WHAT'S THIS ABOUT STEM CELL TREATMENT

I LOVE riding and horses more than anything!

Bruno and me a couple of years ago.

Bruno having a pleasant munch in the back garden.

Photo reference for a painting I am re-doing. I have a painting of Bruno hanging in my living area. A visitor was here a few days ago, and wanted to know how much I wanted for the painting. I told her it was not for sale, but I would be happy to paint another. So I will work on that while waiting to ride.

I have loved horses for as long as I can remember. I drew them, played with plastic figures of horses, rode carousel horses, even "rode" statues of horses. And occasionally I got to be around the real thing. I didn't start riding till I was thirty, when I could afford my own horse. I became much more physically active, and yes, had a lot of accidents. I had a very bad cycling accident when someone drove into me from behind, doing about 50 mph. The next year, I came off a young horse, and she proceeded to buck, with her hind feet pounding down on me. Neither of these incidents were fully addressed medically, so my right hip area has had a lot of abuse and not much care.
The past few years have been especially hard with pain, stiffness ... all of those arthritic symptoms. I have been seeing a yoga therapist who has helped immensely, and I will continue to see her. My physician sent me off to an orthopaedic surgeon who looked at the X-ray, did some manipulation and decided I needed a full hip replacement. He described the surgery and showed me the replacement joint. I went home and gave it some thought. I was totally unprepared to go through that surgery! I started to look for options, and  found stem cell therapy. I researched it for several weeks, and then found  a clinic near Vancouver that performs the procedure. Three weeks ago, I had the treatment - an autologous, adipose-derived stem cell and platelet-rich plasma injection into the joint area via ultrasound guidance. A few days ago, I had a follow-up injection of PRP. I must say ... so far, so good. I have less pain and more mobility. The hard part is not being able to ride. I suppose I could try, but I think it would be better for those stem cells to get better established in my hip joint. So here I sit, waiting impatiently  ... I'll give those busy little cells another few days, and then carefully have a short and gentle ride.

Thank you for visiting!

CLASS PROJECT - "ADRIFT"

Drawing with notes and large drawing of cormorant.

Mask out bird and boat. Graded washes of quin. coral and phthalo blue.

More washes of phthalo blue, trying to keep pink area a bit clear of blue. Start thin washes of indanthrone from bottom upwards, and drizzle on some wavy lines with thicker mix of indanthrone to evoke quiet wave action.

Masking off.

Use two mixtures - one of the pink and indanthrone, the second with some quin. burnt orange added to grey the color. Use those colors to creat planking on side of boat, and shadows on boat and bird.

Paint in cormorant and reflections, and voila!
ADRIFT
Framable size 18 x 13 in./ 46 x 33 cm.
$295.00 US unframed

This is my student's work - beautifully done washes! Marie has only been painting since the middle of the summer, and she has taken to it so quickly, I am amazed.

 

 This is the Big Guy and me, shuffling through the leaves in the back yard. My trainer wanted to take some photos, as it was such a gorgeous day, fantastic colors. It has been a beautiful Fall, I have wanted to spend as much time as possible outside, savouring it!!

Thank you for dropping by!

A New [and Better] Look for the Seiner, and Other Little Bits and Pieces ...

I quite liked the softness of the background colors in this photo. My niece's boyfriend took it at Spanish Banks.

So, I started again - masking the ship, and washing and glazing with aureolin, phthalo blue, permanent rose and cobalt blue.

I did the mountains with a thin w/w glaze of indanthrone, and added some more cobalt clue to the water.

I wanted to compare the look of the two - liked the newer one MUCH better.

Started adding the shadows to the ship ...

... and some of the local color.

More of the same, and added the rigging. 

Then finally the net. I took this photo in early morning light, so it's quite washed out and very blue. My next step will be to do some subtle wave action in the foreground, hopefully leading the viewer's eye to the people, and mast with the netting.

I also intensified the darks around Jules' face. I wet the entire previously painted are, then drizzled in some black.

This is the next project [along with some ducklings, too]. This is Miss Sophia, one of the animals to be added to the huge painting of eight cats. 

My trainer took these photos last week - Bruno and I chuffing around in the back field.  He's got a nice long and  supple topline, is stepping under well with his hind legs, and has a lovely frothy mouth - all signs of a relaxed, happy camper.

I'm getting a lot of painting and drawing done, which is good, but only because I haven't been able to ride. Some nasty flu virus saw me coming, and decided to take up residence, so I've been laid low for several days. I haven't yet quite established a routine that organizes me, so that I have time for Bruno and for art, and somehow Bruno always wins out ... but I'm getting there.

Thank you so much for dropping  by!

Experimenting ... or ... I Am Being Pulled Out of My Safe Zone

Some experimenting going on!
This is a LONG way from finished. And I know I will be doing many more renditions of this wonderful dog. I have about thirty photos of her, all different, all full of life and humor. Her owner recently requested a commission of Miss P., and I accepted with great enthusiasm. This Westie has such personality, such character, it is amazing! She and her owner [a watercolor painter and teacher]  both seize life, and savor every morsel. I find I am being pulled out of my usual approach to painting, exploring ways to express this joy in living.

