Fur In The Paint

An embryo of possibilities.
I am not sure if this qualifies as art. But for today it’s all I’ve got. I actually scribbled this little guy out at an artfair. I had a dream (of which I now have no memory) and this was the resulting sketch the next day. It is a painting to be. A little embryo of possibilities. (shown here pretty much actual size)

To thumbnail or not . . .
I am not a “thumbnailer” by nature. I think it is the wise and careful artist who practices the art of forethought when it comes to creating art. I however am a “fly by the seat of my pants” kinda gal. (It keeps it exciting for me. Sort of like not reading the end of the book while still in the middle.

Maybe what I am saying is that it is the journey and the challenges that “pop up” along the way that I enjoy. Long ago I didn’t even draw out my idea. I would just sort of work and slowly the animal came forth out of the paper. I would adjust and crop as I went along. Oil Pastels changed that for me but I still cling to the old ways.

Now if you were wiser than I, you would recognize the importance of doing thumbnail drawings. They allow you to makes important decisions regarding composition, lighting and color before you have begun. Drawing out thumbnails saves the heartache of having a piece ruined because you made a decision in progress and it was the wrong decision. Thus the wise and well reasoned artist create thumbnail drawings.

So what’s that say about me?

Hey, some people sky dive . . . I create art without the benefit of figuring it out in advance. Maybe that’s as much excitement as this Midwestern critter artist can handle.

I had planned on posting something to do more with the art side of things. But as yet my life is still tilted sideways. So you’ll have to make do with one more post showing pretty horse pictures. Another Dr. appointment tomorrow and perhaps it will help to provide me with some clarity.

Cooling Off
This beautiful Freisian was enjoying a cool bath. It was seriously hot and the humidity was breathtaking. Most horses, when done showcasing their stuff at the arena were rushed up the hill and hosed off to keep them from over heating. I find horses being bathing infinately fascinating and took loads of photos.

Yet More Horses
Though the Kentucky Horse Park had horses packed in all every nook and cranny. The other horses at Breyerfest were a select few. (Other meaning other than Alborozo.) The Breyerfest breeds were really either horses that Breyer had made models of in previous years. Or horses that owners were hoping to have Breyer create a model of.

I found that out because I got curious and asked a couple of owners. With the price of gas what would motivated someone to haul their horses half way across the country to attend Breyerfest. Turns out they’re hopping their nice gesture of attending will get their fine examples of various equines to be recreated in plastic.

This beauty (left) is a Gypsy Drum Horse. It is part Gypsy and part Shire (you can really see the Shire.) They had several drum horses that I photographed. But again I felt the need to show some restraint as pretty soon I may have to change my blog name to Pretty Horse Pictures or some such.

This horse was not actually part of Breyerfest but was participating in a competition at another part of the park. I’ve been wanting to paint some horses jumping but never had much opportunity to photograph them. I got a few good shots here but the jumps weren’t all that high so the horse didn’t really project that feeling of effort and power I was looking for. I guess I’ll need to find myself another jumping competition and try again.

Other horses Breyer has created models of.

Oliver
This handsome guy is Fox Valley Oliver, owned by Kathy Whitaker of Flying Feathers Farm in PA. He is a champion ambassador for the Shire breed. Between 2000-2003 he earned several reserve championships in the US and Canada.

He excels in driving but unfortunatelty he came up lame while at the part so we weren’t able to see him in action.

This is DZ Weedo Affectionately known as Odie, he is a 1994 buckskin Appaloosa. Owned by the Schembri’s of Char-O-Lot Ranch in Florida. His honors include 1997 National Champion Trail Horse and 1998 Appaloosa World Champion in the Western Riding Division.

Blugrass Bandit
She is a lovely Tennessee Walking Horse who is owned by the Carrier’s of KY. She was named World Grand Champion in Western Pleasure and was voted the Trail Pleasure Horse of the Year by Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse.

Information resource for Horses that Breyer has created models of: www.BreyerHorses.com

I go to many horse expos and various events and one of the things that I have never done is had my photo taken with a horse. Owners who come to these types of events are so generous with their time and animals and often invite you to be photographed with their horse. I’ve always smiled politely and said “No. . .thank you though.”

I have a horse. I have spent my life around horses and a photo to commemorate the experience of meeting yet another horse has never been something I felt I needed . . . until now.

This is Brigitte Eberl (on the right,) the sculptor of the Breyer Alborozo, and her friend Sondra (left.) They both came over from Germany to attend Breyerfest.

Carol Herden the artist I accompanied to Breyerfest and Brigitte are good friends. We had dinner with them both nights. Unfortunately by the time I actually had a Breyer model to be signed they had already left the state. (followed by the country) Big Bummer. I would have loved to have her signature as well as Avi’s.

When Sondra first asked if I’d photograph her with Alborozo I said of course. When she came back all smiles she offered to take a pic of me. I pondered the whole photo thing for about half a second then said “sure.”

So here I am meeting Alborozo, and I have a photo to prove it. Me and Big Al (thats a pet name I share with him now. You know because we have something special between us.) had a moment here.

