Not much painting yet, but a fair bit of sketching ...

It's not a very finished drawing, but I like the pose.

Clifford, a decidedly cheeky pony living at a rescue in Washington state. The woman who runs the refuge is a saint for all the animals. I like to help how I can. I will paint Clifford, and send it to her. Hopefully, [as she has done before] she can raffle the image to get some funds for supplies.

One of the emus here at the environmental farm ... waiting to be painted.

A few cute chicks, waiting for a paint brush, too.

A nearby farm. I've had the drawing for years, and now I feel I am finally able to approach it with a better sense of values, shapes ... composition in general.

Hmmmm ... we shall see. My idea is to paint this in all seasons. Must work on different backgrounds and light source to get the best effect.


This should keep me busy for a while! I'm also going to work on a proposal for the land/animal manager here to have some small classes here, drawing and painting the many subjects available here - animals, old buildings and farm implements, scenery ...  ONWARD!!!

A MODELING SESSION ... OR ... BRUNO GOES STEAMPUNK

Getting to know each other ... the apple helped

Bruno was an absolute gentleman when it came to being photographed with Olena [the model] holding the reins.

Here's David, totally absorbed in getting the perfect photos.

Check out the wild head-dress!
My yoga therapist's husband is a professional photographer. Janine came out here for a visit in the summer, and thought David should meet Bruno. Bruno is easy-going, fairly calm about all that life throws at him [except ducks, but that's another story]. So David was here a few weeks ago, and thought Brunz would be good in a photo shoot. We arranged to meet yesterday. David poked around to find some interesting spots with good light, and Olena [the model - a sweetheart] looked for places to change her outfits. All went very well with Olena posing, holding Bruno's reins. Then we tried to get Olena on his back without a saddle. That was not a hit with Bruno, and Olena ended on the ground. So we tried with the saddle - that was better, till Bruno decided he wanted to go off exploring, and lost Olena again. I must say, I admire her - she is game and tough, and still loved Bruno when we finished the shoot. I think David got some great photos of the the steampunk jewelry - the purpose of the exercise. As for Bruno's carrier as a model ... we shall see :)
I was very impressed with the professionally of David and Olena. If you'd like to see some of David's work, his website is www.hypnoticphoto.ca 
Thank you for dropping by!

This and That ... Some Works in Progress ... Some Life in Progress ...

FINALLY ... I think I am finished with Miss P. I have sent an image of the painting to the owner, and have left it for her approval. I scruffed the background, did some more detail and darkening in the shadowed areas, and put a bit of shadow around the other eye. It looked like a marble lost in the snow without it.

Time for a change in animals! I did two cat drawings [Maine coon cats] to do as demos for my watercolor class. I have one serious cat fancier in the class. And I wanted to show them that you can use the same techniques for all subject matter - flowers, animals, still life ... 

For the background, I soaked the entire area around the cat, and applied indigo at the perimeter. First I had to clean the well of paint - hadn't used it for about ten years, and there was a fair bit of horse, dog, chinchilla and cat hair in there! The eyes I first wet, stroked in aureolin, then dropped in cobalt blue. After it dried, I wet it again, stroked in cobalt blue, and added a few dabs of quin. burnt orange. The nose is a w/w application of quin. coral and quin. sienna.

I've done a w/w wash, using cobalt blue and a bit of quin. burnt orange.

And now for Maggie's part in the story. She has improved immensely! She is more calm, and always comes when called. However ... she still has energy to burn, and it takes the form of digging and disappearing shoes. I don't know how she fit in that tub to do all that digging!

And these are a pair of my muckers my landlady found floating in the pool. She very kindly retrieved them, and propped them up by the door to drain.

And last, but certainly not least, The Big Guy! He is starting to shed out, so is quite itchy. Here, you can see he's had a fabulous roll on the ground to scratch that itch!! It's quite mild here right now [T-shirts in the afternoon] and drying out, so I have been able to start doing a bit of riding again. I missed it SOOOO much, and Bruno missed the contact and routine [and carrots], too.

Thank you so much for dropping by!

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!

A Lot of This and a Fair Amount of That, Too

Two of my "quickie" posters taped to the back of the food truck ...

... and more on the side ...

Part of the area set aside for the horse trials - the dressage phase and the stadium jumping are held down here, while the cross-country phase is held in the higher, slightly hilly area beyond.

I fell in love with a handsome young dude by the name of Viking. I believe he is a Hanoverian/Westphalen cross. Lovely temperament, though I learned he can buck like nobody's business, when I had a chat with the proud owner.

This is one of the trails for horses and walkers. Campbell Valley Park is a huge equestrian park, miles and miles of well-maintained trails -  beautiful, and enjoyable all year round. It's to the park I almost always go when I take the girls out for a walk.

