  www.MoosePantsStudio.com

© Joanna Zeller Quentin 2011.  All Rights Reserved.  www.MoosePantsStudio.com

© Joanna Zeller Quentin 2011.  All Rights Reserved.  www.MoosePantsStudio.com

© Joanna Zeller Quentin 2011.  All Rights Reserved.  www.MoosePantsStudio.com

And then, just for fun, here are a few of the almost 800 (yes, 800) pictures that I took at a dressage show today.  The weather was nice, the horses were gorgeous, the drive was peaceful... not a bad way to spend a Saturday.  These are the moments that make life as an equine artist worth living.  Enjoy!

All images © Joanna Zeller Quentin 2011.  All Rights Reserved.  www.MoosePantsStudio.com

© Joanna Zeller Quentin 2011.  All Rights Reserved.  www.MoosePantsStudio.com

© Joanna Zeller Quentin 2011.  All Rights Reserved.  www.MoosePantsStudio.com

© Joanna Zeller Quentin 2011.  All Rights Reserved.  www.MoosePantsStudio.com

© Joanna Zeller Quentin 2011.  All Rights Reserved.  www.MoosePantsStudio.com

© Joanna Zeller Quentin 2011.  All Rights Reserved.  www.MoosePantsStudio.com

© Joanna Zeller Quentin 2011.  All Rights Reserved.  www.MoosePantsStudio.com

© Joanna Zeller Quentin 2011.  All Rights Reserved.  www.MoosePantsStudio.com

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

ORDER NOTECARDS/REPRODUCTIONS

"Emanon," 10" x 11", commissioned Thoroughbred portrait done in Golden Open Acrylics on a Raymar panel, private collection (THANK YOU!). Emanon lived the most wonderful life - after success on the track, he turned to mastering the fine art of jumping. Nothing thrilled him more than facing a challenging course with his girl on his back. His family, wanting to supplement their many photographs and memories with a special portrait, reached out to me in November to begin the process. Sadly, Emanon passed away before his painting was completed. It will be especially rewarding to deliver them a small token of their boy's beauty and love. If you are interested in commissioning a portrait to commemorate your special companion animal, then by all means, give me a holler. Thanks in advance for sharing my artwork with your friends and family, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com Happy Birthday to The Princess The tail end of Spring Break involved a sleepover party for The Princess and a handful of visiting royalty. As her real birthday falls painfully close to Christmas, we postponed the festivities until everyone had satisfactorily recovered from the holidays. After all, it's not every day one turns double digits - we needed the guests' full attention! We feasted on ribs and mashed potatoes, enjoyed a mile high chocolate cake, gave manicures, practiced eyeliner, belted out favorite tunes, swung on the tire swing, watched a movie, had a waffle-fest, swung on the tire swing some more, and went on a scavenger hunt (which ended at our neighborhood toy store) - we did pretty much everything BUT sleep. Now I need a nap. After just one more piece of chocolate cake.