Fur In The Paint

Isn’t he just the cutest little guy. Makes me want to squeeze his fuzzy little nose, followed by a kiss of course.

At any rate you know the drill. Either run out and get yourself a copy or get a subscription from the Apples ‘n Oats website.

Below is an excerpt from the article about my Spanish Gold painting.

An Excerpt
“Of course I was not alone in my adoration as Big Al was almost constantly surrounded by fans. I, however was by far the most tenacious, probably because I was there for a completely different reason than all the others. I was on a mission to get some seriously beautiful horse photos.

When I got my photos developed, it was very much like Christmas. I’d be carefully opening up the many packages and rifling through all that glossy equestrian goodness, all the while breathing in the deeply that hint of developing chemical wafting from the photos. Ahhh! All in all, I took around 800 pictures that weekend with well over 400 being of Big Al. Choosing on which of the photos to base the first painting, took quite awhile (like aound a year.) “

Let the Preparations Begin.
Well as it’s Sunday you might think I’d be working on my Buffalo painting but alas no. I am packing my artwork so I can deliver it tomorrow to the Redrock Art Center in Fairmont MN with my friend Barb for our joint show.

The reception is set for the 16th and I plan to take some pictures for the blog. I may even take a few of the hanging if I can remember the camera.

Have a great weekend ya’ll

After a brief period of being down the Apples ‘n Oats website is back up and running. The current issue is now available online but the archived past issues have yet to be made active.

At any rate for those of you wanting to read my current article about my Liberty painting or any other the other great stuff, you now can.

A Teaser
I just received my box of the latest issue of Apples ‘n Oats magazine. (Ahhhh . . . love that new magazine smell.) So I’m assuming they are now available at the usual locations, which of course includes my place. Or as always, you can subscribe by contacting Carol Eilers (the editor.)

But for those of you with no access to the magazine here’s a teaser excerpt, until the whole articles gets posted to my website

Tall, Dark & Studly
My model for this painting was a young stallion that I photographed last Fall at a farm in the Cedar Rapids area. He had come over to investigate me. And after finding me completely unremarkable (and treat free) he started ambling away when a breeze caught his mane and sent it swirling. The title Liberty is in reference of him being “at liberty.” Free to wander as he would, unhindered by the desires or devices of man.

When I entered the broodmare field they all gathered around to have a good snuffle at me. I scritched a few noses and whispered softly to each how beautiful they all were. After a few minutes, they began to wander off in ones and twos, their curiosity satisfied that I was not bearing gifts.

This works well for me because it is notoriously hard to get a good photo of a horse that is in my face and slurbering on my camera. So it was at this point, I was able to take the type of photos I like best. Which is of horses just being horses. I was hoping for some playful cavorting (to be clear, I was hoping for some cavorting from the horses. I haven’t “cavorted” in decades.) but mostly I got peaceful grazing shots.

It is yet another testament to the breed that the barn manager had allowed me to go into the pastures alone. It was a lovely afternoon and I was in my bliss to be able to spend it surrounded by a herd of these equine giants.

The latest issue of Apples ‘n Oats is out in all it’s glossy horse magazine goodness. In this issue, I write about Chicory and the creation of the new Soul painting.

Oddly enough, a good part of my story came from blog posts. I’ve included an excerpt from my article. (pretty much the only part that hasn’t already been in a blog post.)

If you want to read the whole thing you’ll have to run out and pick up a copy or better still, visit the website and subscribe. (or wait and eventually it will get posted to my website.)

Knee Deep and Belly High
At the moment Chicory is a deeply contented horse. With the unusually high amount of rainfall we’ve had this spring and summer, his pasture is quite literally belly high. It was also freshly seeded last fall so the grasses are particularly tall and lush.

I take great pleasure in watching him so deeply absorbed in his snacking. If he sees me watching he will pause, bob his head slightly and nicker. He then waits to see if I am planning on bringing him in for something. When he sees that I am not, he continues on. Nibble, chew, step. Nibble, chew, step.