Huh . . . I never knew I looked like that with all those fanny packs. I mean I look like a toddler with one of those blow up rubber floaty things around me, heading off to the wadding pool or something. In case your wondering, one is for new film, one for spent film and one for cash. I now realize I would look oh so much cooler with my camera case instead. But it weighs a ton and I always have to keep an eye on it so someone doesn’t run off with it. Hmm . . . Maybe I’ll need to put “So I won’t look so dorky” on the plus side for going digital on my pros and cons list.

The Other First
The Alborozo model was only available at Breyerfest 2008. To make it especially collectable Breyer broke the mold. Something it has never done in its 60years of existence. I had thought about including a pic of the actual Breyer but then I thought “Nah.” You can click through to see Breyer’s model of Alborozo if your curious.

Christmas Comes Early
Isn’t this a lovely photo. Minus the cigarette this could be a heckava painting.

I got my photos back from being developed and it is like Christmas. Carefully opening up the many packages and rifling through all that glossy equestrian goodness. Smelling that hint of developing chemical wafting from the photos.

Breath it in deeply now with me. . . Ahhhh!

Equine Perfection
Just so you know I had to really control myself to get it down to this many photos. Actually as I was writing this I was thinking “Hmmm. . . I wonder if I should split up the photos into 2 or maybe even 3 posts.” (which of course I have done.) After this many weeks I still can’t seem to get enough of this horse. I mean I took well over 400 pics of him. (no kidding!) How can I include photos of him doing the spanish walk (see below) but not him doing a piaffe. (not shown) Not to mention the many and varied wardrobe changes. I need a photo that demonstrates all his glorious hair, but that might mean I would have to exclude a photo of him just being gorgeous. Sigh.

So what is the legal definition of a stalker anyway?
Occasionally a horse grabs me and I just can’t get enough. This time it was Alborozo. For the entire 3 days we were at the Kentucky Horse Park I hid out and waited for the chance to get a few photos. I might be working the booth and the announcer would say that Alborozo was coming up. I’d be like “Gotta Go!” to Carol, grab my camera and make tracks.

Truth is, it wasn’t until the last day that I actually remained in the arena to watch him perform. Otherwise I would be waiting either outside the arena or back at his stall. (all the better get some distance shots and keep clicking away until he got up to the barn.)

I was not alone in my adoration of him, as he was almost constantly surrounded by fans. I however was by far the most tenacious. I am a little embarrassed to say that when it came time to have Avi Cohen (his owner and trainer) sign my Breyer of Alborozo I was a little self conscious. Perhaps he never really noticed being surrounded by all those horse loving women. Perhaps I was just one among a sea of faces. I’d like to think so.

Andalusian or Spanish Horse?
Andalusions were named for the Spanish province of Andalusia from where it originated. What most of the world thinks of as an Andalusion, in spain is refered to as Pura Raza Espanola (PRE) or Pure Spanish Horse. Alborozo is a fine example of the breed for sure.

Note: I find it kinda weird that in some photos he looks very gray while in other he appears far more white. Suppose they actually had two horses? One (a look-a-like) for all those public appearance (white) where little girls stood smiling brightly in front of him as he was forever the patient gentleman. And another (the darker gray) for all the actual demonstrations. Hmmm. . . probably not. Odd though, just the same.

I felt I really needed to get a post in tonight. I have been absent for awhile and I’m feeling a bit guilty. But I have a good reason. My husband has been ill. We made quick trip to the ER over a week ago and his well being has rather completely encompassed my life since that point. Though his recovery will be long, I plan to continue to post and paint and try to keep the bills paid.

I’ve got a couple of posts in the works with photos from my Breyerfest trip. Tomorrows post will be about the Breyerfest horse that captured my imagination and I took well over 400 photos of him alone. (no kidding!) I have no doubt he will be painted at least two times in the next year.

Also there will be a post intoducing you to the horse which is going to be the subject of my next painting. Which with any luck I will be able to start in the next week or so.

So there you have it. I haven’t been skiing in Aspen or gambling on the Rivierra. Just the normal (more or less) trials of everyday life.

Legalese is not my second language.
Some of you may have noticed the copyright overlay appearing on my most recent uploaded images to this blog. This was a first step in trying to protect my copyright of my images. Currently copyright is inherent. I don’t have to file anything with the government, pay any fees or really do anything at all. These golden days of copyright protection however, may well soon end.

I have been putting off writing about the Orphan Arts Bill for a very long time now. Partly because I was waiting for something decisive to come of it and partly because all the technical language that most of the information on the subject is written in, is way above my comprehension level. I really need things spelled out for me as if I am a small dull-witted child. But with some straining of the brain cells I think I have a grasp on the issue and I am going to share.

The bill (in a nutshell) was created so those who found stuff (like art, music, writing or your family photos) online, could use them for their own purposes (whatever that may be) as long as they put reasonable effort in finding the original owner to get permission for use. The Act will take away the automatic copyright currently granted and force artists (writers, musicians and maybe even your personal online photo album) to register everything for a fee. (Um Hum . . . thats right) And most importantly if the searcher doesn’t find you in the registry or you don’t reply in time, they can use the image (again, for whatever purpose) and you have absolutely no recourse. (scary huh?)

