Tag Archives: Lexington

Another White Horse

October 29th, 2009 | Posted in Kathi Peters

I have been working on this 11 3/4 x 13 3/4″ casein for a few days now, on and off. Yes, another white foreshortened horse. This is a subject that I can not get tired of exploring. And I will be doing more white horses over time…a series of sorts. [Like my 'Shades of Black' series that can be seen on my website.] This is a stallion from the Darley Farm in Lexington KY., a wonderful Thoroughbred Stud Farm that I was privileged to visit last spring. You don’t see many farms like this here in Maine!

It is quiet today at Cob Cottage Studio…Nellie, our non-stop Jack Russell Terrier, is at the vet’s, where she will spend the night, recuperating after having been spade this morning. She is doing well..or so I was told when I called a bit ago to check on her progress. Addie, our Corgi, is enjoying her reprieve from her nemesis and napping and taking leisurely strolls around the farm. How Nell has changed our life…for the better….since she came into it a year ago. But for today we are enjoying a quiet time.

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

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A Jack Called Punky

July 9th, 2009 | Posted in Kathi Peters

This handsome fellow was all Jack when we visited Cobra Farm in Lexington,KY. last May, during my solo show at Gallery B. Though I was taken with all the beautiful thoroughbred horses at the farm, it seems the dogs I met there have come alive on my canvases first.
This is a small 8 x 6″ casein on canvas on board.

Another rainy day finds me back in the studio for the afternoon. My pups are sleeping.The house is quiet. It’s a good time to paint.

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

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Knowing Where I Am Going

June 16th, 2009 | Posted in Kathi Peters


I have been asked by so many about my process of painting, how do I paint? How do I pick my subject matter and how do I approach a work?

Writing my process is the hard job…[ Can you say Aphasia? ]…….
but maybe showing it might be easier for me!

I recently started a large canvas of a horse and rider that I saw when I was at the Kentucky Horse Park. I was down there for my solo show at Gallery B in Lexington, in May.There was a hunter jumper 3-phase going on at The KHP that peaked my interest, so I sat and watched it for a while. I watched the stadium jumping and the warm up arena where there were various equestrians warming up, practicing and some were even taking last minute lessons with their trainers.There was eye candy for me everywhere and so hard for me to focus on what I felt I needed to capture. But this one rider and her horse kept piquing my interest….they had movement and excitement. So that is how I pick my subject matter …to start. Above is the charcoal sketch I did on the 40 x 30″ canvas. Then I go in with my colors to give it some design….some definition as to what colors I want to use ..the darks and lights, and the entire composition element of the work. I have decided the depth of the work and where the light is coming from.

With casein, I have to wait while the paint dries between phases…..before I can go back in to glaze the next color over or if I want to intensify the current color. In my process I glaze, cross- hatch, dark over light…or light over dark…what suits my purpose. There are NO rules…and with casein I can do thin washes , graded washes,or do scumbling or broken colors techniques. I sometimes add a bit of acrylic into my casein paint….sometimes I add a larger concentration of casein emulsion into my paint. What I do in one painting is not necessarily what I do in the next.
I guess that is how I address life. There are no rules. Life changes and should the input and out put.
So this is where I am with this painting so far. Have I answered any questions?

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

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Kentucky Sunrise

June 5th, 2009 | Posted in Kathi Peters

This is a detail of the finished “Kentucky Sunrise” casein [18 x 18"] on canvas. The entire painting shows a panorama of the fenced fields at Darley Farm in Lexington. This stallion is Hard Spun who stands at Darley and who was an undefeated Stakes winner as a two year old. The power of this man, even standing as stud, is undeniable. The morning that we visited him he had just rolled in dirt….living the good life at this point in his career!

More handsome studs from this farm are in the works. So many and so awesome! I will be posting the whole view of the painting on my website. But we are still dealing with a sick Corgi and farm chores and life that just seems to keep getting in the way. Blog entries will be short and sweet for now!