The latest issue of Apples ‘N Oats is now out and available. The magazine seems to grow a little bit every issue. Of course this is the big one that goes out to all the horse expo’s.

I’ve included the excerpt below from my article in this issue.

Equine Paparazzi
However, it is the random quiet moments that go on behind the scenes that hold the most allure for painting. It’s in these moments that occasionally, if I’m very lucky, I catch a bit of magic that will later work itself into art. I wander the barns breathing in the heady aroma of fly spray and horse. The sounds of creaking leather, jangling chains and whinnying horse fill the air.For the most part, people are so busy bustling about in preparation for the event that they take no notice of me.

This is also the point that tends to “weird people out” a bit. I mean they are used to having photos taken when they participate in these things. But when I find an animal that I think I want to paint, I take an obscene amount of photos, wildly snapping pictures as if I were some sort of strange equine paparazzi.

I just received the winter issue of Apples ‘N Oats. Guess which horse painting I talked about in this issue’s column?

Aw . . . come on, take a guess. Here’s a hint, I talked about him (yet again) in my last post. Here’s another hint, look below. (subtle huh?)

Okay, so Colton was not a big surprise, especially since he is the only horse painting I did this quarter. (Egads, the next deadline is only 2 months away!)

Carol Eilers hasn’t yet got the new issue up on the Apples ‘N Oats website, (speaking of a woman with allot of irons in the fire.) But it should be happening any day now. Until then you can always peruse the last issue, which I ashamedly didn’t get an article done for. It has loads of good horse related stuff in there.

There wasn’t a whole lot new added to Colton’s story for the column that you my faithful friends haven’t already read here first, but I thought I’d include an excerpt of something “new.”

Of Pigs and Panic.
On the way out to the pasture where the horses were, we crossed a grassy pen where two pigs were kept. Karla warned me that one of them was quite friendly and would probably come out to greet us. Her warning did little to prepare me for the sight of a full grown pig loping across the pen full tilt, squealing and grunting excitedly.

She had assured me he was harmless. But something very primal happens in the brain at the sight of a largish critter charging wildly towards you. My logical side said “don’t be silly” all the while I was having flash backs to a story from my childhood. I grew up in farming country, where stories abound about children gone missing in pig pens . . .”and all they ever was found was one shoe!”

Of course there was no need for concern, he just wanted a quick snuffle to see if we had brought any treats, (alas, we had not) and a quick scratch on the nose.

Catch - Water soluble pencil 15 x 18 1/2
Copyright by Mona Majorowicz

Well the latest issue is out. So, if you just can’t get enough of my writing, check out the latest issue at Applesnoats.com Or if you’d rather get your own hard copy you can always subscribe.

This issue is all about Catch and includes a lot of stuff not mentioned in the blog. Click here to go directly to my article in Applesnoats.

And speaking of magazines . . .

Notice anything familiar about the latest issue of Apples ‘n Oats spring 2008 issue?

Here’s a tiny hint . . . the horse painting

Yup! you guessed it. Carol Eilers the editor/publisher, has once again generously put one of my paintings on the cover of A&O. Thank you Carol. It looks great. I am especially lovin’ the red.

I received this photo from Carol Eilers, the editor of Apples N’ Oats magazine, and just had to post it. Catch is a 27 year old morgan and he loves to give kisses. And not always when you expect it.

So I have to pat myself on the back. I completed my column for Apples N’ Oats magazine a full 10 days ahead of the deadline. This is my second year writing about painting horses for A&O and I have never completed an article (and got it emailed off) sooner than 48 hours before it was due. Most often, I am squeaking it in, in the last 24. You know, much like painting, there is always more tweaking that could to be done. (Just a little more, no wait…just a little more.) So kudos to me! WhooHoo!

Apples N’ Oats, by the way is a great magazine, if you have horses or just love them, you need to check it out. It has great articles on just about everything equine related. Also Carol Eilers, the editor is excellent at what she does and she is just a sweetheart to boot. (And I’m not just saying that because I write for her.) You can check out the current or past issues at the Apples N’ Oats website.