Tuesday, August 30, 2011

For Her Eyes Only, from The Saratoga Series ~~ Kimberly Kelly Santini


 
 
 

"For Her Eyes Only," 5" x 7", the latest addition to my "Saratoga Series" of paintings, portrait of a Thoroughbred Racehorse, done in Golden Open Acrylics on an Ampersand Gessobord (see my reference material below). Add this painting to your collection for $289. Inquiries may come to me.

 
Yesterday, Three Chimneys Farm (a Thoroughbred racehorse breeding facility) shared a photo of a 2 year old filly on their Facebook page. I was immediately struck by her unique markings (see the skull shape in her blaze?), and wanted to paint her.

 
I did a little research, and discovered she was currently in Saratoga, New York - even handily won her first race yesterday!

 
I sent a emails to friends who were in the Saratoga area - were they planning on going to the track soon, and if so, could they keep an eye out for her?

 
Meanwhile, this afternoon, I pulled up my own references (I wanted to paint a gorgeous dark bay wearing a plaid cooling sheet, a horse I photographed during my recent visit to Saratoga), and what did I discover? 

 
Photos of For Her Eyes Only, being hotwalked after her morning bath, just ahead of that dark bay in the plaid cooling sheet.

 
Serendipitous, no?
 

Thanks, as always, for looking at and sharing my paintings with your friends and family,
Kim
 

PS Might I add that there was no attribution to the photo as originally posted on FB. With that in mind, I opted not to include it by means of anything other than a link to the source, since I had no means of acquiring permission or acknowledging the photographer.
 
 
COMING UP ~~ PAINTING WORKSHOP "Mixing Color Not Mud": Saturday, October 8th, at the Orion Art Center in Lake Orion MICHIGAN. Email me to get on the early bird list.


 

My (copywritten) photo, taken at Saratoga, in July 2011. 
 
Copyright Respect

 
I can hear the questions now - why didn't I just paint from the photo I first saw on Facebook?

 
Easy.

 
I didn't take the photo.

 
Which means I didn't have permission to use it, even if I was only using it for something derivative like a painting.

 
The photographer automatically owns the copyright, whether said photographer is professional or amateur. (Copyrights don't just apply to authors/artists.)

 
That said, I can only use photographs as reference material with explicit permission from the photographer.

 
No matter where I come across those images.

 
Magazines, blogs, websites, even Facebook, are all off limits. It doesn't need to have a copyright watermark on it to be protected, either - if you didn't take the photo yourself, it belongs to someone else.

 
So unless you have written permission to use a photo - or even a portion of it - steer clear.

 
Life is too short to spend time dealing with accusations of copyright infringement.
 

Friday, August 12, 2011

Morning Banter ~~ Kimberly Kelly Santini


 

"Morning Banter," from "The Saratoga Series," 9" x 15", Golden Open Acrylics on Ampersand Gessobord, inspired from a photo taken by Juliet Harrison. Titled after the casual conversation both riders and horses were having with each other during their gallop. Original painting available for purchase, $599. Inquiries may come to me.

 
When hanging at the rail (in Saratoga) with my girlfriends last month, the idea was thrown to the universe that we should all paint a piece inspired by the same photo. A few days after returning home, an email from Juliet arrived with an attachment and the official challenge began.

 
Everyone else jumped into their pieces with gusto, but I had a number of other commitments I needed to complete before indulging myself. I got through all but 2 of said commitments before I had used up all my willpower.

 
I couldn't hold back any longer!

 
And, as always, I see a few minor changes I want to make - this always happens after I've signed and photographed the painting. But given it's a Friday, I'd like to call it a night and kick into weekend mode. So I'll wait until tomorrow to correct the line on the front horse's ankle.

 
Thanks, as always, for looking at and sharing my paintings with your friends and family,
Kim
 
 

JUST ANNOUNCED!!  PAINTING WORKSHOP "Mixing Color Not Mud": Saturday, October 8th, at the Orion Art Center in Lake Orion MICHIGAN, for early bird reservations email me.
 





Here's the reference photo inspiring the painting above.
 

Oh yeah - and now that I've figured out how to feed my new smart phone to the studio facebook page, it's made on-the-fly updating possible. As with yesterday's painting, today's track scene has multiple in-process views on my studio page, so take a peek to see it's progression (for instance, there was a detailed background behind the far rail, but I felt it was too distracting and took it out).

 
 
 

Thursday, August 4, 2011

‘Gathering up the reins’ Watercolor by Debbie Flood

                      Gathering up the reins Medium Web view

Gathering up the reins 13 x 17 Watercolor on Arches 300lb Watercolor Paper.

The painting is finally finished. I was going to send this to an exhibit I was invited to, but the Lady at the Angel Fire ArtSpace Gallery in New Mexico, requested it for her Gallery.

I have other works I can send to the exhibit, so this one will be going to the Gallery. At the moment, the frame I ordered for it, is on back order. Once I have that, I’ll be able to frame it and send it on to the Gallery in NM.

This painting is from the ride I went on in Angel Fire, NM with the Road Runner Tours. This painting depicts the Tour Guide, Gunther, and his dark Palomino mare. This is where we stopped on the side of the mountain that dropped out into an open field. Here the horses rested and we took photos of one another.

Another painting I recently finished of the horse I rode “Bullet'” The coolest place in town, will also be going to the Angel Fire ArtSpace Gallery in NM. Here is an image of it with it’s pretty Gold Wood Frame on. I’ve included the story of the Butterfly, on the back of this painting too. You can scroll down a few posts to read about the Butterflies of Angel Fire.

                      Bullet framed Medium Web view

My next trip is coming right up! August 13th I fly out to Sedona, Arizona. I am in an Invitational Group Exhibit there. The exhibit is ‘Lamingtons and Apple Pie’. It consists of 9 of us, from Australia and the USA. The Opening Reception is August 15th at 6:30PM. There will also be a raffle of works from each artist with proceeds for the Luv shack Horse Rescue Ranch.

The exhibit runs August 15- 29, 2011. Would love to meet you at the reception!

~Debbie

http://www.debfloodart.com

Monday, August 1, 2011

‘Head Games’ Western Watercolor by Debbie Flood

                                                                                                                  Head games Medium Web view

Head games 15 x 12 Watercolor on Arches 300lb Watercolor Paper.

This is a scene from the ranch at the Road Runner Tours, in Angel Fire New Mexico, where I went on my trail ride in June 2011.

This poor cowpoke patiently chased this mare around the paddock to put her bridle on. The saddle was on...but she wasn't too quick to give her head. At one point, I helped block her, so she didn't go into another adjacent paddock.

I don’t know how many hours they had gone around one another, while I was off riding through the Forests and Mountains. They weren’t there when we left, but when we got back, 2 hours later, there they were, all hot, dirty and dusty. going around and around.

Many times she seemed she would give in and he got close to her head. He’d gently put a rope over the crest of her neck, to try to use as leverage in hopes she wouldn’t budge. But…off she’d go. About an hour after we got back from our ride, he finally caught her. I think at one point, she jumped into the water trough! I heard the thunderous splash of water and metal.

Once he had her, he climbed on, and away they rode…off into the Mountains. She was calm and no problems at all. I heard someone say, “She’s a great trail horse, once you catch her and get a bridle on”.

Hmmm….is this typical for a female? Head Games. lol

If you are interested in purchasing this watercolor, send me an email debflood@debfloodart.com

~Debbie Flood

http://www.debfloodart.com