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

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Trivia Galore

June 1st, 2009 | Posted in Kathi Peters
Well, I received the new palette and have filled it with some of my casein colors that I use. I almost don’t want to touch it now, as it is so nice and pristine. But I know I need to “bite the proverbial bullet” and get down and dirty with it. I just needed to show everyone how nice it looks!! :-)


I have been busy going through the pile of photo shots taken in KY during our visit. Here is a shot of Bobbye and I in front of the American Academy of Equine Art. Bobbye and Ed were our hosts and tour guide during our entire stay. They gave us a royal tour of equine highlights in Lexington and Louisville; and then in Cincinnati we got into the arts and architecture of that great city. We can’t thank them enough!

I have been painting some, but the past week was also taken up with caring for our Corgi, Addie, as she tries to get over a bad eye infection. Part of the ordeal is also keeping the puppy, Nell, away from Addie as the poor girl heals. Like kids!

Back to the drawing board now as I finish up a casein painting of a Lexington thoroughbred stallion who posed for me ….I know he wanted to be painted! I am putting the finishing touches on it now.

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

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Be Aware This May

May 1st, 2009 | Posted in Kathi Peters

May is Stroke Awareness month. It is also the month that my solo art show titled ”Finding My Voice” opens in Lexington, Kentucky at Gallery B, with a reception on May 8th from 5-8 pm. The works in this show were recreated over that past two and a half years…since August of 2006. That date is pivotal in the theme of the show. But let me digress…read my blog entry of May 19th, 2008 that explains a lot. ….

“What May Means To Me Or Why I Blog” MAY 19TH 2008

May has always been a special month for my family…spring is in full swing, my husband’s birthday falls in May and of course so does Mother’s Day. But this year [and last year] May has taking on new meaning for us, as it is designated as Stroke Awareness Month.And we are very aware about stroke. Now.
On July 29th of 2006, my husband and I, along with my sister who was visiting from California, were all headed from our farm in Morrill, Maine to my eldest brother’s home in New Hampshire to celebrate his 70th birthday. It was a surprise party for him and for the first time in a long time, my siblings and I were going to be together to party and have a good time. We arrived on time and I got out of our car to greet everyone, feeling so happy to see us all together. My sister-in-law, Bev walked up to me and started talking …I could hear her, but I couldn’t make out a word that she was saying. I didn’t feel right, but was busy looking around at everybody when I realized I couldn’t see my right hand or arm and I couldn’t figure out where they were…and I was still trying to understand Bev. She sounded like a slow broken record and her words were all jumbled to me. I looked around for my husband, Les and when I saw him I asked, “Where’s my arm? And he said “By your side? What’s the matter?” Then I guess everyone saw something was wrong with me. I remember them helping me into the shade of a huge tree on the grounds and helping to lay me down on the ground. I looked up at everyone…I didn’t know what was happening. I couldn’t really talk and tell them what I felt and a sea of faces looked down on me. But through it all a strange feeling of calm and peacefulness filled my being and I knew it would be all right.

I was suffering a stroke.


I missed my brother’s 70th.To make a long story short…I was rushed to a hospital in N.H. and then was transported by ambulance to Portland, Maine, and admitted into Maine Medical Center. This was done in order that I should be closer to my family and doctors.Tests were started. The left side of my brain had been ‘attacked’ when the blood flow was interrupted or stopped due to a blood clot. A significant part of my left temporal lobe was affected and this left me with right-sided paralysis and Aphasia. Aphasia is a condition where language problems make it difficult to talk the way I used to and makes writing very difficult for me. Something that was so important to me in my life [I have worked as a newspaper reporter and fashion editor in the past…and wrote poetry.] …. was now something that was so difficult. My understanding and comprehension of speech were unimpaired, but speech itself became hard as my speech related muscles wouldn’t cooperate and my brain could not find the words to say what I wanted to. But what was more important to me, as I lay on the hospital bed with my family around me…could I draw??? I managed to get the nurse to understand what I wanted…. a pencil and paper. She brought them and everyone looked on as I sketched an eye, a horse head……….okay… I could live with the limitations I had a this point. I could draw, and this would mean I could paint. Life was good!!!

