My 1300 lb. Lawn Ornament

"The Man- Al Mansur Primo"- 5x7 coloured pencil: Artist's Personal Collection

So dear reader I have for you today a picture that is mine...all mine!! It's a small piece I did of my horse Al Mansur Primo, aka- Al or 'Al Monster' as I lovingly call him sometimes (usually after he's gotten into trouble).
I took the ref picture for this piece about a year and a half ago one morning when I went out to feed. I loved the picture so much and I knew I would want to do it as a piece for myself but the time was never right. I've tried doing several pictures of him, none of which have ever turned out to my satisfaction and as a result made their way into the fireplace. I guess it's that problem you hear time and time again from artists (not always) that it's difficult to do portraits of people/ animals you have a personal relationship with. Or rather it's difficult for the artist to do it to their satisfaction. There are still things in this picture I tell myself "...oh, this isn't right" or "This is off", blah, blah, blah... then I have to tell myself to quit being such a fiddly perfectionist.
Overall I'm pleased with this one and it will not be going in the fireplace but rather into a frame where it will be placed somewhere on my wall to remind myself why I work so darn tootin' hard.

I must also take a page from what I like to call the 'Kanye West Book of Shameless Self- Promotion' (does that man ever stop tooting his own horn??) and remind you of my Absolutely Insane Animal Portrait Auction that I have going on here at my eBay. For goodness sakes this isn't going to last forever...only until February 7th to be exact so get your hot little fingers clicking on over to it and bid!

Other than that I'll spare you my silly stories for today and on Friday expect a fantabulous artsy fartsy update with...(drumroll please) graphite sketches!! My first love, graphite/pencil, will be making an appearance here. So until then, toodles!

Tungsten you say?

Absolutely Insane Animal Portrait auction here!!!

"Midnight Sun" ACEO can be bid on here.

Hola dear reader! So Monday is here and another work week begins. There is much to do this week for myself what with Summer approaching and all. Don't laugh or look at me like that...it's true. Now that Winter is here it only means that Summer is coming.
I have applications to juried art shows to send out and RSVP's to ones I've been invited back to. I have artwork to create and commissions to finish. I need to plan out my vegetable garden and order the appropriate seeds for it will soon be time to start them. I need to buy the fixtures for my "Un-named" gallery (maybe that should be its name??) so I can start hanging my work. Oh yeah, and I need to vaccuum again because my spiffy lime green vaccuum conked out on me on Friday. It seems it ate too much dog and cat hair...these things happen. Yup, a busy week. I'm sure I've forgotten lots of things that will come back to me on Friday!

So I was listening to the radio this morning and there's a local jeweller that advertises frequently on this station...you know, the one with the "Impossible Trivia" game. I won't mention the jewellers name (unless they want to give me free diamonds or emeralds) but they had an ad on today, a portion of which I found funny.
Now, before I relay this to you I'll be the first to admit that I'm not up and up on all the big Wedding trends. My other half and I aren't married and all that girly marital pomp and circumstance stuff makes me physically ill. What I am aware of is that yellow gold is no longer in vogue and that white, rose and lighter yellow gold is the "in" thing for all the hip and trendy soon to be wedded people. Even better than gold you can (probably for an extra paycheque) go for platinum or titanium. That sounds nice, doesn't it? Sounds strong and durable...exactly what a marriage should be! So this is where my easily amused nature comes in...
The woman that owns the store does the commercials. She's a petite, well put together woman with long blond hair...just the kind of person you'd expect to introduce themselves at dinner parties as a gemologist. She has a voice to match that is quiet and re-assuring which I'm assuming is what you'd like to hear when you're about to drop an amount of cash that could feed a small nation. She began the commercial talking about the upcoming wedding season and "...what will you cherish years after your special day? Your wedding bands. Find that special symbol of your love and have it created in yellow, white or rose gold. We also have bands available in platinum, titanium or tungsten." I'm sorry...did she just say "Tungsten"? Every time I hear that word I think of bugs or heavy farm equipment. Now you folks preparing for wedded bliss maybe knew that tungsten was the new symbol of unity but for me this was new.
I can just picture the newly married girly girls sitting around a table chattering away:

"Oh Sarah! What a lovely wedding band you have!"
"Why thank you. It's tungsten you know."
"Really! Well, you certainly are a lucky girl!"

Lucky indeed...