This is another painting I started late last week. I thought I would re-visit one of my earlier paintings [below] but this is as far as I got. Miss P. is so much more compelling.

I believe I am going through another growth phase, always hard, but the results are great. With painting, I am being pulled out my usual ways, trying to really express some strong emotion in my work.

With riding, I have also taken some steps forward. I have always preferred at least a bit of control. As a result, I have done almost all my riding in the ring. But Sunday, two of my neighbors made me an offer I couldn't refuse. They saw me heading home from a walk with Maggie, and said - go home, change, throw a saddle on Bruno - we're going in the park. So I did! Thanks to their wonderful companionship, I was so comfortable riding him into the "unknown". Yesterday, I took him out on the trails solo! And I got the feeling from Bruno that he loved it, and wanted to keep on going. 

A very strange thing happened yesterday. I woke up, went into the kitchen, and found the chinchilla cage OPEN! ... and one was missing. I quickly shut the window [if he got out, he was a goner], put the cat in the bedroom, and Maggie outside. Maggie had been lying, staring at one of the sofas, so I was fairly sure the chin was under it. After a rousing, merry chase, I caught him, and put him safely back in the cage. The question is - how did the cage door open? I now have a large safety clip on the door. Never a dull moment!!!

Thank you so much for visiting!

Bruno Took on a Different Role Today ...

Miss Brielle up top with mom.

There was a big audience of great-grandma, grandma, grandpa and others. All the green foam at his lips is from the munch of grass he had while waiting for Miss B's diaper to be changed. One never rides in a soiled diaper :)

Bruno was so well-behaved and gentle.

My landlady's family was out today for a visit - it's so beautiful out here, and the weather is still summer-like.  As I was grooming Bruno, Henry [aka grandpa] watched with Brielle, who thought she'd like to try riding Bruno. While they watched, I lunged him, and then rode him, and he was extremely good, so I had no qualms about having wee tots on his back.  Brielle decided she'd like to have mom up there with her. So Katie got on, then we handed Brielle to her, and Katie put her in front. I walked them around for about 15 minutes, till Miss B. decided she'd had a long enough ride. She was very good and quiet, and I am so happy she had a great first- time experience with a horse. And Bruno was a super-star!

Short and Sweet - Just the Way We Like It!

My, he is one HANDSOME lad! Nice bum!!!

He has such a gentle and attentive look in his eye here.

I like this shot - shows how I am able to keep the inside rein [in this case, right] looser here - means he is listening nicely.

And this is the time everybody LOVES. Goodies and treats and pats all round.

I had a most pleasant surprise this morning. Just as I was grooming Bruno, my sister, Stephanie arrived. She has a delivery box in the States, just minutes away from here. She had driven down earlier to pick up all the watercolor paper I had ordered, and then came for a visit. She offered to take some photos of the lad and I riding, so ... here we are. :)
GOOD TIMES!!!

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

The Curse of Hands - notes on riding

Photo from www.care2.com

Photo from www.horseforum.com

I've been away from the blog loop for a while - very busy with a new venture, and with spending some thoughtful time trying to figure out more about Bruno. My riding trainer has been away at shows, so that leaves me time to experiment on my own.
I was moved and inspired to try a different approach in my riding by a movie I recently watched. It's called "Buck", and is about a cowboy-type "horse whisperer" from the States. He actually worked with Robert Redford on the film "The Horse Whisperer".  Buck Brannaman is an amazing man, who overcame his early years of physical abuse by his father to become a gentle and sensitive and knowledgeable horse trainer. Two things really struck me in the movie. One was a horse that had been so very badly spoiled that it had become a killer. There was a scene where the horse actually lunged at a man in the training pen with him, bit his face to the bone, and then jumped on him to finish him off. Unfortunately, the horse will have to be euthanized. The other thing that stuck in my mind was a comment Buck made ... "Control the feet, and you control the horse."
We humans are all so very hand-oriented. If we want something done, we use our hands. This most definitely does not work with horses. They don't like someone on their back constantly pulling and jabbing at their mouths. Believe me, it is SO difficult to resist the almost automatic reaction to fix something the horse is doing with your hands. But I have spent the past couple of weeks making a very conscious effort to NOT use my hands. I am using leg aides only to steer and encourage his forward movement. It was awkward at first for both of us, but gradually Bruno has been responding beautifully. And I know he appreciates it. He is always happy to see me, welcoming me with a whinny or nicker, and he is keen to go for a ride, eagerly accepting the bridle. I have seen some videos of people riding without bridles or with just string in the horse's mouth. I can only aspire to reach that level of intimate communication with a horse sometime in the future.
The photos at the top of the page are of a technique called rollkur or hyper-flexion.  Unfortunately the method has become popular in the dressage world. You can see that the horse's head is so tightly cranked in that it can hardly breathe. I most vehemently do NOT consider this an art form in riding!
I must add, I love my riding instructor. She is always positive, and is definitely on the horses' side. She brings me back to earth in my riding. I tend to disappear off into the clouds. It's the artist in me! :)


Thank you for dropping by. and, as always, your comments are welcome.  