In the week that passed in between hospital tests, MRI’s and blood work, I sketched some, slept a lot, but I knew I needed to get home, to our quiet farm where I would be alone with my husband, see my Corgi and our horses, see and smell our gardens and get down to the business of getting better…. to getting ‘Kathi’ back!

This year and half that has passed has been difficult. Our horses became my therapy, as I brushed them while walking with a cane, my hand and arm gained strength. I cleaned stalls needing the muck fork to help stand up with. Throwing hay and lifting shaving bags became my upper body strengthen exercises. I had a speech therapist come and work with me in our home, who helped me start to get over some the Aphasia problems…and an occupational therapist to help me get my hand coordination back. And I painted…and drew and I slept. I slept a lot. I still sleep during the day needing naps to replenish my energy.
I started a blog after my therapist suggested that I do it as an exercise to recapture my language skills. Each and every blog entry has my recovery in it. Metaphorically each of my paintings tells of my struggles and my victories…most in the form of equine art.But through it all I knew that my attitude about what I was going through was more important to me that what had happened to me. My recovery depended on my attitude. I cannot control what happens to me in life, but I can control my attitude. And that is my life’s mantra now……….’if it’s gonna be..it’s up to me.’

And I have also been blessed with a wonderful husband who has been beside me through it all. Les has been the wind beneath my wings.So in a nutshell….that is my story. Why I blog.. and the road leading up to the beginning of my blog. That is my story and I am sticking with it.

SO…. next week, May 2009, we head down to Lexington, KY. for my solo show and a chance to explain to folks about stroke and the ramifications of it on it’s victims and their caregivers. I am one of the “lucky” stroke survivors…After a life time of suffering TIA’s [ little mini strokes ] and not knowing what they were really about…I feel a need now to tell more people about stroke and it’s symptoms. If I had paid attention to the TIA’S over the years before, maybe today I wouldn’t have the language skills deficit and the right-sided physical problems that I have today. What I didn’t tell doctors kept me from having the care I should have had before the stroke even happened. If I can help one person from experiencing stroke…it is worth it. Folks just don’t know ……maybe I can help?

May on the bright side….I do hope to see you at my reception…May 8th…5 to 8…be there!!! I will be looking for you!!!

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

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It Might Look Messy

April 21st, 2009 | Posted in Kathi Peters

But there really is a method to my mess…it works for me. I think I have explained before, in previous posts, that I do not paint in the time honored traditional ways. My palette is not set up traditionally. My entire studio is none conformist! The story of my life!!

I have been asked by several folks, artists and clients, to show a peek at my palette…so aiming to please.. here it is! ” Ah?” You say…..”It’s a mess!!” Maybe by some standards it is. But the most important fact is that I get the paint out of this shamble and do manage to put it down in the right spots on the canvas or board, or paper!

The other question I am frequently asked is “What colors do you use?”
At any given time I might be using Naples Yellow, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Red Scarlet, Ultramarine Blue Deep, Cobalt Blue, Cerulean Blue, Paynes Gray, Shiva Violet, Raw Umber, Venetian Red, Halftone Black, Golden Ochre, Raw Sienna, Terra Verte, [ I LOVE Terra Verte!!] Cadmium Green and of course Titanium White. I don’t use a Ivory Black but will often mix my own black black if I need it.

All these colors are employed my casein painting…and I use them on canvas, paper, gessoed board…I love them!

I also love watercolors , but that is another ball of wax!

So my palette might be messy…I agree!! But I think this painting [ "Driven" ] is neat! I am hating to part with it. I sometimes get that feeling about a finished work and hang on to them…this is one of those! But”Driven” is slated to hang in the Gallery B show next month. We are starting to pack works that will be shipped down to Lexington over the next two weeks. My shipper is snoring on the couch at the moment! So I will continue to paint!

Doesn’t “Driven” look lovely framed?