As Seen On TV

"How Much is That Kitty...(in the Window)" ACEO can be bid on here.

So, you're back? I suppose you're wondering what stories I have to share with you? Well, without further delay I'll just get right into it...

So yesterday in the mail I received an AVON catalogue and on the front of it they were advertising their new "As Seen On TV" lip plumping product. "Better than injections!" The ad touted. I'd like to note that I think just about anything is better than someone jabbing my mouth with a needle but perhaps that's just me.
With this ad there was one of those peel away thingys that has some of the product underneath that you can try in order to become horribly addicted to it. It's too bad they don't do that with ads for cake or chocolate or vintage wine, isn't it? Anyway, this was a two step process so having an extra 5 minutes to spare and not being able to find anything else to amuse myself with I decided to try it. After all, the gal in the ad had "soft, supple lips", why couldn't I? So I applied the product for the first step and then the product for the second step. I waited. Nothing happened except I could detect the faint aroma of menthol.
I'm not really sure what I expected to happen. Maybe I thought that Angelina Jolie's mouth would somehow appear on my face in place of my own mouth but alas, it did not. What have I learned from this? Nothing, except that free samples from AVON aren't the most entertaining way to amuse yourself on a Friday afternoon.

Before I sign off for the week-end, dear reader, I'd like to share with you another interesting tidbit. I was listening to the local radio station and they were playing the Impossible Trivia game which I've mentioned in a post from way back when. The question for yesterday was "Where do 16% of people hide their extra money?" Some answers (although incorrect) were: under the mattress, in a Bible, in the attic, in your sock, under the carpet, in your underwear drawer and in the medicine cabinet. The correct answer to this pressing question is that 16% of people said they hide their extra money in the refrigerator. Yup, you read that right. My first question is who are these people that have extra money in the first place? My second question is where exactly in a refrigerator does one hide something? I mean, it's not exactly a complex maze of labyrinths in there. If you'll excuse me now I have to go map out the inside of my fridge in search of buried treasure.

The forecast is calling for snow

"The Wanderer"- 5"x7" coloured pencil on Colourfix
Available for sale only until February 14th, 2007. Please contact artist for more information or if interested in purchasing.

Salutations dear reader. I'll just be doing another short post today because, as the title clearly states, the forecast is calling for snow and I have two wood boxes to fill before said snow arrives. It doesn't help that it's colder than all bejeezus outside and that in and of itself makes me procrastinate regarding any outdoor related chores. Tomorrow I'll have stories to regail you with and odd information to share.

On the plus side, as a reminder that Spring (and my birthday) isn't too far off I received in the mail today my perennial and spring bulb catalogue from Vesey's, the gardening retailer I deal with. That's right, it's -15 celsius with a -18 celsius windchill (for you farenheit folks that translates into "colder than Hell freezing over") and it's time to start planning the vegetable and flower gardens. I can taste the fresh patty pan squash already...

Quickly now!

"After the Rain" ACEO can be bid on here.

"Billy Boy" ACEO can be bid on here.

My apologies dear reader but today's post will be short. I'm on an art roll and I can't stop now. When these things happen all other activity must be put on hold (if possible, we all have to go pee eventually) and the art must be done. I have good references and the energy to actually get it done and, oh wonders of wonders, am blissfully free of negative distractions. Now I do suggest that you pop on over to my eBay and bid on the little ACEO gems and if you'll excuse me, I have some arting to do.
Until Friday!

It's true...

"Wind in His Hair" ACEO can be bid on here.

It's true, dear reader, it's true...I'm a boring person. The John Stewart Show confirmed it.
I had always suspected that I was boring what with people's eyes glazing over as I talked to them or the repeated "Huh?" after I finished a sentence. You're doing it right now...I can sense it.

At any rate Mr. Stewart had on his show a fellow that has done a book and television show based on human history, from Noah's Ark to the Quest for the Holy Grail to whatever else he could think of searching for. He made a comment that surprised... nay, floored me: "Let's face it, the History Channel can be boring." And then he made a face at the audience like they had just completed some sort of secret handshake...a handshake that wasn't shown to me (hence it's presumed secrecy). I looked at my dog for comfort and she licked the leg of the coffee table. I don't know what that means but it can't be good.

In the interest of being true to myself I will openly admit to my love of the History Channel. If that makes me a boring person than so be it...I'm sure there were other boring people before me. I should go watch the History Channel and find out.

