Agility at Twincreeks

This weekend I was asked to travel down to Twincreeks to take photos of the Agility clinic with Adiva Murphy. The fall weather held for the participants and I was able to capture some great shots of folks. This activity looks like it has great promise for the horse world based on the smiles from those involved. Another score Deb, and great work Adiva!

To see more shots in a short video = see my website

Misty Morn

Last Friday and today I gave another painting workshop to Joanne Pollard and Tammy Mercer here at the farm. Once again, my students have done me proud.

Tammy was stuck on a portion of a painting she was doing on Morocco - trying to get depth or contrast. She played with the colors and contrast until she was happy with her results - as she should be. Now she has two painting done - one more to go of her little guy Beemer. We took some great shots of him running in the field so maybe she can get started on the next one now!

Joanne was given a gift certificate for a workshop for mothers day from her daughter. She decided to paint from an old photograph of her horse Misty Morn and her foal. The source photo was difficult - had fence posts in front of her face and was hard to see the contrast, but it was enough - with her memory to paint a wonderful first acrylic for her wall. She did a great job and was bold with her color choices - giving the illusion of the horses coming out of the mist. I hope she is happy with the outcome and enjoys it for years to come.

Make sure to brag ladies! I am planning to set up some dates for summer and fall workshops for those who are keen to attend, just send me a note or keep posted on the website for more details. I am always happy to do a workshop for folks if they have 2-3 people available as well.

Kids horse camp at Maple Leaf Meadows

Last week I was out visiting my family in Alberta and decided to take one of my horse crazy nieces to a riding camp. The camp was offered by Maple Leaf Meadows, a short drive from the city on the southwest side. It was a perfect week to build her skills around horses and to get introduced to the facility. There were about 13 kids in the camp, of all skill levels - all with the same goal - to spend the week around all things horsey.

I have offered painting workshops for kids at camps on the island before so thought I would offer to do the same here, and the camp staff took me up on it. So, Wednesday I taught the kids to paint a horse using acrylics. They did a great job and Kirsti, the leader, commented that she was amazed at how long they remained focused on the task! I find that once folks start to paint, with the right supports, they can get lost in time for hours.

Here are a few photos of Jordan, my niece with her painting and showing her new skills on one of the horses at the camp. I was very impressed at how light she was with her hands, and the big guy seemed to be quite responsive to her. Hope that she is happy with her week and her new friends and skills.

I was very impressed with the camp, the instructor and the facilities - highly recommended for those near Edmonton.

A+ to my students

This past weekend I spent down at one of my favorite places, Twincreeks Bed, Bale and Breakfast in Duncan. Deborah Flinn and I partnered up to offer a Painting Horses weekend where folks could bring their horse and their paints for a weekend of fun.

I had Jackie, Bonnie and Launie take part in the workshop - all of them did fantastic work and completed not just one entire painting, but two! I was quite impressed with their efforts - they just didn't put the brushes down! See the photos here of their work. I had a tough time keeping up with them!

This sort of getaway works well - bring your horse, get fed deluxe food, socialize, learn and leave with some great artwork, of your own creation for your walls at home. Deborah and I will likely plan another one and make it three days to allow more time for some riding too - so if you are interested, let me know and we will keep you in the loop on the next one.

Pinky Tuscadero

I was lucky to finish a few paintings at the recent art workshop here - one of a filly that is just too much fun - a bit cheeky and fit the color pink (which I don't normally use because I dislike it almost as much as purple!). But the color fit for her. I wanted to contrast the light colors hitting her back and mane with something and the pink helped that pop out, which drawing less attention to her legs.

The other painting is un named right now - not 100% sure I am done, but he came along nicely at the workshop. I like to choose a contrasting background to help the horses pop out and I usually do my backgrounds first - a few layers at a time with subtle additions of color to provide some depth. These don't always come out in photos (especially on the web), but this has contrast near his nostrils to make it appear like you can see his breath.

Likely taking a break here in the new few weeks, but will get back at it with the next drop in. Enjoy...

Painting horses workshop

This past weekend I led a workshop on Painting horses at the Broody Rooster. The workshop gave me a chance to package some of the ideas I have been developing over time and teach those to an audience. The photo shows Tammy Mercer painting her boy Whiskey – which she completed and brought home by the end of the weekend.

If you missed this one, I am having another one down at Twincreeks on April 2-3rd. For more information on that event or to sign up – see Deb’s calendar of events . For hers, come and stay the night, bring your horse and fit in a ride or two or a private clinic with Deb who does amazing Natural Horsemanship work.

Haflinger Hoofbeats

I just finished this painting of two halfingers galloping across a field. I love the energy and colors of these horses and the image of two buddies running in unison inspired me. I ended up working on it for sometime – at my drop in sessions on Thursday nights. I bought a few new brushes which are working out well, and allowing me to keep loose when painting – this gives more movement to the horses, especially on a small canvas.

If you are so inspired – the painting is now added to the Gallery and available for sale – so think about it! I am also going to continue this series and get myself set up for some art cards for the Gallery.

Onwards to the next one!