A Day with a Knight [work in progress] ... also a Bad Pun

My sketch

First washes - so far, all I have used are variations with quin. burnt orange, quin. violet and indanthrone.

More glazing - w/w, wet on dry, dry-brush, scrumble - anything that works to give me the look of slightly battered armor.
I also did an application of aureolin, orange and alizarin, then let it dry and went over all the background with the black mixture, to give a semblance of a foul and dusty battle-field. At this stage, I might be about 1/3 to 1/2 way done. It's actually turning out better than I had hoped.

Meanwhile, Maggie sits outside. She is a very interesting dog, and I can now understand why she had been difficult to foster out. She is quite the guard dog, possessive of me [already], and has a lot of street dog behaviours. Whether she can be gradually "domesticated" more, we shall see - must be done sensitively and tactfully. 

And now there is Scruffy! One of my sisters adopted Scruff, and she has gone to Arizona for a month. She asked if I could take care of Scruffy while she was away. At the time, I had no idea I'd have a dog of my own, so now, there is quite a house full! But Scruff is no problem, other than she is 14 years old, and I think a bit blind. But she is spry, loves her walks, and digs into her food, so I think she'll be fine here. She makes me smile - reminds me of an old gnome, with those big ears and the long tufts of hair coming out of them.

And then there is Bruno, who right now at this level of his education, is demanding much from me, in the way of intestinal fortitude, discipline, balance and strength. Yup - he's a handful to ride. I must be calm, strong, believe in myself and what I am doing, and do it all with a good sense of humor.

Thank you for dropping by! Your comments are always welcome.

As I Was Trying to Get a Photo ....

Taking my time with this

Shayna, the new kid in the house

She would NOT stand still for a second. I'm lucky to have taken this shot.

Letting me know how excited she is to see me.

And Abby came out, too.


I opened the front door to take an outdoor-light photo of the painting. The slider to the main house opened, and two dogs came screaming out!!! I yelled "NO", grabbed the painting from the ground, and then it was OK. I did not want the new [and VERY exuberant] dog to tap-dance all over Buddy's portrait.
Anyway, I may not be posting quite as frequently as I have been lately. It's going to be a slow and careful process with Buddy's portrait. Also, the weather has improved, and I am spending much more time outside with Bruno ... YAY!!!
The new girl is Shayna, a rescue from the Chilliwack animal rescue. She is about 2 years old, extremely friendly and loving, and full of life and energy. She loves to come in and visit when my door is open, and gobble up all the cat food. Needless to say, the cat is NOT overly impressed!
So, that's the latest from the Farm. Hope to hear from you!

FROM ALL OF US TO ALL OF YOU ...

From Big Guy [aka. Fat Bastard] and Baby ...

From Pumpkin ...

From Bruno ...

From Lucy and Desi ...

From Betty ...

A good dose of humor ... always ...

And from me, of course ..


We all wish you a most healthy, Happy and Prosperous New Year !!!                                                                          

An All-Round Great Day

Bruno, having a well-deserved munch on the back lawn

His working end ... at least, he's learning that it's the working end

Desi, in mid-flight, heading to the field

The girls, out in the field

They LOVE to play out here ... when Bruno's not around

Play-fighting over sticks

Interesting action shot

Lucy, quenching her thirst, while I clean and re-fill Bruno's bucket


Not only did I finish a painting, to my satisfaction, today. I also had a great ride on the Lad. For several reasons - his previous training and work as a pacer, arthritis in his hocks, etc. - he has had difficulty with the concept of listening to my leg and yielding to it. For the longest time, he was physically unable to do so without pain. Now that his hocks are eased, his back is no longer sore, and he is much more flexible and at ease with his body. But he STILL did not like to yield to the inside leg. So I tried the "PC" technique, first on the ground and then in the saddle. PC = praise and carrots, and works like a charm. Today, for the first time since he's been here, he yielded to the inside leg. No big deal [you think]! It's possibly one of the most basic and necessary steps in training a horse to start carrying himself elegantly, whatever the riding discipline. So I am very, very proud of my Sweet Babu today!!!
My sister's boxers, Lucy and Desi - the Ricardos - like to come out and watch. And as soon as Bruno is finished and untacked, he's let on the back lawn as a reward. Then the girls go flying into the ring and field beyond for some serious play-time. So, for all of us today, it's been a SUPER day!!!

Winter

This is an illustration by Allen Cantrell.
The caption reads "Shit, I hate winter!"
That about sums up my sentiments toward this time of year.

Lucy, modeling a winter coat I bought at the tack shop.

Desi, showing off hers.
It's the same color as Bruno's!

A neighbor touching up her snowman.


Yes, it's true - I HATE winter. While we're on a similar vein, I hate Christmas, too. There ... I am a Grinch, and proud of it! We rarely get a long cold spell. But I do remember one a few years ago, when I was carrying buckets of hot water to the barn for weeks, because the pipes froze. I swear my arms are longer as a result of that session!
I still have my sister's Boxers living with me. They have been here since Denise's house flooded in late September, and I have a feeling they will be here till the end of the year, when the renovations are completed. Denise asked me if I could look at blankets for them, so off we went today to my favorite tack shop, where they have dog blankies as well as horse gear. I picked up two for Denise to look at, when she comes over this weekend to visit her girls.

A BUSY Day at the Farm

Head Study

The Inspector

   It was a very busy day at the farm today. I had Ken come in with his tractor to dig out some of the wetter spots in the ring, and then spread the three loads of hogge's fuel I'd had delivered last week. That took about three and a half hours of steady work, but it's done - YAY - and will soon be ride-able. I just have to spend hours over the next several weeks leveling it bit by bit with a rake and pitchfork.
  Then I got to the inside of the barn and cleaned out all the old and moldy hay. That was a hefty job as well, as I was cleaning up after two or three years of build-up [couldn't get to it sooner, as it was inaccessible]
   I also finished the head study that I started as a demo at the open studio tour. I think it would look better with the edges [right and bottom] much softer. I'll try it that way for the next demo. I also got all the smaller, unframed paintings bagged in glassine pouches, and worked out prices. I will tag them, and put my business card on them all later tonight.

New Barn Grunts

   Here are some photos of the job done today, and my new apprentice "barn grunts".

Old footing moved to side of barn

The three nesters are back[killdeer]

Bruno, wondering "What the ..."

Mounds of new footing

Done

Bruno leaves his seal of approval

Boxer Girls Do Art Show ... or Don't Give Up Your Day Job

Entrance

Field and Flowers

Inside store

Inside

The Barn

My Set-up

Out for Walk on Track

The Star of the Show - Duke

   This is the second day of the Langley artists open studio tour. I missed most of the action on the first day, when the weather was somewhat accomodating. Today, we had thunder and lightning, and the skies opened ... and dumped! I am dog-sitting my sister's boxers, so we all packed up, and went to the  event. The star of the show was Duke [one of the residents], and I can hardly wait to try painting him, he's such a character.
   Needless to say, I did not sell a thing, hence the comment about the day job.