Tag Archives: Standardbred

Regal Lady

September 3rd, 2010 | Posted in Catherin McMillan


Regal Lady

Regal Lady is my latest equine artwork for rescue.. This lovely girl is a standard bred mare who is recovering from abscesses in her feet…
Regal Lady is 7″ x 9″ pastel on art spectrum colourfix suede board
$150.00 + shipping  a % of the sale price will be donated directly to equine rescue to help in her care
email: catherin@animalarthouse.com
Catherin McMillan http://www.animalarthouse.com/
Commissions welcome worldwide Original artwork for sale
Gift vouchers and payment plan available.
Pay pal welcome

©Copyright 2010 by Catherin McMillan. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

Also tagged in: , , , | 0 Comments

Always in Style Finished

April 19th, 2010 | Posted in Carrie Lewis

Original Oil Painting

Raphael Belgian Linen Panel, 16″ x 20″

Always in Style is now officially complete! The final touch was brushing up the background with Titanium White and Manganese Blue. That was all it needed.

The portrait was photographed and a digital image sent to the client the same morning and approval has since been received.

The finished portrait went to the drying room for two weeks, then was be framed and presented to the clients at the 2009 Michigan Harness Horseman’s Association Annual Art Auction.

It also served as a display portrait for the two other custom portraits being offered at that auction.

This portrait was purchased at the 2007 MHHA auction and I was able to meet and photograph Always in Style a year ago this month. It is a delight to be able to now present the finished portrait as a sample of my work for those who will be bidding on the current donations.

Many thanks to the owners of Always in Style and of this portrait for allowing this use of their painting.

More information on horse portraits and frequently asked questions about horse portraits.

©Copyright 2010 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

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

Always in Style, Color, Part 7

April 15th, 2010 | Posted in Carrie Lewis

Original Oil Painting

Raphael Belgian Linen Panel, 16″ x 20″

The painting entered the final detail phase by this point. Most of it is finished, but there are details to scatter throughout the portrait that will bring it to life.

My goal for the day was to get this portrait finished or to get as close to completion as possible.

I painted the mane and forelock to as close to finish as possible working wet-into-wet. I think the forelock looks great, but the mane is a little too black, so I will want to glaze some dark earth tones over that when the paint dries. Probably in a couple of days.

I also darkened the darks in the eyes, ears and nostrils and around the mouth and began painting in the halter.

What remains to be done is finishing the halter, dry brushing highlights into the lower face, the glaze I mentioned over the mane and touching up any areas in the background that need work. Most of those things can probably be done in an hour or less, but will need to wait for paint to dry.

It took a week to get back to the portrait, but when I did, I was able to finish it. I glazed Burnt Umber over the mane, forelock and the insides of the ears to warm up those dark, dark shadows, then stroked in highlights with a mixture of Titanium White and Manganese Blue with either Burnt Umber or Raw Sienna mixed in depending on where the highlight was.

I also enhanced the highlights on the muzzle and the face below the nose band, rubbed Burnt Umber into the darks above the nose band and dry brushed the blue tint around the highlight in the eye. That pretty much finished the horse.

The next thing on the list was the halter, which I built strap by strap, buckle by buckle. The leather was painted with a combination of Titanium White, Burnt Umber and Manganese Blue, with the addition of Raw Sienna in reflected light areas. The hardware is Titanium White, Raw Sienna and a little bit of Manganese Blue and Burnt Umber.

The halter was complete when I finished for the day, but I wasn’t confident enough that the painting was done to touch up the background. One more look tomorrow or the next day and that should do it.

©Copyright 2010 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

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

Always in Style, Color, Part 6

April 13th, 2010 | Posted in Carrie Lewis

Original Oil Painting

Raphael Belgian Linen Panel, 16″ x 20″

This time around, I started with Style’s eye and worked around it, color by color, until I’d worked over the entire face and blocked in the forelock, as well. I used almost every color on the palette.

The cool highlights such as those under the eye are mixtures of Manganese Blue, Titanium White and the earth tones that surround those highlights. The warm highlights are a mixture of Titanium White and Raw Sienna with a little bit of the blue mixed in.

Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber are the earth tones used and, in the very darkest areas, I added a bit of Manganese Blue.

Several different brushes were used, as well; larger brushes to apply color, smaller ones to move it around and blend it.

It was a fun session and when I finished, I could see that major steps forward had been taken. It will take a fresh eye in the morning to know if adjustments will need to be made, but for the moment, I am very pleased!

