Tag Archives: AAEA

Driving, Daisies and Dot

July 3rd, 2009 | Posted in Alecia Underhill


Gentleman’s Turnout
oil on canvas, 9 x 12 in.
“Pulling Their Weight”, the Horse in Fine Art Exhibition is up and running at the Mackinac Island Public Library. Gentleman’s Turnout is one of my three entries. The show can be viewed online at the AAEA website. It looks to be a stunning selection of work. I am so honored to be a part of it.

Pulling Their Weight, The Horse in Fine Art


The whole horse pasture is just full of buttercups and daisies. I wish it were full of more edible grass for the horses, but I am hopeless at pasture management, and it has been made difficult this year with all the rain…it just grows and grows faster than the horses can eat it, and there is very little time to mow it. But on the bright side, the daisies make a beautiful, very long-lasting display in a lovely old mason jar.


Yellow Chick
oil on canvas, 11 x 14 in.

And this is “Dot”, my little yellow chick. She has grown into a beautiful cream-colored pullet with a bit of orange on the edges of some of her feathers. Here is a photo of her all grown up.

I am moving on from the baby chick paintings to hen paintings, and I will post as soon as one is finished and scanned.
The coop is nearly finished, just a few small details left to do, and the young ladies seem to be very happy in their home. They have all figured out the chicken ladder and go into the coop at night, safe from all the wily predators. And here is what I’m calling “The Egg Drop Inn”, complete with window box.

©Copyright 2009 by Alecia Underhill. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

Also tagged in: , , , , , , , , , | 0 Comments

Mowing, Chickens, and Carriages

June 11th, 2009 | Posted in Alecia Underhill

The riding lawnmower (the gas-powered one) spent a couple of days at the shop recently, and the bit of lawn that stretches behind the studio, around the blackberry patch and amongst the orchard grew tall and lush. As I started to mow it with our newly serviced piece of machinery, I had a revelation, to let the four-legged mowers at it. So with just two bits of wire fence strung, the horses now had access to the best bit of grazing to come along this spring. It is my least favorite piece of lawn to mow, and though we’ll have to clean it up when the horses are done, at least the rocks will be more visible, and the grass will have provided nutrition and calories to the beasts.

The chickens are in their new coop as of this past weekend. They are not too keen about the great outdoors, however. They perch on the doorstep of the little chicken door, and peer down the ladder, and one chick made it down two steps before going back in. The next day, I shooed a couple of them out, but none of the others followed and those two birds huddled under the coop until dark, when we had to take apart the temporary board in the front to get them out. It’s so chilly the last couple of days, I’ve put the heat lamp in the coop and today I didn’t even open the chicken door.

The coop with outdoor run in progress.

I have finished one more chicken painting, which I cannot yet post, and have moved on to finish up a couple of horse paintings. I have been juried into the Glastonbury Fine Arts on the Green show the second week of September, and I will be spending the summer getting ready for that show. (In-between shuttling the 9-yr old to soccer camp, cub-scout camp, day camp, and doing other family things like biking and a trip to the amusement park, etc…)

Three of my driving themed paintings are going to Mackinac Island, Michigan, this summer for the AAEA sponsored show, “The Horse in Fine Art” at the Mackinac Public Library, July 1 – July 31st.
“Carriage Meet” is one of the pieces. Oil on canvas, 11 x 14 in.
This is a bit of a rambling blog post, but there is a lot going on here.

©Copyright 2009 by Alecia Underhill. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

Also tagged in: , , , | 0 Comments

AAEA Workshop

June 1st, 2009 | Posted in Valarie Wolf

Lesley doing one of her many painting demos
Here Lesley points out the ‘bony bits’ of the horse, and measurements
I am still reeling with feelings of joy from this year’s Lesley Humphrey workshop at the Kentucky Horse Park. Lesley was the most gracious instructor with such joy for what she does. We learned so much….we even painted from life using a lovely Haflinger horse as our model. Really, I wish the class could have gone on and on.
The AAEA headquarters look well organized and clean. They now have original art on display when you first walk in which gives visitors a sense of what the AAEA is all about.