And we have a 2nd batch of baby nesters. I think they look almost ready to fly ... probably this weekend. I see them quite often now, perching at the edge of the nest.

Here comes a parent to the rescue with food!

After riding Bruno this morning [and he was a righteous dude - YAY],  I drove over to the other side of the park at the end of my street. They were holding horse trials - a 3-day event. Today was dressage, tomorrow is the cross-country phase, and Sunday is the stadium jumping. One of my sister's friends [she of all the rescued animals] was helping her friend with her food truck. Cindy owns Suburban Spoon. In the winter she has a catering business, and in the summer she has the food truck which she takes to various events around the lower mainland - in and around Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Cindy gave me permission to put up several posters, advertising my animal portraits. So I visited a while, then wandered around the fields, caught up with a few old friends that I hadn't seen for a while. I don't show any more, so I am completely out of the horsey loop. All in all, it was a pleasant time this afternoon, and I'll be going back tomorrow to watch some of the cross-country.

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

My Second Venture with the Rose ... and Bruno ...

I am still bound and determined to capture the essence of this rose ...

... but have decided to go yellow rather than peach in color.
Both of these photos are taken in my friend's back yard. She does love her garden! And I do, too!!!

This is after at least 10 w/w washes of aureolin, phthalo green,  burnt orange and alizarin to get the dark background. Thankfully, the masking cooperated this time - YAY!!!
The shadowed areas of the rose I have painted with a thin glaze of aureolin. The leaves are done w/w with aureolin, phthalo green, quin. gold and burnt orange. I think there's a touch of alizarin and indanthrone here and there, too.

More color on the rose shadows - thin quin. gold.

I have done the shadows again with a brown mixture of quin. gold, alizarin and phthalo green.

I think I am done with the brown. My plan is to go into the shadows again with warm, bright colors - yellows, pinks, oranges ...

As for Bruno, he had 5 days off [he pulled a shoe, I had to go into Vancouver, it was pouring rain ...]
When we finally got together yesterday, he wanted to play a rip-snorting game of "Who's the Boss"! Horses, being herd animals, constantly jockey for higher positions in the wild. The acts can be subtle - a look, a posture - or extreme - an all-out fight-to the-death. One must be vigilant and observant, noticing slight changes of posture and position, shifting of hooves. It's a quite the job, maintaining one's leadership. I really find it so hard to be masterful and disciplined all the time with a horse. I see all of them through the eyes of  Anna Sewell and "Black Beauty". Yesterday, His Nibs tested me the entire time, and I was exhausted, but I saw the exercise through to a good conclusion. Here's hoping today will not be so trying!!!

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

Easter with Bruno ... or ... Horse 101

Bruno, in his shed, having a quick munch.

I wonder what we are doing today?

Blanket coming off, fastenings undone from back to front of horse.

Ready for a good grooming.

I use a small, soft brush for his face and ears.

For a great massage and to remove excess hair, I use a round, rubber grooming pad. I go all over his neck and body, carefully over the bony and sensitive spots. You can see it is most effective at removing loose hair. 

Then I go over Bruno with a short-bristle brush, to remove the loosened hair and dander. The metal comb is used to clean the brush, and sometimes for really heavy muddy patches.

I remove his boots to groom the legs and clean the feet. The boots are to protect his front feet - he has a long stride, sometimes over-reaching and hitting his front feet with his hind feet. This causes trauma, and can twist or remove the front shoe.

Tools for cleaning his legs and feet.

Before picking his feet ...

... and after.

Now, we are getting tacked up.

He is wearing a green saddle pad and a sheep's wool pad under the saddle. The saddle pad basically just keeps the saddle a bit cleaner. The woolen pad I use because this saddle was not bought specifically for Bruno. I had it for my last horse, and she was much more round in the back than Bruno. So to make it absolutely comfortable for him, I bought the woolen pad. Saddle fitting is a whole other story ...
This is an English saddle, specifically for dressage.

Here, I have buckled the girth on one side. I gradually tighten it over several minutes. A snug girth is a MUST - I have had a saddle swing around the horse's belly with me in it [not for long].

Here we are - starting to lunge. Lunging is done for several reasons. In Bruno's case, I do it to let him warm up, and for me to see what his frame of mind is that day.

Here he is, at a lovely trot!

After lunging, I take off the side-reins, check the girth to ensure its snugness, and get on.
We had a fantastic ride today!!! I think he liked having his picture taken!!!
You will notice that his mouth is all frothy. That is an indication that the horse is relaxed and comfortable in his work. Also, he has a very soft and gentle look to his eye  - he is a happy boy.

The frothy bit - I use a light French double-linked snaffle. Again, as with saddles, the fitting and use of different bits is a LONG story.

Finally, after the tack [saddle and bridle] are off, Bruno gets LOTS of healthy goodies. Then he is allowed out onto the back lawn for some grass.

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