Category Archives: Virtual pARTy

March pARTy! March 15-20

We’re trying to keep up the momentum, so it’s time to announce the next pARTy! We’ll post the photo late Monday the 15th, and you’ll have till midnight, your time on the 20th. Remember the idea is that your painting is completed in a 24-hour period within that stretch of days. The ‘rules’ haven’t changed – see the top of the blog for more information! Just please remember, if you want to sign up for the forum, drop us an email to let us know you’ve done so, so that we can activate you, and please use your real name so that we can tell you apart from the spam!

Thanks and we look forward to seeing you all and what you come up with!

©Copyright 2009 by The Virtual pARTy and participating artists. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist challenge, visit The Virtual pARTy Blog.

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February pARTy Showcase


February pARTy participant Linda Massey had a special challenge thrown her way in the days leading up to the pARTy deadline. Here’s what she emailed along with her entry (pictured above):
“…I didn’t think I would get you something as Friday morning while I was feeding in the barn…..my foot caught and (I) fell head over tea kettle onto the concrete aisle way onto my head… I wasn’t able to drop feed buckets and get my hands down to block the fall so my hard head took the hit…. I spent the better part of the day getting checked for concussions, taking x-rays and CT scans and spent the night swelling up and turning B and B…. I have some whiplash but basically I was fine. But my body nerves were so shaken I couldn’t stop my right hand from shaking… the doc said that was okay and would go away after a day or two… so this aft. I picked up a brush and sure enough I was fine. And painting was better medicine than the doctors prescribed for the pain. ”

We would like to award Linda Massey the Gold Medal this time around!
Thanks, Linda, for playing, despite your injuries. We hope that you are continuing to feel better.
-Linda and Kim

©Copyright 2009 by The Virtual pARTy and participating artists. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist challenge, visit The Virtual pARTy Blog.

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February pARTy Paintings!

We had a great turnout for our Feburary pARTy. Thanks again to Kim Santini for providing the reference image of the Curly horse! Artists – I have tried my best to include information for everyone with their image, but if yours is missing (or incorrect!), just send me an email or make a comment to the post and I’ll make the changes.

Thanks so much to everyone who took part! Without further ado…your pARTy pARTicipants! (in no particular order!)


Kim Santini, “Up Close(Percy)” 6 x 8 acrylic on board


Catherin McMillan, 5 x 5 acrylic on canvas panel


Catherine Gillespie, “Percy”


Lois Primeau, 5 3/8 x 8 oil on gessoed masonite


Sue Kroll, acrylic

Lisa Ward-Guarino
, pastel


Candy Simchik, “Hello” 5 x 7 acrylic on canvas board

Kate Dardine, “She Really Didn’t Need a Man on Her Back” 6 x 6 oil on canvas


Kathy Roeth, 9 x 7.5 watercolour and gouache on coldpress archival watercolour paper


Linda Martin, “Snow Globe” 4 x 4 watercolour


Marilyn Sadler, “Snow Pony,” 5 x 7 pastel


Linda Massey, “Winter Reflections” 3 x 20 oil on panel


Diana Lancaster, “Wild Dawn” 6 x 6 acrylic


Linda Ward, “Mardi Gras Pony!”


Linda Shantz, “Up Close and Personal with Percy” 10 x 10 oil on gallery wrap canvas

©Copyright 2009 by The Virtual pARTy and participating artists. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist challenge, visit The Virtual pARTy Blog.

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Heads Up! Next pARTy Coming!

Okay, let’s try to keep the momentum going with another pARTy for February. This one will be run during February 16th through the 20th. I think this time around I’ll be looking for a snow photo. Snow is challenging to paint, and maybe we’ll get some International participants this time who might not otherwise have the chance to paint snow!

Mark your calendars! And the same ‘rules’ apply. I think the header, above, is up-to-date on the information. Feel free to share, too! The more the merrier!

©Copyright 2009 by The Virtual pARTy and participating artists. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist challenge, visit The Virtual pARTy Blog.

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January pARTy Paintings – Mares and Foals


Well, here are the paintings from the latest pARTy! We had good participation, and some great work. I always like to see what different artists come up with.

Though are pursuits as artists are often solitary, a recent comment by friend and fine art photographer Juliet Harrison was a good reminder that we don’t, however, create in a vacuum. We can’t help but be influenced by each other, and that’s not a bad thing, as long as we continue to develop and maintain our own style and individuality. These pARTies are a good example of that – even though some of us went with a very similar crop of the reference photo, our styles remain unique.

In the same vein, these pARTies began as a fun challenge of sorts, between myself and Kim Santini, last year. When other artists began to show interest and we opened it up, what developed was not a novel concept. My first exposure to this sort of exercise was on Wet Canvas, with the weekly Weekend Drawing Events. As a result of that, our own Equine Art Guild has done similar projects. And a great blog with a weekly drawing/painting challenge is Karen Jurik’s Different Strokes From Different Folks.

Okay – enough yaking! Here are the paintings.

First, from your pARTy hosts:

Kim Santini, 4 x 16 acrylic on Raymar panel (above, top of post)


Linda Shantz, 6 x 8 oil on Raymar panel

Now, our participants, below. If I have any latecomers, I will edit the post and add them later! Thanks to all who played.