©Copyright 2009 by Valarie Wolf. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

Also tagged in: , , , | 0 Comments

Monday Guest Artist ~ Karen Baker Thumm

April 27th, 2009 | Posted in Linda Shantz

We’re getting some interesting weather right now in Southern Ontario. On Saturday, summer decided to pay us a visit, but by 5pm a powerful storm system moved in and made bringing-in time at the barn a bit wild! The temperature dropped a good 20 degrees for Sunday…and today it’s supposed to be like summer again. The bad news for me is I really need to get on my taxes (no kidding), so my “day off” this time around will be spent crunching numbers instead of enjoying the weather. I know…that’s what procrastination gets me!

Today’s guest artist is another Equine Art Guild member I’ve “known” for years. Karen is an Associate Member of the prestigious American Academy of Equine Art, and has always been very generous in sharing her knowledge and experience with aspiring equine artists. There is a wealth of information, as well as a number of examples of her beautiful work, on her website. You can also see some of these paintings develop on her blog. Thanks Karen!

.
Growing Pains
Karen Baker Thumm


I’d like to start off by thanking Linda for inviting me to be a guest
blogger on her blog this month. It is an honor to be chosen by an
artist whom I greatly admire.

In sticking with this month’s theme of growth, I decided to address
a subject that many of us traditional realist artists face at some
point in our development as artists, and that is the need to wean
ourselves from too much dependence on photographs. As equine artists,
it’s almost a necessity to rely on photographs to produce our art
since our subjects are not the kind to sit still for hours (or even
seconds!) while we capture their likenesses.The trick is to move
beyond the photograph at some point to make a more unique work of
art, and that is where the growth part of our development as artists
comes to the fore.

One of my recent paintings is a perfect example of moving beyond the
photograph. “Meet The Green Team” is its title, and so we shall. The
first image is my reference photo for this painting. I very much
liked the expressions of these two gentle giants, their connectedness
to each other and their mild interest in the viewer who has
interrupted their quiet moments together. In order to convert this
photograph into a work of art that was more of my own concept, I made
a number of changes.

The first choice I made was to change the left hand horse’s coat and
mane colors since I wanted the painting to be of a pair of Belgians.

Next I decided to eliminate the sweat on the horses in order to go
along with a theme of quiet relaxation.

Thirdly, I decided to pretty up the trailer by eliminating the rust
and broken railing and giving it back some shine.

Since I’m not fond of wide blazes that go over the nostrils, the
right hand horse got a blaze adjustment which worked out very well.
You can see that he actually has a very fine muzzle which was
disguised by that wide blaze.

The two ears almost touching in the center created a weird tangent,
so I changed one ear to a more forward position and eliminated that
problem.

But, the changes didn’t stop there. The wheel fender was eliminated
since it added nothing to the compositon. I changed the far side of
the trailer to show more openings and make better sense of it. And,
finally, I played around with different crops until I found one which
worked well and which allowed the image to fit onto a standard size
canvas.

It’s a good thing that I like to challenge myself because, Boy! did
this painting challenge me! The first thing I did was to make a color
study in pastel to use as a guide for the oil painting. Other
reference photos were used for the highlights and shadows on the
horses and for reflections on the trailer. A couple of Breyer horses
and a mirror also helped show me where the reflections should go.
Using all of these tools helped me to create a painting that was both
challenging and very rewarding.


I’m so glad that I took the risk and created a painting that I can be
very proud of. Whether it wins any show awards or not, it’s already a
winner for me. Growing pains and all, it helped to build confidence
in myself and was one more step in my growth as an artist.

©Copyright 2009 by Linda Shantz. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

Also tagged in: , , , | 0 Comments

My New Love: the “Looser Style!”

April 20th, 2009 | Posted in Valarie Wolf

I will show you two recent paintings using a looser style of applying the paint. These are both 6″x6″ oil on masonite, and the paint was applied mostly with a bristle brush. I used Res-N-Gel for a medium. These two little pieces were a JOY to paint. Thank you to Jennifer Trottier for the reference photos! I am sending these two off tomorrow for consideration in the American Academy of Equine Art’s Fall Showcase. We’ll see if they get in…..



©Copyright 2009 by Valarie Wolf. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

Also tagged in: , , , , | 0 Comments

Horses Rule!