©Copyright 2010 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

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

Always in Style, Color, Part 5

April 2nd, 2010 | Posted in Carrie Lewis

Original Oil Painting

Raphael Belgian Linen Panel, 16″ x 20″

By the time the portrait reached this stage, Thanksgiving was upon us. The paint and the artist both got a little bit of time off!

Even though no painting was done, I did take a look at my reference photos looking for a good, secondary image to provide some of the details missing in the primary reference. In the course of doing so, I discovered that the overall color is much too red.

So when I started to work the next painting session, my goal was to adjust the color overall and to work detail in as many areas as possible.

The first thing I did was rub Raw Sienna over all of Style’s head, face and neck. That provided a good base for the rest of the work.

Using Titanium White, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber, I began painting again with the shoulder and worked my way up to the neck, then to the head, blocking in highlights and mid-tones, then blending the edges where necessary and adding shadow where necessary. The mane was also re-established as a shadow of the finished mane to help create the proper shape and mass of Style’s neck.

By the time I finished that work, her jowl and jaw were finished and the off side ear was also finished. I worked around her eye and made much improvement on that area. The face needed to be finished and I needed to work on the eye, as well. Then the halter will be all that remains and the portrait will be complete.

©Copyright 2010 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

Also tagged in: , , , , | 0 Comments

Always in Style, Color, Part 3

March 25th, 2010 | Posted in Carrie Lewis

Original Oil Painting

Raphael Belgian Linen Panel, 16″ x 20″

One week later….

Glazing work continues, blended with a little  wet-into-wet work.

I began with Burnt Sienna (a rusty, red-brown color that works great with almost all sorrels, chestnuts and bays) applied dry brush and with a rag to the mid-tones and shadows throughout Style.

That was followed with Burnt Umber, a darker, bluer brown brushed directly into wet paint, but only in the shadow areas, over the chin and muzzle and into the mane, forelock and eyes.

The shadows were darkened a little bit more with Ultramarine Blue inside the ears and nostrils, around the mouth, muzzle and chin, over the forehead and under the jaw.

Finally, I used Ivory Black in the mane and forelock to deepen the darks in those two areas. Both the mane and the forelock were thickened up a little bit more than they previously had been. They are still not finished, but a lot of the details will be placed in the final two or three working sessions.

That work dried for a week, then I continued glazing at a more careful pace. I continued to use sable brushes, but smaller sizes and shorter bristles for improved control.

The colors I used were Burnt Sienna as the base color. It was coupled with Raw Sienna, a more golden shade of the same color. The two colors were applied side-by-side and blended as necessary, with Burnt Sienna everywhere except in the darkest shadows and in the brightest highlights. Raw Sienna was used in the highlights. I worked my way throughout Style’s head, neck and shoulders with those two colors, working slowly and carefully to prevent the appearance of brushstrokes in this very transparent layer of color.

Alas! I forgot to photograph it before the next painting session, even though it had the prerequisite week to dry. Sometimes, the brush is quicker than the camera.

©Copyright 2010 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

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

Always in Style, Color, Part 1

March 18th, 2010 | Posted in Carrie Lewis

Original Oil Painting

Raphael Belgian Linen Panel, 16″ x 20″

Always in Style was given two weeks for the under painting to dry. During that time, we had typical weather, which is to say warm and dry. Perfect drying weather for oil paintings.

Even so, I checked it at one week to see how it was doing. That’s standard operating procedure, though I rarely work on anything after only a single week of drying.

Color work began much the same way the under painting began; in the background.

I used about a 50/50 mixture of Manganese Blue and Viridian mixed with lots of Titanium White to create the blue. The blue is a little bit darker at the top than at the bottom to simulate the look of a clear blue sky.

Color was applied dry brush, which means I used only the walnut oil that is naturally in the mix of paint. No additional walnut oil was added to the paint and the canvas was not rubbed with oil before I began painting.

The purpose for this is two-fold. First, the less oil in the paint, the more opaque the resulting color layer. Since I didn’t intend to repaint the background any more times than necessary, a more opaque color layer was preferred.

Secondly, this layer of color dried more quickly with less oil in it. Once the background was in place, the paint had to dry completely before additional work could be done. Working without added oils either on the canvas or in the paint resulted in a shorter drying time.

Even so, it took a week before this work was dry enough for work to continue.

©Copyright 2010 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

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

Always in Style, Under Painting, Part 3

March 15th, 2010 | Posted in Carrie Lewis

Original Oil Painting

Raphael Belgian Linen Panel, 16″ x 20″

At this stage of the process, the under painting is beginning to look complete.

