Update

Here's the Lil Lonestar with another layer of paint. I'm at the point where I'm not sure what to do with him next. All of my appaloosas are mixed media so I will probably let him dry some more and then start doing some roaning.

Here's Smytten (or is that Smittyn?) with another layer of oils. She will have dapples eventually. She will also be lighter in color, I think. I'm warming her up quite a bit now. I'm still trying to come up with a good "gray" color. I used to use burnt umber and mars black along with white, but burnt umber has a coolness to it that I don't always like, so lately I've been using equal parts raw umber and van dyke brown along with the mars black. I like to go back and forth between warmer and cooler colors as well.

I've been working a lot on Sushi. I glazed some of the fleabite color over her, then went back in with my white mix for details, but I still need to do a lot more with it. She's looking a little pink in places, and I also am warming up her whites some more, they're still way too cool for my taste.

Here's a detail of Sushi. I think you can click on the photo for a larger view. There are several layers of bite marks and glazing.

This Nevada will be for sale pretty soon.

And here are photos from NAN of Champ and Reserve Champ winners that I painted. Thank you to the sculptors for the superb "canvas" that I get to paint on, and thanks also to NAMHSA for putting on this show and providing photos (and the web cam). All photos courtesy of NAMHSA.

Happy Fourth!

I've just got a couple of little things to show this week, both are in the very early stages with an acrylics basecoat and one layer of oils so far. Nevada and the Mindy are close enough to being finished that I don't want to show them anymore. I will probably wait until after Breyerfest to put them up for sale.

I hope everyone has a great and safe 4th of July! Keep your pets safe too -- I know mine will be cowering in the basement :-/

Update

Here's a Mindy that I haven't shown in a while. The dapples look terrible, but this is close to the color that I'm looking for.

I've been able to work a bit on Stormwatch, too. I usually save him for last because the roaning causes eyestrain and tends to put me to sleep a little bit.

Well! I just spent the last hour writing a rambling, whiny meltdown but I decided not to post it here. I don't think people in the model horse community respond well to hearing negative things. It was only negative towards myself, but I'm sure those of you who read this will be better off not hearing about it. I do wish that I could speak more openly and honestly about things that bother me, but oh well. That's what private diaries are for, right?

Update

All I've got worth showing today is this Nevada, I've just started adding some markings.

In other news, my "Ornaments" painting is going to be on display at the Edmonds Arts Festival this weekend (June 15-17). It's a nice festival with indoor art galleries, booths outside with lots of art and craft vendors, and food. Here is the link if you're interested. I'm looking forward to seeing the painting from a distance, it's so large that I haven't been able to back up far enough in my own house to get a good look at it from afar.

'Til next week...

Update

I've been working a lot on Sushi. At this point I've gone over most of the flea bites with the white mixture I'm using. Lots of back and forth on her. Here are a couple of detail shots to show you the depth of the bites:

Next is the Nevada who will be getting worked on a lot pretty soon. At this point I'm going to start adding white markings. I keep forgetting that her face is going to be bald :-/

Somebody wanted to pop in and say hi ;-)

And finally, I pretty much spammed everyone with this already, but this Taboo that I recently finished is on eBay right now:

Another Short Diversion

I have been painting models but my studio is torn apart at the moment, so no photos until next week. In the meantime, here are a few gesture drawings that I did recently. Horses are really hard to draw to begin with, but when they're constantly moving around it's even worse. But nothing compares to close observation from life!

Quick Update

I'm wrapping up a couple of commissions this week, and working on this Taboo as a sales piece. I'm hoping to have him done within the month.

I'm still really busy working on the "flat" painting and that will continue for the next couple of weeks, so it will be a little quiet around here until then.