April 20th, 2009 | Posted in Valarie Wolf

‘Horses Rule’. That was a phrase we used to use in Junior High school that just popped into my head. Welcome to my Blog! It’s strange having a Blog…..up until now, I have been silently painting away, chiming in once in a while to a couple of art sites, but usually keeping quiet. For the past several decades I have devoted my art-self to painting horses in a tight realistic manner. Lately, however, I am loosening up—-using bigger bristle brushes, and applying thicker paint—something I though I would never do. And you know what? It’s FUN!! Yes, to see progress in a matter of hours rather than days is quite entertaining! On the right is a painting just sent to the Rolex Art Show in association with the American Academy of Equine Art. A more traditional style of painting, no doubt. On the left is a commission I did of a jumper a while ago.

Next time, I’ll post a couple of ‘looser’ more impressionistic paintings. Bye for now!


©Copyright 2009 by Valarie Wolf. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.
Also tagged in: , , , | 0 Comments

Coming Together Fine!

March 15th, 2009 | Posted in Kathi Peters

There has been so much happening in my life over the past few months. I am feeling a bit over whelmed by it all. But I have been handling it one day and step at a time… so here goes …………!

Starting with an opening in Belfast, Maine of an art show at Aarhus Gallery on March 6th which brought a VERY full house. I have one of my mixed media paintings from My Family Series is showcased there. “How You Gonna Keep ‘Em Down On The Farm?” is an 8 x 6” fun look at my Pennsylvania family. I am working on some more of these…. a trip into my past and ancestry…. and it’s a fun trip. It is a step out of my normal subject matter and my focus, but I don’t think you will be disappointed with it. It is innovative and thought provoking. Some say there is certain nostalgia to these works.

Also I have been invited to several invitational exhibits that are being organized by The American Academy of Equine Art. You can see several of my works during The Rolex in April at the AAEA’S building opening April 24th through May 1, 2009.”Start of a New Day” and “Waiting Your Turn” both are being sent to Lexington for the Rolex show.


And then there is another invitational show on Mackinac Island, MI. titled “Pulling Their Weight – Draft and Carriage Horses in Fine Art” from July 15 thru 20, 2009.

AND THEN…. I have a ONE-MAN SHOW coming up in Lexington, KY. in May, titled “Finding My Voice”…at Gallery B. I will be there for the opening reception on May 8th, 2009 from 5-8pm. I hope you can make it! The show will last through the month of May. A portion of the sales from this exhibit will be donated to The Stroke Foundation. I hope this show can raise stroke and aphasia awareness!

I will also be having work hanging at Equidae Gallery in Saratoga Springs, NY. again this summer. And I will be doing a demonstration there “of painting with casein”, date TBA .the dates can be seen on my events page on my website. Come and talk to me!!

AND FINALLY, last but not least!……an interview with me, covering my oeuvre of equine artwork, has come out in ART HORSE MAGAZINE…. and it is so neat to see my work showcased so nicely. And at such a good time! This magazine is an art publication that only comes out twice a year and highlights one equine artist and art photographer in each issue, along with several interesting articles about art or history concerning the horse. A good read! I recommend it and not just because of the article about “MOI”…it is full of good reading!

That’s the story so far…. It’s coming together to be a great year!!!

©Copyright 2009 by Kathi Peters. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

Also tagged in: , , , , , , , | 0 Comments

Calendar Girl

November 6th, 2008 | Posted in Michelle Grant

Time ticks on…I’m stuck, too many things to do. Never enough time to do them all. Most of all I seem unable to motivate myself to finish the Wolfe Cabin or to work on anything that remotely resembles artwork.

Here it is November already, and I have hardly finished anything of substance. I am so hard on myself, always judging myself harshly, distracted by *other* things. Things like two cats, a horse, and a very high maintenance whippet Austin whom I cook for now. His allergies were preventing him from thriving on any commercially made dog food, veterinary quality or not. House maintenance, yard maintenance, and all the business end of the art business all take their chunk ‘o time outta me. All these things require time, energy and organization. Without my daytimer, I’m lost!

I have become focused on the time passing far too fast. Deadlines past, upcoming deadlines, I forget to celebrate my successes…like having my painting “A Good Tail Wind” winning a spot on the American Academy of Equine Art’s (AAEA) 2009 Calendar contest! http://aaea.net/. I can now combine my time management with a celebration of seeing my work on a quality calendar.

©Copyright 2008 by Michelle Grant. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Michelle Grant’s website.