But this is my favorite part of the under painting stage – adding the details that bring the portrait to life.

I started the process of painting both the horse and the background, which allowed me to adjust edges, softening edges where necessary and reshaping Style’s head as needed.

Beginning with the off-side ear, I worked each area to as close to the finished look as it was possible to get. The ear on the right was painted, then the forelock, the ear on the left and down into the face. The standard procedure is to paint top to bottom, background to foreground and left to right, if possible. With this portrait, the left to right direction was the least feasible, so I had to be extra careful not to smear fresh paint.

Special attention was given to the eye. I worked that from a couple of different angles, to get the shape and angle as absolutely accurate as possible. By the time I finished for the session, I felt like Style was beginning to look back at me…always a good sign!

You will already have noticed that the halter has been completely painted out. Although I always draw in every part to be painted, halters, bridles and tack are quite often painted out during the middle stages of the painting so I can concentrate on the horse. Those items are then replaced after the horse is done or nearly done. I have found over the years that this method works the best of any when there is tack included in a portrait.

This is the final phase of the under painting process. At this point, the finer details are being added. The sheen on the coat, reflected light, the shape of the mouth and nostrils.

With Style’s portrait, I also decided to replace the halter. The portrait just didn’t look right without it.

So I began by building a halter around Style’s head, using the primary reference and another photo of another horse wearing a leather halter as resources.

As usually happens, I made corrections and adjustments on the areas around the halter as I worked each piece of leather or hardware. By the end of the session, I had not only repainted all of the halter, but most of Style, as well. I also found some areas that had been only lightly blocked in or hadn’t been worked on at all and worked on those.

To finish the under painting, I darkened some of the shadows, reworked the background around Style and reworked her mane and forelock, as well.

In every painting, there are surprises. Things that turn out much better than expected. One of those happened here. I hadn’t intended to work on Style’s face to the extent I did or to work on her eyes at all, but I did both. I have to say that she is now looking right back at me and it’s a thrill to see!

The painting will be allowed to dry undisturbed at for at least twenty-four hours. At that time, I will give it a quick review and make any changes that leap out at me. I don’t expect there to be very many. This under painting is just about complete.

The under painting was finished by dry brushing a few highlights onto the halter as needed. Everything else looked good, so I photographed the painting, then moved it upstairs to the drying room.

It remained there, out of sight, out of mind, for a week. Then I began checking the paint film on a weekly basis.

©Copyright 2010 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.

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

Always in Style, Under Painting, Part 2

March 11th, 2010 | Posted in Carrie Lewis

Original Oil Painting

Rapheal Belgian Linen Panel, 16″ x 20″

Work continued on the under painting for Always in Style.

Using the same colors and, for a good portion of the work, I painted the eyes again and finished the areas that had not been completed in the previous session.

At that point, the painting had to dry completely.  That took about three days, which also gave the painting time to ‘get fresh’ when I went back to work on it. While I much prefer to get each phase done as quickly as possible and as close to possible as one ‘unit’, it is helpful to be able to look at a painting in progress with a fresh eye once in a while. That’s why most paintings are kept out of sight while drying. By the time I got back to work on Style, the portrait had off the easel long enough that I was able to review it honestly. By that, I mean that I could more easily see what was on the canvas, not what should have been on the canvas! That is always helpful.

When work began again, I made adjustments and corrections to the areas previously painted and finished those that hadn’t been worked over before.

The only thing I didn’t paint was the halter. Since the halters and tack are generally paint opaquely in the final stages, I often leave them out of the under painting. Such is the case here. The halter placement is still visible, but I didn’t spend time painting it or even drawing in the edges. Instead, I painted the under painting of the horse, over lapping it generously with the halter.

At this point, the first stage of the under painting is complete.

But once work began, it went very well. I started with the same colors, Raw Umber and Titanium White, but switched from the small brushes I’d been using to a larger, flat bristle that allowed me to apply colors more rapidly and cover the remaining areas of unpainted canvas.

The small rounds and flats came in handy for the placement of more refined detail, especially in the mane. The shoulders were painted over and reshaped a little bit, the shadows and highlighs emphasized a little more and the entire area from the poll to the bottom of the canvas was completed with as much detail as I wanted for the time being.

