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.  

A Snail's Tale ...

I believe I left our friend here ...

I did some thin washes of bright colors for an underpainting - alizarin crimson, aureolin and quin. burnt orange.

Then I started glazing and glazing and glazing, sometimes with the original colors, sometimes  with a dark brown. I did the same with the body - layers of different hues of green.

I have finally reached the stage where he has the appearance of being backlit by a soft light.  I still can hear the instructor, in one of the two sets of watercolor classes I took, saying "darker ... darker", every time she commented on my painting. I have a tendency to be tentative until prodded.

And I am still playing around with the geese, trying to bring a stronger focus to the goose with his wings out. I've gone over the entire background - geese and all - with a red-orange wash, and the other two geese in the daylight got a thin wash of cobalt blue. I may yet bring out some more intense shadows on the #1 goose, and do more with the ground.

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

Some New Happenings ...

For the background, I floated in some WN cerulean blue, and stroked in a line of a dark blue-black under the snail.

Heading out to feed Bruno his breakfast, I noticed a snail on the patio. The light on the picnic table was so subtle, I put the snail up there and took some photos. After his modeling session, I put the snail out on the grass. 

I have painted thin washes of quin. burnt orange and indanthrone blue - VERY thin.

Here I've started with her eye, and placed the tan spots on her face.

A tentative start on the face ...

I was in a quandary as to how to paint the texture of her ears - all those kinks and curls - without painting each strand of hair. 

I think this looks quite realistic without being too fussy. I put pigment down with a round brush, in S-shaped strokes, and then go over them with a damp, flat brush.

On July 1, I joined an artists' cooperative gallery in Vancouver. There are eight other artists, and the gallery itself has a very good "feel" to it when you walk in. It is in a very funky, artsy area of Vancouver. I hope to gain some exposure and commissions, but if nothing else, I will definitely get more experience in the business side of the artist's life.

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

News from the World of Goose, and a Few Starts on Krystie ...

I left the flock here ...

Today, I went over the background with an alizarin crimson wash, followed by an indanthrone blue one. 

Then I went over the background geese with the dark blue ...

... and darkened their eyes and bills, and put a bit of direct shadow on the foreground geese's legs.  I apologize for the changing colors of the photos. These I have posted are the closest I can get with the iPhoto application.

... I like this one 

I call this "the look of love".

I'm not sure about this one. It needs more work.  K. looks almost sulky here.  And Bruno the critic was here ... I took my sketchbook out to the field yesterday evening to work, as it was so muggy inside, and the Big Guy was mouthing the paper. We're getting a mild heat wave in B.C.

I thank you for dropping by, and your comments are always welcome!

The Geese Are Taking Off ...

The feet are there, and I am slowly giving form and depth to their bodies. The colors are quin. burnt orange, quin. coral, a lavender, cobalt blue and brown madder. I'm using warm, less intense colors to keep them light and fluffy.

I've darkened the inside of the shed ...

... and added a bit of a ground, which I'll touch up later. Apologies - the colors are brighter in the original. I think the dark blues and bright oranges are vying for the edit function's  attention.

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

When Is a Painting like a Good Book???

... when you are enjoying it so much, you never want it to end, but you want to know how it will finish. That's how I feel about this painting.

I've done  thin wash of indanthrone blue on everything inside the shed.  The colors I am using for the geese are quin. sienna, quin. burnt orange, quin. coral, brown madder, cobalt blue and ultramarine violet [I think - can't read the label].

I am keeping the brighter colors for the geese in the foreground.

Here I've painted w/w with indanthrone, quin. burnt orange and brown madder to suggest old wooden boards ... 

... and gone over it with indanthrone.

I've done some soft shadowing of the geese inside, and a w/w wash of the outside boards of the shed, using cobalt blue and quin. burnt orange. Thankfully,  there are many more hours of play-time left with this painting.  :)

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

One Done and Some on the Go ...

I think I finally have this "quick" painting done. The shadows look credible. I just have to decide how to crop it - 6 x 8 inches or 6 x 6 inches, and then mount and varnish it. I thank you all who commented and offered advice - it was a help, and I appreciate it! 

Yes, another goose painting. They are all screaming out of their barn, happy to be outside. The above is the drawing I have put on the watercolor paper. I am doing a lot of color swatches, and will get to a value sketch today. 

One of the swatches ...

This is Kristie. Several months ago, I offered to do an animal portrait for a fund-raiser for the Pacific Riding for the Disabled. The portrait of Buddy was put on display as an example of my work. Yesterday, I got a call from the owner. I went over that afternoon, and had a lovely visit with both of them.  Many photos were taken, and I have some of the owner's photos as well, so now to get a great drawing done. Kristie is a beautiful American Cocker Spaniel, with the most incredibly deep, intelligent eyes.

This is it in my corner of the art world. I thank you for dropping by, and always welcome your comments!