Sylvia Loch - On The Bit Dressage

Preparing for Another Show Tomorrow

I've made three 18 x 24 inch signs, and I will put them up on the "main" street, hopefully to catch the interest of people driving to and from the country fair. Last show, I made lovely invitations, and hand-delivered them throughout the neighborhood. One person showed up, responding to the invitations. Hmmm ... THAT didn't work! Wish me luck with tomorrow's advertising plan!

Other than that, I've been playing around a bit with these sunflowers. I haven't had the time to really focus on a portrait. Hopefully, on Monday.
And I've been working hard with Bruno, teaching him to come onto the bit. This is the sine qua non for dressage, and I'd forgotten how physically and mentally difficult it is to get and keep a relatively unschooled horse on the bit. AARRRGHHHH! But we're doing it, in short increments - 10 to 15 seconds at a time. We'll both gradually get stronger with this. The last time I went through the procedure, I was 20 years younger. And Bruno is no feisty 4-year-old. So we are both a bit stiff. :) But it will come, and we will both be better for it!

As always, your comments [and probably questions about "on the bit"] are most welcome.

The Country Fair

Pat and I walked over to the fair this afternoon ...

Loved the hawk, with his handler talking to him.

Lots of prepared food and produce.

And a fair bit of everything else.

There was even a ferris wheel this year.

Got some good photos of the inside of the old barn ...

... and some of the equipment.

I made a new friend - Diego.

I almost took him home with me. He was a mighty sweet nuzzler!

Harlequin rabbit - I'd never seen one before

A giant Flemish, with assorted other bunnies.

Pat, attempting to establish rapport with another llama.

On our walk back home, we saw a bride being photographed in the long grass in the park.
It was a gorgeous warm day - perfect for almost anything.

As always, your comments are most welcome.

I Think This Will Work ...

This was a study only, to give me a chance to work out colors and background. I've decided to put in the part of his body showing beyond the head and neck; originally it looked rather awkward, but seems OK here. The shadows of the horse will be variations of lavenders and greys, using quin. red, quin. burnt orange and cobalt blue. For the more intensely colored areas, I will use indanthrone blue in the mix instead of cobalt blue. I like the background I did for Pat Elliott's Missy, and I am going to do something similar here, using quin. red, quin. burnt orange and cobalt blue again, pinker on the upper left and bluer on the lower right. I may take a bit of that into the body and lower neck, to give them a bit of a receding look. And yes, I did get a bit heavy-handed with the orange along his neck. :)
I have been sick thinking about this all day, and I hate to have to write it, but Desi is not doing well. Barring a miracle, and I'm all for those, she will have to be put to sleep when she becomes too uncomfortable. My sister is trying Floressence; it can't hurt, and might help. What else can I say???

As always, your comments are most welcome.

Trigger Is Off and Running ... Well, Walking Anyway ...

Lucy on the left, Desi on the right, last December.

I masked out the pinkish strip down his nose, and the trailing ends of his mane, and started in with  a thin w/w glaze of burnt orange, pink, and indanthrone blue.

I've glazed a bit more on the muzzle, and roughed in the eyes.

More detail work on muzzle.

The reference photo shows him as pretty much white, grey and black. I'd like to bring some subtle colors into the shadows, and carry them into the background. I may have to walk down to visit Trigger today, and make some notes.

I prefer this sketch, and I'll probably do something with it later, just for fun.

As for the farm, it was quite chilly last night - around 7 C, and there was a heavy ground fog this morning. The swallows have left the barn - I miss them. 

Thankfully, I put Bruno's winter blankie on last night. He's been shedding like mad for the past month, and the new coat is coming in darker for the winter, but not too heavy and long yet. It still gets into the mid-20's C during the day.

I have a photo of my sister's Boxers at the top of this post [couldn't add it to the bottom]. These are the two that I dog-sit when Denise goes away on business, so I spend a fair bit of time with them. A few days ago, I was very upset to find out that Desi has some growth around her heart and lungs. I was visiting my sister and the Girls on Sunday, and hand-feeding Desi peanut butter, as she has almost completely stopped eating. I really am upset, as they are such sweet and loving dogs with such wonderful personalities. And my sister is a basket case; these two really are her "children". We'll all know more this evening, whether she can have surgery or not.

As always, your comments are most welcome!

I'm Going to Give Her a Rest for a Bit ...

I touched up the post, glazed over her hair, and did a bit more shadowing on her face.

Here I've touched up the shirt, and worked mostly on her hair. I think I'll leave it for a bit.  My inclination is to glaze a bit more color on her face, but I'm not sure ... 

I also went over to a neighbor's to take some photos of their glorious sunflower. Then I played around a bit with some of the images. I'd like to get some more photos when the seeds are riper and darker.
I've been procrastinating, but I think today I'll start some studies of Trigger.

As always, your comments are most welcome.

It's Been a BUSY Day ...

I left off here ...

Eyes added, and more shadow on neck

Shadows on face

Shadows on shirt

W/w wash over all of shirt in original pink hue

Starting to touch up post
I think it's about 2/3 done.

The sparrows looked so cute having a splash on top of the pool cover.

Hogs fuel delivery today - essentially an evergreen mulch, used for footing.

ACK ... over $400 worth! But Bruno will have dry feet this winter. ;)

Huge truck, barely made it under the telephone and power wires. I really admire the driver's skill. 

The inspector

Also inspecting the group cutting the brambles in back.

Bruno with his mound of hogs fuel.

It really was busy here today, with animals, trucks, landscapers coming and going, and making sure the animals were safe. But it's done. All I need is to get someone with a bobcat or tractor over to spread this out, and we'll be fine.
And somehow I managed to find time to paint. I am excited [in a watercolory sort of way] about how the portrait is coming along, and I just had to work on it. Also, it's back to scaling teeth tomorrow, and I know I won't feel much like painting after work.

As always, your comments are most welcome.