There was also quite a bit of attention given to creating the look of a smooth, summer coat instead of the rough, winter coat shown in the primary reference photograph. For supporting references in the conformation of the chest and the way light falls over the shoulder, neck and face, I resorted to other photographs, focusing on Standardbreds, but also reviewing any head study photos that featured the proper pose and lighting situations.

There will undoubtedly be some adjustments later in the process, but for the moment, those areas were very satisfactory.

While the paint was wet, I used a couple of small round sables, one for lights and one for darks, to stroke in the mane through the flat color areas that had previously been added. The mane will require additional work, but since the brightest highlights are applied at the end of the process, that is most likely when those highlights will be added.

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

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

Guienne Hanover Demo Page Live

October 29th, 2009 | Posted in Carrie Lewis

On July 13, 2007, the largest portrait I’ve painted recently was completed.

A 22×28 oil painting on prepared panel, Guienne Hanover represented many challenges. It is a painting of a moment in time, rather than a traditional portrait. As such, it included a full landscape and architectural features.

The painting was completed using a variation on the seven-step Flemish technique beginning with a detailed drawing and included an under painting, color glazing and the final application of details.

A step-by-step demonstration for the portrait of Guienne Hanover is now available in the Demonstration page.

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

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

Delivering Guienne Hanover; Looking Forward

September 12th, 2009 | Posted in Carrie Lewis

Neal and I make an annual trek to Michigan for Labor Day Weekend for the annual Garver reunion. I was the reunion president this year, which provided either the added incentive to go or a reason to stay away, depending on how you look at it. The office was more nerve wracking in anticipation than actuality, but that’s the way most things are.

On the way to Clare, we detoured to Rochester. Michigan to deliver the portrait of Guienne Hanover. That made for a very long day, but it was worth the extra miles and the extra hours.

The painting was very well received and we had the opportunity to talk harness racing, horses and mares and foals for nearly an hour before heading on to Clare.

The following day, we drove to a small farm outside of Greenville, Michigan to get the next portrait started. I went into that meeting thinking I knew what the client wanted, but we had so many good ideas to think about when I left an hour later that the project is all the way back to the drawing board. Literally. Every possibility looks exciting, but there are a couple that really get the creative juices going!

We also came away from the trip with additional projects pending in other areas, as well.

So all in all, it was a good trip with great traveling weather in both areas and lots of time to yak with family members, get caught up with clients and just generally have a good time.

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

Also tagged in: , , | 0 Comments

Standardbred

September 1st, 2009 | Posted in Carole Rodrigue

Standardbred Mare
16 x 20 original acrylic

Took a while to get here, but here’s my latest painting. This was inspired from reference shots I took last year from a local Standardbred farm. This farm breeds pretty well known harness racing stock and I’d just love to visit the facilities themselves, especially in the spring time when these mares have their offspring. it’s a beautiful property, full of beautiful horses, and I do so love the bays and blacks on the farm. I’ve got soooo many photos of these horses, but I’ve been wanting to paint this one for a long time now and I’m so happy it’s finally out of my system and done! I’ve still got a little tweaking to do once I can get my studio back, which I hope is soon. This was painted from my kitchen, and I’m so happy to have reclaimed my kitchen !

I’ve already started working on another horse piece also, thanks to a very generous person in Arizona who’s letting me paint her horse. He’s part Arab, part Paint, and his coloring is so amazing. He’s black and white, and even has lightning bolts! Yep, not kidding! What a beauty this stallion is! It’s an honor to be painting this horse and I sure hope this piece turns out like what I’m picturing. I’ll probably be painting a few pieces of this horse. So, a big thanks to Julie!

I must be off now. I’ve moved this horse to my family room since it’s already a disaster area in there. Everything from my studio’s been moved there while the studio’s being built. Aren’t renovations a joy? Ahem . . . sure. See you all soon with the next piece. Take care until then!

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

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

Somebeachsomewhere ~ 2009 Hall of Fame Inductee

August 23rd, 2009 | Posted in Linda Shantz


And here it is! 18 x 14 oil on Raphael linen panel of Somebeachsomewhere.

I took the painting to the photographer this morning – after some more crazy thunderstorms last night, the clear blue skies and light breeze made for a nice drive to Waterloo. Pirak Studios is where I get my artwork shot. Every time I talk to people about doing reproductions of artwork, I stress the importance of starting with a quality digital capture, and they do a great job at Pirak.

This afternoon I went to the framer, though I’ve brought the painting back home in order to put a coat of retouch varnish on it to protect it – something that can’t happen until after it’s photographed, but needs to be done before framing! Once again I’m fortunate to have a great framer who so often does jobs on a tight schedule for me! Corby Custom Framing is in Carlisle, Ontario.