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

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Framed Again

April 13th, 2009 | Posted in Kathi Peters

The past few weeks have been riddled with the distraction of getting a solo art show together of my works for a lovely gallery in Lexington, Kentucky. Gallery B is hanging a show of my artwork that has all been produced since my stroke in the summer of 2006. As I pulled all these works together, I see a definite change in my work since that life changing event …yes, I have been able to paint since, during and before….but there is a certain “Je ne sais pas que” change in it all. I can’t wait to see it all hung in one gallery to make a collective statement. Opening reception is May 8TH at 5-8 pm. I hope all you blog followers who live around Lexington will come and see me and my work….and a portion of all sales will be donated to the National Stroke Foundation.
The Show is called “Finding My Voice”. Like many victims of stroke, I was left with language skill deficits …spelling, finding words, numbers and writing all became hard or at times impossible..but my Lord, my art,our horses and dogs, my gardens, some really great friends and the quietness of our lovely little farm in Maine healed me and life does go on…And golly gee!!!! I am having a solo art show in Lexington, KY….The Heart of Horse Country, USA!! Two of the smallest paintings are pictured above. These are both from my ‘Shades of Black’ series, and are done in casein on board…the paintings are only 4 x 4″…neat little squares! This series is a study of light and shadows on black horses at different times of the day and different seasons. I am excited about the upcoming show..but our farm keeps me grounded…..with cleaning stalls and shedding out dusty winter hair-coats from 4 equine beasts and two canine beasties.

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

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The Equestrian

April 7th, 2009 | Posted in Kathi Peters


I am painting today when I should be getting things together ‘better’ for my solo show with Gallery B in Lexington, KY. in May. But I really believe one [ meaning me!] needs to paint while the muse is hot. So I finished this mixed media painting [ 10 x 10 1/4"] of my mother as “The Equestrian”. As I explained before in an early post on my blog, and will explain again…..I am working on a series of works depicting my family and times in their lives. I feel a need at this point in my life to make a statement about my family’s past. I am hoping that someone will connect with this statement and understand what I am trying to say. At times I don’t really know What I am saying?!! So good luck to us all!! The wind has kicked up a notch here on the farm and gray clouds have replaced the sun that shone earlier. Spring is being it usual fickle self. I don’t mind though as the promise of bulbs bursting and flowers blooming is so evident! So while the weather brews a storm, I will take care of things that need being done for the May show and think about what I plan on doing in the gardens when weather permits. It will at some point! It always does!

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

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Feeling “Driven”

April 3rd, 2009 | Posted in Kathi Peters

The rain is coming down and hopefully will melt a lot of the piled up snow in our barn yard and gardens. I took a break from the studio yesterday while the sun was out and got some raking done…and today I suffer for it. Guess I discovered muscles that weren’t worked over the winter, even with daily workouts mucking stalls!!!

This morning, before the rain started, I was able to get a shot of the latest casein off the easel, a 20 x 16″ done on board….and I am calling it “Driven”. This painting will be going to my solo show next month. The show is called “Finding My Voice” and will be hung at Gallery B in the city of Lexington, KY. I am so happy to say that a portion of all sales in this show will be donated to The National Stroke Foundation. I will be post more on it later.

I have quite a few shows on the agenda this summer and will keep you all up to date on my website Events page. It seems lately that I am juggling too many balls in the air!! But I plan to keep them all airborne! suffice it to say…”I am “Driven!”!!

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

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Commisson of an Old Friend

March 27th, 2009 | Posted in Kathi Peters

Yesterday I spent a good portion of my afternoon at the my framer’s getting frames picked for works going to shows and for finished commissions. One work was the above watercolor of ‘Tootie’..what a wonderful loving and happy fellow he was …he always had a hearty hello whenever I visited his home and “parents”. A perfect furkid! He is much missed…and I only hope this watercolor does him justice.

The two casein works below are the ones that are going down to the American Academy Of Equine Art’s show at the Rolex in April,and are being framed and made good to go! I only wish I was going with them…but my trip to Lexington, KY. is planned for later in May. For now my two works will have to represent me on their own!

