Horse art, Equine art, for sale.: oil on canvas

Showing posts with label oil on canvas. Show all posts

Sunday, April 10, 2011

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.

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!

Saturday, May 29, 2010

"Blazin' Fast!" original 16x20 oil by Kerry Nelson

This racing scene will add a blaze of color to your decor!

Original oil painting on 2.5" deep gallery stretched canvas with black painted sides. $599.95

Purchase Here!

Monday, June 15, 2009

"Totem Horse" by Kate Dardine

Totem Horse carries other totem guides within herself as she journeys toward self-discovery. 30x30 oil on Gallery-Wrapped Canvas. Click here for purchase information.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Red Arabian Stallion by Kerry Nelson

Hi!
This is my first listing here since the beginning of this blog, but, I thought I would get back to listing here with this new oil painting. This is a 12x12 inch oil on 3/4 inch gallery wrapped canvas. The sides are painted black. It can be displayed as it is or can be framed if prefered. Sold unframed with a heavy-duty saw-toothed hanger attached on back. If prefered, I can attach a standard hanging wire, just let me know. The painting is signed on the front, and, titled, signed, and dated on the back.

"Red Arabian Stallion"

by Kerry Nelson

SOLD

See new work and works in progress at www.KerryOriginals.blogspot.com and see works for sale at http://www.kerryoriginals.etsy.com/ .

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

"Forest Pony" by Kate Dardine

I like the feel of this little painting. It shows some of the influences of Marc Chagall and Franz Marc on my work. To me, the painting has an almost mythical feel. This is a 12x12 oil on gallery-wrapped canvas. Special purchase price, $125 plus shipping. Click here for details.

To see more of my work, visit my website, www.katedardine.com.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Derby Double

One of my guest bloggers from this month, Kimberly Kelly Santini, each year paints horses instead of dogs for Derby Week. Earlier in the week, Kim issued a challenge of sorts – that Friday we do a daily painting from the same image. It sounded like a lot of fun to me, so I dug up a selection of photos, and we nominated mutual friend Juliet Harrison to choose one for us. Kim put together a blog for the event: A Virtual pARTy. If you pop over there, you'll see the image we worked from; an early progress shot of my piece, and both our completed paintings.

This is 16 x 12, oil on canvas, and the subject is a yearling Thoroughbred filly named Peaker. She was always very friendly, and as soon as she spotted you, would come boldly over to the fence!

Tomorrow is Derby Day, but Friday is the Kentucky Oaks. I didn't get away to catch the race, but I had to look up the result, and was so happy to see Rachel Alexandra won - by twenty lengths and change! So now, I'm off to watch the replay. Tomorrow, Derby Day!

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Connected

This 24 x24 oil is at the Collective Fine Art Gallery in Fort Collins. In this painting I'm trying to use the same technique that I've been using with my Totem Animal series - but with the suggestion of a landscape, since I want to show the mare and foal connected not only to each other, but to their surroundings. Both the mare and foal are aware of the viewer, and so the connection goes beyond their world and enters ours, as we enter theirs.

www.katedardine.com

Prints of my work are available at Fine Print Collection.

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Return of the Muse

I'm fortunate to have a number of great models on my farm, but the one I have painted the most is my own Thoroughbred mare, affectionately known as Monster. Standing out in the field, under her fly "armour" she looks quite remarkable, but she's very photogenic, and if I limited myself to my reference photos of her, I'd still be busy for a long time to come.

This painting is a 24 x 20 oil on canvas, and it's called "Emerging." The original is available, but I'll also be doing giclée reproductions. If you're interested, let me know! As always, you can see what else I'm doing on my own blog. Hope you'll come over and have a look!

Friday, November 30, 2007

John Henry Oil Painting by Kerry Nelson

This is a small 9x12 oil painting on 3/4" gallery wrapped canvas and is a portrait of the great thoroughbred racehorse, John Henry. It has the sides painted and comes already wired to hang, so, you can display it immediately as is, or, if you prefer, you can buy any standard 9x12 frame (not included). This original oil painting will be carefully wrapped and shipped by priority mail with FREE SHIPPING! (US only).

AVAILABLE FOR SALE $249.
See new work and works in progress at www.KerryOriginals.blogspot.com and see works for sale at www.KerryOriginals.etsy.com .

Equine artists on this site

are dedicated to sharing their love of horses with you. Through our eyes, you'll feel the power the love of horses brings to your life. If you own a horse or not, you can interact with them through the works you'll find here.

Love horse racing? You'll find racing art here that will stir your blood and present you with the thrill of the race.

Maybe you love rodeo? Keep coming back, you'll find photos and paintings to suit your taste!

Perhaps you love the simple beauty of horses in a pasture, grazing peacefully? You'll find that here also.

Sporting art, show art, anything to do with horses...we'll have it soon.

All works will be posted for sale, with pay pal buttons or email addresses so you can easily purchase the work with your credit cards.

It is the individual responsibility of each artist, to be certain no copyright laws are being violated when posting work to this blog.