Next Thursday is the induction ceremony, where the painting will be part of a silent auction to raise funds for the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. I just wanted to mention and thank the ‘support crew’ that made it possible for me to meet the deadline for this project! I’ll have more details on the limited edition canvas giclées to be produced from the painting once it’s available. Again, proceeds will go to the Hall of Fame. If you’re ever at Woodbine, be sure to have a walk around – it’s located near the entrance at the west end of the grandstand.

In the midst of all this running around I also did a photo shoot of some of the beautiful warmblood youngsters at Inish’Or. Haven’t had the chance to get them off the camera yet, or I’d share some of the pictures! Now it’s time for something to eat – somehow I missed lunch! Wonder how that happened…

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

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

Where I’d Rather Be?

August 13th, 2009 | Posted in Linda Shantz


I’m hard at work on the painting of Somebeachsomewhere – hence my title! It’s usually in the dead of winter when I’m freezing out at the barn holding horses that this horse’s name comes to mind. I have to admit, it’s one of my favourite racehorse names ever. I think he’s probably given his owners a lifetime’s worth of tickets to such destinations!


I told myself I wasn’t going to post this painting until I was done, but I can’t help giving a bit of a teaser. While I’m really happy with the composition (and hope I’m not the only one that finds it appealing!) I’ve been a little unhappy with the paint-to-panel part, until tonight. I had to get past the pressure and just paint – try and recapture some of that freedom I have when I’m doing the daily paintings. With a painting like this, which I know is going to be seen by a lot of people, I spend a lot of time worrying whether it will measure up. For now, at least, I have to forget that. The photo quality isn’t best, which is the norm for pics of wet paintings taken at night!

Out at the barn, the latest layup – who has actually been here more than two months now – is ready for some turnout! Seeing her outside, I’m just amazed at how big our little Miss Peaks is. She’s not looking like the svelte filly I took photos of at Woodbine this spring right now! She’s a ‘good doer’ as the saying goes – Peaks likes to eat! Twine and Leo were definitely nosy neighbours! That’s Peaks above, and I’m sure you can figure out Twine and Leo!

Okay…back to work. I’m going to try and put a bit more time into the painting before calling it quits for the night.

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

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

Mother and Child

July 14th, 2009 | Posted in Kathi Peters

New Jersey is home to many breeding farms. This painting titled”Mother and Child” was done from a photo of a Standardbred breeding farm. A friend and collector of my art supplied the photo. The finished painting is sized 13 1/2 x 18″ on 300lb watercolor paper.

I miss having foals on our small farm. Our last foal was born six years ago. Our “Maggie” cold be bred and the thought has crossed our minds. Then reality sets in and we go on with our lives!

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

Also tagged in: , , , , | 0 Comments

Back to the Lesson Paintings

July 11th, 2009 | Posted in Carrie Lewis

Now that the portrait of Guienne Hanover is completed and drying, it’s time to turn back to the lesson paintings.

I got back into that mode of painting by starting the color work on two more paintings. Blue Cooler (shown below) and Impulsion. That brings to five the number of paintings that have entered the final phase of the Flemish technique.

I also brought the portrait of the Little Dog down from the drying room. No painting has been done on that as yet but it is back in the pipeline.

So far, I’ve found this phase to be both the most interesting and the most frustrating.

It’s the most interesting because I can wash on a layer of color and see what happens. It’s almost like opening gifts on Christmas morning. If I don’t like the look, I just wipe off that color and try another. What a delight!

It is frustrating because on some paintings, all I can do is put on color, then wait for the paint to dry. In some cases, color is applied only to very small areas.

But the value of all the work that went into the Umber Layer and Dead Layer becomes increasingly more clear with every painting. Most of the work is done in those two phases, leaving the fun stuff for the end.

One thing I’m looking forward to is doing a landscape or two in this method.

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

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

Recovering My Stride

June 23rd, 2009 | Posted in Carrie Lewis

I had a very difficult time getting going Monday, June 22. A lot of heat (forecast high near 100 and humid … it was so hot, it was impossible to stand in bare feet for very long on a sunlit porch this afternoon), a little bit of depression and a lot of work to catch up on after last week’s hiatus. I didn’t get anything except checkbook work and laundry done before noon and didn’t really get started on anything significant before two o’clock this afternoon.

At that point, I took something for headache and went back to bed, thinking I’d do something when the ibuprofen kicked in and the headache was gone. If I felt like it. Definitely one of those days!