If Boots Could Talk ...

I have added some varied shadow colors - playing with a pink-purple, a blue, a violet and a brown - all mixed from the three colors I am using throughout. The colors are quin. burnt orange, alizarin crimson and indanthrone blue.

... just adding more depth of hue and shadowing ...

I have put in some ground shadow. I will also later paint a slight ground-line behind the boots.

Getting into more of the detail work here.  I might even finish it tomorrow.

I'll just have a quick grump here about how poorly watercolor transposes to  camera and computer - GRUMP.
I think I can attribute some of the success with this painting to climbing up from a learning plateau. But some of it is due to my riding. Over the winter, I had allowed myself to let Bruno become spoiled - unwilling to work. This past week of boot-camp lessons has worked like a charm with my riding and my confidence. And the confidence has appeared in other aspects of my life - like painting. Interesting!

As always, your comments are most welcome!   

Am I Permitted to Say I Like Them?

This was supposed to go at the bottom of the post, but ...

Life ... painting going well, riding not so much. I finally had a lesson, after a few months without. I thought we were doing well. I could afford to "show off" a bit. But as I've said before, horses always bring you back to ground, to reality. I had been riding him at too fast a rhythm. It's easier to ride, but not desirable. It does not allow nor encourage the horse to push off from the hind legs properly, and use the back well. Riding in a slower tempo, more powerfully, has the horse using its back so much more - if you look closely, you can see Bruno's back slowly vibrating. It is a STINKER to ride. Following Bruno's larger movement, translated to my body, has me moving all over the place. I look like the Energizer Bunny up there, arms and legs wubbling all over the place. What it means is I am going to have to get much stronger in my core. 

At least the painting is going well ...

"I Got Spots"
I have darkened the eye a bit, to bring more focus to the head, and I have added a ground by dry-brushing along the bottom. It looks finished, and I actually like it [and you all know I am hard to please with my paintings].

"Struttin'"
This one I have taken as far as I can take it without mucking up the feathers. I have done some direct glazing with a thin mixture of a dark brown to suggest form shadows - any more, and she will look like a very cross wet hen.


  As always, your comments are most welcome!

I'd Rather Be Hibernating ...

After several glazes of aureolin, quin. siena, phthalo blue and a touch of indanthrone, this is the result.  I like this  outcome better than the previous one - it has a cleaner look to it.

Most of the painting time was spent creating spots, shadows and reflections.  I much prefer this version to the last one. The focus of patterns and reflections is more apparent, more refined. Whoa ... I might even say I LIKE this one!!!
As for hibernating, I know I'd be safer! The day before yesterday, I was sent flying off Bruno's back. I honestly don't have any idea what got into him. It might have been something weird he saw next door, where my very strange neighbor lives. She has been around horses for more than 60 years, and she still does some incredibly thoughtless things to her horses. Anyway, Bruno did about 3 huge leaps and/or bucks, and I was airborne after the third one. I was still hanging onto the reins when I made a soft landing. I quickly let go the reins, as it is very dangerous to be flat out on the ground with an excited horse nearby. I wasn't hurt - shaken up, with a few sore muscles. But I did get back on and finish the ride, and His Highness was MUCH more agreeable.
Yesterday I took the dogs out for a long walk. I let them off-leash, and they were good about returning when called. However, at one point, the younger one got a whiff of something worth following, and crawled under the fence to give chase. I spent at least 1/2 an hour yelling for her, following the fence line, but she would not come back. So I had to scramble over the fence, and crawl through the brush. It was all mud, puddles, soggy long grass and blackberry brambles. [I was still finding thorns in my hair this morning!] I finally caught her, took her to the spot where she could crawl under, pulled her through, tied her up, crawled over myself, and headed for home. Man, I was angry!!! So, between the dogs and Bruno, I really think I would be safer hibernating.

As always, your comments are most welcome.
 

WHY Do We Do This???

Some light initial glazes ...

... and I end up here

Leaves are basically, there, but need more touching up.

Start petals, w/w with aureolin, quin. pink and cobalt blue.

The model

Why do we paint? And ride horses? - not just ride, but aspire to dressage movements? I'm feeling like a caged tiger today. I usually do get this way when fall is starting. It must be some sort of atavistic behaviour, like following the migrating herds.
I'm feeling very frustrated today. Still fussing with the *%&# bridge, though John said to frame it - he'll take it for his office. The leaves in this painting look like felt cut-outs. How to fix?
The weather is cooler. Bruno has been gradually getting his winter coat. He is also full of himself - makes for much more "exciting" rides. That's another "why". If I had known what it meant to ride and keep a horse those many years ago, would I do it? The number of times I left a lesson in tears of frustration, the many times I was injured ... And I still go back for more! If anyone has some answers, please let me know. I think I need to go out and do some physical work.

As always, your comments are most welcome!