Also tagged in: , , , , , , , , | 0 Comments

American Academy of Equine Art AAEA, Fall Open Juried Exhibit Acceptance

July 31st, 2008 | Posted in Debbie Flood

Oil painting of a draft horse by Debbie Flood. Copyright 2007 by the artist, all rights reserved.
I am very please to announce that my Oil painting “A feathered friend” has been juried into the American Academy of Equine Art’s Fall Open Juried Exhibit for 2008 at The Museum of the Horse in the Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, Kentucky.
This is a very hard exhibit to get into. If the judges don’t get that “Wow” factor in just a few seconds of flipping through the images that are submitted…it pretty much goes into the ‘no’ pile. Though I have heard there is a ‘maybe’ pile too. This year is my third year submitting work for this show and this is the first year for me to get in. The competition is stiff and I feel so honored to be included with the top equine artists in the field.
It takes three works to be accepted into their Annual shows and then the artist is eligible to submit slides for possible associate membership. This is not an easy task, becoming a member or getting into the exhibits, and is not to be taken lightly. You can read about the AAEA’s mission about Equine Art on their website.
I may have to frame this acceptance letter!

I spent a lot of time preparing for shipping of this entry today. The Exhibit is in September of 2008. Even though it seems like a good amount of time to get ready, there really isn’t. As shipping labels and paperwork must be sent a month in advance. I also had to varnish this painting. An oil painting must have a least a year of drying time before a permanent varnish is put on. I finished this painting in the Spring of 2007, so it was ready for it’s coat. I put on a Gloss varnish and it looks so good. It brought out all the rich colors and made it all look ‘wet’ again.

I wonder if I can paint another Oil painting as good or better than this one? Hmm….. May have to try! probably will try! Just gotta try!!!!

Debbie Flood, Artist. Equine, Wildlife, and the natural world.

http://www.debfloodart.com

©Copyright 2008 by Debbie Flood. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Debbie Flood’s website.

Also tagged in: , , , , , , , , | 0 Comments

Back Home Again

July 22nd, 2008 | Posted in Kathi Peters
What a trip! The whole experience went by too fast. But I am happy to be home in Cob Cottage !!!

The Kentucky Horse Park is huge….and it was HOT and this ole’ New Englander is not used to that sort of heat. But with downing a lot of H2O I managed to survive.
On the evening of 18th my friend, Bobbye and I went to the opening and book signing of “Equestrian Style” at Gallery B in Lexington. It was so neat to meet Vicky Moon and to actually see the gallery on Main Street. My contact with Vicky, prior to the publication of the book, was all email and by phone. I had never been down to Lexington to see the gallery either. It was a lovely reception…good food, wine and very interesting people to talk to. Lyn Raff, photographer and editor of Horse Art magazine was at the signing too and we got a chance to talk. I enjoyed my ‘outing’.

Bobby and I spent two days doing the Kentucky Horse Park and Keeneland Race Track… we even got to The Red Mile to see where I have been showing for years at Tattersall’s Harness Tracks of America’s Annual Art Exhibit and Auction. My paintings and papercuts had been seen and been hung in these spots..but this was a first for me! I was able to get neat morning shots at Keeneland stable and exercising shots…. Bobbye, who grew up there as a kid while her father ’s horses raced, knew where to take me …what to see…so I was able to get the feel and aura of the this racing Mecca.

Horse demonstration at the Kentucky Horse Park near Lexington, Kentucky. Photo copyright Kathi Peters.

The demonstrations at the Horse Park were great and afforded me a primo chance to get wonderful reference shots for future paintings. This shot above of a Spotted Saddle Horse ‘dancing the pole’ is just one of the shots that I have to inspire me. [I am wondering if my Walking Horse , Duster and I can do this???] The best surprise though was getting to see Clay Maier and his Friesian pair that he rides tandem! Awesome!

The Champagne Run Horse Trials were going on too…I got some neat dressage shots.

And I actually got to see the American Academy of Equine Art’s building and to watch Shelly Hunter doing a sculpture workshop. The Carriage Association of America’s Museum was closed..that was a let down…..but we did go into the Horse Museum to get out if the heat for a bit.

My advice….if you are into horses…plan a trip to the Kentucky Horse Park. I will go back …but next time it will not be done in the summer!!! I will stay home in Maine where Life is like it is supposed to be!!

©Copyright 2008 by Kathi Peters. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Kathi Peters’s website.

Also tagged in: , , , , , , | 0 Comments
RSS for Posts RSS for Comments