I also said a prayer for a kick in the rear (quite literally!) and within five minutes thoughts of portraits and possible ways to ‘ease into’ work began to parade through my head. Thank You, Lord!

I got back up, searched through my CDs for something I hadn’t listened to in a long time and found several things, including John Williams Summon the Heroes (a collection of Olympic music and themes), the soundtrack for Titanic and Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons performed by the Israel Philharmonic Orchesta, conducted by Zubin Mehta and featuring the violins of Isaac Stern, Pinchas Zukerman, Shlomo Mintz and Itzhak Perlman.

Summon the Heroes went into the CD player and I went to work.

The first thing I worked on was the portrait of Lockkeeper. The background was finished and I blocked in the area around the horse’s feet with greens. The greens were painted all the way to the bottom of the panel, but I decided I didn’t like that and rubbed off some of it. The session concluded with blocking in the tail and the off side hind leg. I also photographed the painting before and after today’s session, since I’d gotten a little bit lax about that.

Lockkeeper is a 16�20 portrait in oils on Baltic Birch. It’s my first experience with Baltic Birch and after getting accustomed to the surface texture, I have to say I am much impressed. This panel is one of those I purchased back in May from Signature Canvas.

Next on the list was Guienne Hanover (photo by Jeff Coady, Coady Photography)

John Williams was replaced with a CD featuring general classical selections and away we went. Again.

Since I obviously didn’t get this portrait finished last week, I am aiming for completion this week. My goal for the day was to finish the horse. That work would (should!) dry over night and I could then place the harness.

So I photographed last Monday’s work, then began painting.

I worked through the front half of the horse, which is the area that needs to be finished, but I wasn’t able to finish it. A couple of areas were muddied past repair and I couldn’t wipe off the fresh paint without creating a worse problem, so it will have to dry before I can finish those areas.

However, I did begin painting in some of the harness and was very happy with that work, so it may all work out in the end.

Guienne Hanover is a 22�28 original oil on quarter inch masonite, a nice, sturdy, ultra smooth surface ideal for my painting techniques.

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

Also tagged in: , , , , | 0 Comments

A Brief Break from Lesson Paintings

June 16th, 2009 | Posted in Carrie Lewis

I am taking a brief ‘vacation’ from lesson paintings to focus attention on the large portrait of Guienne Hanover that has been on the easel since October 31, 2008, when the first paint was applied to the under painting.

Guienne Hanover (photo by Jeff Coady, Coady Photography) is a five-year-old trotting mare. On October 20, 2007, she became the world’s fastest three-year-old trotting filly when she trotted one mile in 1:51.2 at Colonial Downs. The previous track and world record was 1:54 and the North American record for the same distance was 1:52.

The portrait was purchased at the 2007 Michigan Harness Horseman’s Association benefit auction, but it wasn’t until Guienne Hanover turned in her stunning performance at Colonial Downs that she became the subject of the portrait.

The portrait is 22 inches by 28 inches on prepped masonite 1/4 inch thick and is currently the largest thing I have going. That’s part of the reason it’s taking so long.

It is also a fully landscaped painting designed to capture the moment and setting as well as Guienne Hanover.

While it has not been painted strictly according to the Flemish technique I’m documenting on these pages, it does feature an under painting, followed by color applications in a series of opaque and transparent glazes. Lots of painting, some repainting and lots of waiting for paint to dry!

That, along with a trip or two, a three-day show and two weeks of no studio time due to illness, has led me to decide to focus on this painting above all others for this week or until it’s done, whichever comes soonest.

The portrait is very close to completion, so there is not a lot left to do. Most of the work involves several different areas that just need tweaking. The driver, the bike and finishing the horse are the major things.

On Monday, June 15, I set aside all of my lesson paintings and devoted time to Guienne Hanover. I alternated studio time with writing time, working on the painting until bending over it caused back strain, then taking a break to write or do housework, then back to the painting.

In the first session, I tackled the driver and the bike, both of which feature my two least favorite things to paint…straight lines and curves! Subject and background were worked simultaneously so I could manipulate edges, light and reflected light. I really wanted to finish each area completely before moving on to the next thing, so proceeded a little more slowly than I might otherwise have done.

In the second session for the day, I continued working my way forward by painting both hind legs and the hindquarters of the horse. Because I had already put quite a bit of work into these areas the work went fairly quickly and I was able to get all the way up to the girth without too much difficulty.

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

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