For More Information:
Two places you can look for more information on the Orphan Works Act as well as everything else for the art business are:

ArtCalendar.com I highly recommend this magazine and website for any artist. I’ve been a subscriber for over a decade now and find something useful in just about every issue. Also in regards to this topic they have email templates that you can use to send letters to your legislators as well as review progress reports.

Also you can look into Katherine Tyrrells blog Making A Mark. She’s a fabulous resource for many things art business oriented. She has commented several times on the Orphan Works Act and supplies numerous links to research the subject further.

This was the view from my booth at the Loring Park Art Festival in Minneapolis. This is easily the best thing about this event. A totally lovely and relaxing way to spend the day. The artist booths run all around the small lake (or large pond depending on your point of view.)

Sales were adequate. Once again mostly small items went. At this point I think it is the economic trend for the year. There are 3 art events held on the same weekend in Minneapolis and they have free shuttle buses (art hop buses) the run between all the events.

The Uptown is the big dog show. One of those a person would be lucky to get into. However it is on pavement and in a slightly bad (especially after dark) neighborhood. Powderhorn is the other. I have never been to it so can’t really comment other than an artist friend of mine got into both Powderhorn and Loring Park and they chose Loring.

From the gossip I have heard Loring park was started 9 years ago as a branch off group from the Uptown. They felt the Uptown had gotten far too corporate so they struck out on their own. Artists for artists kind of a thing.

I am unsure that I can say there was any downside to doing the event. (however this area was also somewhere you didn’t really want to hang out in too long after dark as it is very popular with the homeless. Sad commentary on our world I guess) But it also wasn’t the event I was expecting. In the prospectus they have quotes about how wonderful the artists felt they got treated at Loring Park. And while I was certainly not treated poorly, I was also not treated particularly fabulously. Not when compared to most (if not all) of the other events I do.

Loring Park Pluses.

• Nice venue. The artwork for the most part was excellent but they still had some definitely crafty and buy/sell stuff in it.
• Breakfast They provided muffins (sams club type) and bagels for breakfast both days. (Muffins were far more enjoyable when used to feed the baby ducks on the pond.)
• Free T-shirt with $25 donation of artwork to their silent auction. A side note here: Free is probably not quite correct but most events ask for donations and all you get is a thank you.
• Location. Totally lovely setting. Has the benefit of the Art Hop Buses.
• Easy Unloading You could drive into the park for loading and unloading. This is always a HUGE plus for an art event.

Today we leave for Loring Park Art Festival in Minneapolis, MN. It’s our first time there, so hopefully will go well. Once again we are scheduled for clear, hot weather. I wonder what my chances are of still getting rained on? (I’m going with 20-30%)

I had really wanted to post two more times this week. I’ve got a couple of things started but I just couldn’t quite pull it off. I am looking forward to the upcoming break from artfairs in the month of August. More than likely after a few weeks have passed I’ll be getting antzy to get back on the road. I can be truely fickle at times.

See you all Monday.

So here I am working diligently and nature calls. I wander over to my bathroom feeling safe because no one is in the gallery. I close the door.

I should mention here that my building is nearly 100 years old. Most doors don’t really latch well unless you concentrate while closing and listen for the click. Also the toilet can be seen from front room of the gallery when the door is open so you’d think I would be more careful.

So there I was, just about to get really comfortable and the door trembles and I can see a shadow moving under the door. Startled I tense up and babble something like “I’ll be right out!” I listen. . . No response. The door shudders again.

Suddenly swoosh . . . the door swings wide and there sits Budda, looking smug. I swear softly and say “Geez Budda, you scared the (deleted for inappropriate content) out of me.” Good thing I was already sitting down. He meows lazily and ambles in.

This has become a daily occurance (thus the photo of him breaking and entering) and I have yet to learn to listen to click of the latch. Unfortunately he has realized that this is an excellent place for him to get petted. (because like an idiot, I picked him up and petted him. After all I am just sitting there.) Plus he is obsessed with the toilet. His own private splash bowl whenever Mike or I forget to close the lid.

Little weirdo.

We got back mid afternoon on Sunday. For those quick witted among you, you’ve probably guessed that yet again we got rained out. Oddly enough, the more times we get rained on the less upsetting it seems to be. I would have thought that logically it would go the other way ’round since it means collectively I am continually earning less. (Heavy Sigh) Still, I don’t seem to get be getting to bent out of shape. Of course this was a small event (only 70 artists) and my expectations weren’t all that high to begin with. Next weekend is a big event that I do have high expectations for. (Hope springs eternal.)

On the plus side of things I won an award. Now I have very little use for awards since I am not actively trying to build my resume’. However this one came with a fat check. (Fat checks are definately something I have use for.)

A little bit about the Owatonna Art event. It is held in Owatonna MN. They are a small town but they really work hard to put on a nice event. The standards are high (meaning quality of work), booth fees resonable, and the awards generous. They host a nice catered dinner on Saturday and have live music throughout the event. Much of the staff comes around and introduces themselves, as did their 7 judges! I have never been to an event with that many judges. Very impressive.

Thats about all there is to say. Other than it is so good to be home.