Delia Pacheo, “The Foal” 4 x 6 acrylic


Judy Johnson, 8 x 8 watercolour


Lisa Ward-Guarino, pastel


Linda Snider-Ward, prismacolor on Stonehenge


Linda Massey, “Playground Encounter” 11 x 14 oil on board


Kathy Roeth, 5 x 7 watercolour and gouache on 140lb watercolour paper

©Copyright 2009 by The Virtual pARTy and participating artists. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist challenge, visit The Virtual pARTy Blog.

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pARTy Image, January 19-23


Well, here it is. I chose this one because it gives the artist a few options. You’re free to crop how you like, include/exclude what you want. If you’re posting your finished painting to your blog, please be sure to credit the photographer – in this case it’s Linda Shantz (me!). A reciprocal link is always a nice gesture.

While you are free to sell your painting, we ask that you don’t enter it into any juried shows or exhibitions. The main reason for this is that many of you are working from the same image, and it will save you some embarrassment – it’s quite possible that two or more artists may submit from the same reference, which is just not a good thing, as it will possibly discredit you with the jury.

If you would like a higher res image of this, please email me at thevirtualparty77@yahoo.ca and I will send it to you. Likewise, when you’re finished your painting, please email me a jpeg at the same address, along with your name, size of your paining, and medium. Feel free to include the link to your own website or blog, and I will try to post it all in a follow-up blog post, here.

The rest of the instructions can be found above, near the header. Any questions, please ask!

Have fun, and happy painting! Looking forward to seeing everyone’s work!

©Copyright 2009 by The Virtual pARTy and participating artists. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist challenge, visit The Virtual pARTy Blog.

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New Year’s pARTy!

Okay, so we’re a little late. This week we’ll be hosting the first pARTy of the New Year. I bet you all thought we’d dropped off the face of the earth!

The pARTy will run from Tuesday, January 19th, through to Saturday, January 23. Remember the idea is to complete your painting within a 24-hour period. I will try to get the photo posted tonight, so that our overseas participants can get going if they choose. At that point I’ll review the ‘rules’ and things will be set in motion!

Hope lots of you are able to play!

©Copyright 2009 by The Virtual pARTy and participating artists. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist challenge, visit The Virtual pARTy Blog.

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August pARTy Image

Here is your image.

You may modify it however suits your working methods, but please, wherever you post your resulting work, give credit to the photographer Linda Shantz (www.lindashantz.com).

Artwork is due Saturday, August 22nd. You have one 24 hour period to complete your artwork, and all jpgs must be submitted via the pARTy forum.

More complete rules and details appear in the header of this blog and on the pARTy forum.

Happy creating!! Kim

©Copyright 2009 by The Virtual pARTy and participating artists. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist challenge, visit The Virtual pARTy Blog.

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Potential New pARTy Participants ~ Please Read!

Just to add to Kim’s announcement, anyone who is registering for the first time on the Forum, please be sure to provide me with your email address for purposes of confirmation. I’ve been receiving a lot of spam registrations which I will not process, so if you don’t give me some way of confirming you are indeed a real person, I won’t approve the registration. If you’ve tried to register in the last couple of days and haven’t been approved, please take a moment and drop me a line and I’ll make sure your registration gets completed!

Thanks! Looking forward to you all playing along with us next week!

Linda

©Copyright 2009 by The Virtual pARTy and participating artists. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist challenge, visit The Virtual pARTy Blog.

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August’s Virtual pARTy

CALLING ALL ARTISTS!!
The next Virtual pARTy will be held August 19th through the 22nd. This window of time is to allow participants the opportunity to allocate a 24 hour period for completing a piece of art inspired by the reference photo chosen by pARTy host Linda Shantz.

Linda will be choosing something from her recent trip to Saratoga Race Course opening weekend.

New pARTy participants are encouraged to visit the pARTy forum and register prior to submitting their artwork. If you’ve registered for a previous pARTy, there is no need to do so a second time.

pARTy followers may also check out the pARTy forum to see who’s RSVPed and their corresponding artwork.

Stay tuned. Image to come shortly! Happy creating!

©Copyright 2009 by The Virtual pARTy and participating artists. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist challenge, visit The Virtual pARTy Blog.

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Decorations Are Up! Come Take A Look!

Our participants this time around have been joining in on a forum we’ve set up for the pARTy. This is your invitation to come over and see what’s going on! We’ve had some great work posted so far – check out pARTy Central to see them, and you can also learn a little about our Participating Artists in another section.

If you’d like to comment, you’ll have to register. Artists and non-artists are welcome to join. Here’s the link:

The Virtual pARTy Forum

There’s still one more day left to play, so check back! Or if you’re an artist and still want to take part, dive on in!

©Copyright 2009 by The Virtual pARTy and participating artists. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist challenge, visit The Virtual pARTy Blog.

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July pARTy!!


It’s that time again! The July pARTy has begun. You have between now and midnight July 3rd 2009 (EST) to create and submit your artwork using the above photo. Keep in mind you have only 24 hours allocated to cover the creation process.