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

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Fenced In Up Close

September 6th, 2008 | Posted in Kathi Peters

Again I have been asked for a bigger up close shot of this painting. I hope this works as being up close enough. This painting is varnished and will be going down to Lexington’s Gallery B.

Today I am busy getting works labeled and wrapped to head down to Skyline Farm ’s “Fertile Ground ” Art Show 2008 that opens next Friday night. Sept. 12 th, from 5 to 7 pm to meet the artists!

I am looking forward to seeing everyone there!!

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

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Almost Ready

August 24th, 2008 | Posted in Kathi Peters

Painting of a Thoroughbred mare heavy with foal in casein. Copyright Kathi Peters 2008, all rights reserved.

As we rode the roads in Lexington and Versailles, KY., farm after farm had horses, mares with foals, mares alone, and frankly some mares were ready to pop! This lovely gray was one of the ones who caught my eye……….in the huge fields she had to roam with trees in the far distance.

I love mares and I miss our having a mare in foal. But I think our breeding days are done with our Cobs. At least for now. our Maggie is only 4 so has time to wait.

This painting is a casein on gallery wrapped canvas, sized at 10×10″. I love square compositions and the puzzle of getting the balance and design right. I think I got it.

I am doing a series of these Kentucky paintings, all sized the same and all in casein.

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

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Lipizzan In The Works

July 9th, 2008 | Posted in Kathi Peters
Painting of a Lipizzan in progress. Copyright Kathi Peters.
Yesterday I started this watercolor of a Lipizzan horse , what a powerful horse he is and you can see the power and movement in his eye and neck. A good friend of mine, Juliet Harrison, who happens to be an accomplished photographer, gave me permission to paint this shot. I am always so excited to see her new work …and this [ a bit edited ] is from a photo shoot that she did in New York. Thank you, Juliet!

I started with a rough sketch and this time I didn’t do a value study with graphite, but have gone right into the work with watercolors. This work has a long thin composition, and my scanner can only show part of it…
I will keep you posted as I make head way on this. I am working on a watercolor of Herefords at the same time …oh.. and a new papercut! My muse is working overtime!

But I must admit I have been a bit reoccupied at the moment getting things finalized for a trip down to Lexington, KY to go to the opening book signing for

Vicky Moon’s new book ‘Equestrian Style”…and to show a few of my papercuts at Gallery B. And while there I plan on getting to the Kentucky Horse Park…..and Keeneland …and The American Academy of Equine Art.
This will be a fast trip…but fun I am sure. And for 4 days I will not have to clean stalls or throw hay!

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

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Green Paint

June 30th, 2008 | Posted in Kathi Peters

Painting in casein of a young filly. Copyright Kathi Peters.

The art show “ Hip to be Squared” at Gallery B located on 145 West Main St in Lexington, KY is running until the end of July. This is a neat show with all works in it done in a square format. I have 3 caseins in it. One is a still life that includes a bottle of wine and a half full wine glass…and some other hidden items that were required by the gallery in order to participate. The other two caseins are of a filly at different times in her ’childhood’ growing up process.

Still life painting in casein of a wine bottle and glass. Copyright Kathi Peters.

The weather has been VERY muggy here lately. Afternoons seem to bring thunderstorms and then fog. I have had a hard time getting varnish to dry on paintings that I needed to get out for clients and for shows coming up. When weather is like this forget about trying to do a paper cutting. The humidity makes my paper soft and then it tears. I quests it is time to get the air conditioner up and running. I am trying to be ‘green’ and not use it!

Speaking about green…I just realized that I was green before it was in vogue. I do works in casein, a milk based paint that does not pose a health hazard. It never dawned on me until I was speaking with a client recently and I was explaining about casein and its properties. He was interested in the fact that it wasn’t toxic like oil paint can be…a plus for me in my studio which is small and off the bedroom.

Back to the watercolor work and a casein painting I am working on. The watercolor is of my wizard kitty, Mittens!

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

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