New this time around is the pARTy forum, a place where you can introduce yourself, read up on pARTy rules, download a higher resolution file of the reference and ultimately submit your pARTy image for sharing with the public. Please take a moment to register on the forum and say a quick hello – it is Linda’s and my hope that this will add tremendously to the pARTy experience.

Should you publish your pARTy entry somewhere, please give credit to the reference photo photographer. The July pARTy’s photographer is Kimberly Kelly Santini (www.turtledovedesigns.com).
Thanks so much – happy creating! Kim

©Copyright 2009 by The Virtual pARTy and participating artists. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist challenge, visit The Virtual pARTy Blog.

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The Belmont pARTy “Field”!

We had great participation for our first pARTy. I know there were others who were unable to take part this time, for one reason or another, so I hope you’ll join us next time! If any of you decide to do this on your own time, please feel free to email me the image and I’ll try to get it up on the blog here. We are trying to keep some sort of structure, but well, it’s more about the fun and less about that, so we can be flexible until things really get rolling!

Thanks again to our photographer, Juliet Harrison, for donating the reference image, and to all of our participating artists. And stay tuned for the next pARTy announcement!

Now, without further ado (and in no particular order!) here we go! Just a quick note to the artists – if I have made any errors, please let me know so that I can correct them.

Donna Pooley ~ 11 x 15 Watercolour

Sheila Wedegis ~ 20 x 7 Oil

Delia Pacheco ~ 4 x 6 Acrylic

Debbie Flood ~ 5 x 7 Watercolour

Elizabeth McCrindle ~ 7 x 5 Acrylic

Sheona Hamilton-Grant ~ 14 x 18 Graphite

Catherin McMillan ~ 6 x 8.5 Pastel

Sue Kroll ~ 5 x 7 Watercolour

Linda Massey ~ 16 x 20 Oil

©Copyright 2009 by The Virtual pARTy and participating artists. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist challenge, visit The Virtual pARTy Blog.

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The Chase


I’m a bit late posting my own pARTy painting, and I’ll be following immediately with all our wonderful participants! I loved seeing Kim’s take on the reference.

As I contemplated what I was going to do with the reference image, I thought I was going to go larger, about 11 x 14. Then I spotted a small piece of heavy linen I’d taped to a board some time ago – all toned and ready – and it was just the right proportions for what I wanted to do. It was a challenge to work this small – 3 x 7.25 inches. This particular linen is a very loose weave, so it was comparatively rough, but it readily grabbed the paint – which was handy for my limited time frame! Friday was a busy day, and I didn’t have a lot of time to paint!

It was a lot of fun seeing the pARTy images come in – I had a private screening, so to speak! Now, to reveal them to the rest of you!

©Copyright 2009 by The Virtual pARTy and participating artists. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist challenge, visit The Virtual pARTy Blog.

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Gallop I and Gallop II


FROM TOP: “Gallop I (Gray)” and “Gallop II (Dark Bay),” from the 2009 Belmont pARTy, both 6″ x 12″, equine paintings in acrylic on canvasboard, $249 each or $479 for both. Inquiries may come to me. Today’s pARTy reference photo was provided by equine photographer Juliet Harrison. I’d like to thank Juliet for sharing her imagery with us on our first open invitation pARTy. Juliet’s photography portfolio is wonderful, her book exquisite eye candy, and she also provides reference photos for artists. The reference photo (which you can see here), from Saratoga, depicts two Thoroughbreds in full gallop, complete with jockeys and the track scene as a backdrop. Initially I planned on painting each horse on his own panel, with the gray one pulling away and the dark horse digging in. Somewhere along the line, however, I began liking the idea of them running free, and never added the jockeys, rail, or background sheds. I’m debating still whether I should leave the dirt/track surface in the foreground or carry the grass to the lower edge of the canvas. The idea of diptych’s has always fascinated me. I’ve done it on a couple other occasions (Pounce is one), and really enjoy the challenge painting companion pieces provides. It’s even more challenging to get those works completed within the course of a day that also included delivering artwork to a gallery and the end-of-school-year carnival. I haven’t seen Linda Shantz’s painting yet, nor any of the Belmont pARTy participants. I understand Linda would like to have them all posted by Monday. You can review all the artwork on the Virtual pARTy blog. Meanwhile, here’s to a safe trip and a good race. Enjoy your weekend! Kim Santini ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com

©Copyright 2009 by The Virtual pARTy and participating artists. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist challenge, visit The Virtual pARTy Blog.

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The Belmont pARTy!!


It’s that time again – but this Virtual pARTy has a twist. All of you are invited!

The above image is our reference photo, kindly provided by equine photographer Juliet Harrison. We ask that you kindly provide her credit should you choose to publish your resulting pARTy artwork.

If you right click on the image and open it in a new window, you should have a high enough resolution file to download and work from.

Should you need a higher resolution image still, please contact Juliet directly or Kim.

pARTy rules are at the header of this page. Painting time starts tomorrow – we wish you well!!

Happy creating! Kim and Linda

©Copyright 2009 by The Virtual pARTy and participating artists. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist challenge, visit The Virtual pARTy Blog.

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