Friday...already?

"The Gaze of Sushi" ACEO can be bid on here.

Bonjour dear reader. So it's Friday and I'm not entirely sure where my week went. I do know that a great deal was accomplished this week and for my efforts I'm tired. Very tired. I did more travelling this week than I'm accustomed to and while it was enjoyable I feel like I need a nap.

So what the heck is with the cat? Well, while I still have about 8 horse works on the go right now I must confess something, and that is that I am afraid of doing cats. Afraid! It's a cat for cryin' out loud! I have also committed myself to a "Big Cat Challenge" that is underway as we speak on the informative artist forum by the name of "WetCanvas!". I must do this, I will do this and I will prevail!! I can't grow as an artist unless I do those things that scare the bejeebers out of me. I also like to approach it with the mind-set that conquering fears is like eating cookies...go slow and steady or you'll make yourself sick.

On that note I will share with you a cat related event. Since the other half and I have lived here we've tried to justify and explain to people why our barn cat is long-haired (it's Sushi who is the subject of the ACEO/ Workday Painting). Truth be told, and it really isn't exciting, is that she came with the house and barn. She's lived here her entire life, she's quite content here and she's a darn good mouser! We acquired another cat who I named Bill the Cat (Berkley Breathed fans and/ or Bloom County & Outland readers out there you know of the cat I refer to) who was to be the barn cat in training. He's short haired, a decent sized cat and has claws. He has all the qualities required for the job. However, Sushi did not like her "apprentice" and subsequently beat the snot out of him. Bill the Cat became Bill the House Cat who ventures outside to occassionally kill things. Also, he's run directly into one of the barn doors and fallen off the roof of the barn at least 3 times that I'm aware of. How he's managed to stay alive this long is beyond me...pact with the Devil perhaps?
Anyway, Bill and Sushi have since mended fences but I suspect Bill will never live long enough to fill Sushi's spot. Nor do I think he'll give up the luxury of indoor life for spending endless hours playing in the hay mow. What to do?
Well, as it happens I have now acquired a new barn cat with no effort at all. This cat, unlike the many that have ventured into the barn and left after meeting up with Sushi, has stayed now for about a week. I'm not entirely sure of it's gender but I suspect it's a female. She's orange, has claws, is small...and long-haired. I've named her Onion. I can live with a long haired barn cat.

A small update

The ACEO "Mirage" can be bid on here.

Buenos Noches, dear reader ( do you like the variation I have going on here?).
I have just a small update today in terms of art and life in general. It's funny that after the Holidays most people have the notion that life will slow down slightly, everything will take on a more relaxed pace but it is not so. What turns out happening is all the tasks you thought of over the Holidays come crashing down on you, like some sort of ten tonne "To Do" list from Hades (you know what I meant to type there).
Ah yes, all the tedious, yet neccessary, tasks from a month a half of goofing off come back to haunt you...just like those 5 pounds you lost from last Christmas after indulging in too many sweets and apres- December 25th turkey sandwiches. That's what my life has been like for the past two weeks, except replace the turkey sandwiches with turkey soup. I have a crock-pot and I'll be darned if I'm going to let that dark meat go to waste!

There were rooms to paint, calls to be made, paperwork to be done and tax forms to fill out (my favorite! Oh...wait...no they're not). However, despite the Post- Christmas chaos and my lack of preparation it will soon come to an end and a whole new set of "To- Do's" can fill my list. After all, "Show Season" isn't too far off and I just know I'm not prepared for that!

A Slight Blip

"Reach For It" ACEO can be bid on here.

Greetings and Salutations dear reader ("hello" was getting tired). So as is the way in my little universe things did not unfold as planned this week-end and the gallery is still on hiatus. My other half tried to put a screw through one of the rails he made to hang my artwork and the wood split. It was older wood...and very dry. I'll spare you the technical details of all this wood-working stuff (it was explained to me and I'll be fanangled if I can remember it all) but it was not going to work. So I'll have to resort to Plan B. Plan B will work, I know it will.

So above you'll notice another of my Workday Paintings, an ACEO of one of Mother Nature's most fabulous creations, the horse. He's scratching himself, a boring act in and of itself but when a horse does it it becomes a thing of beauty. Look at the mane, that neck, those shoulder muscles. Fantastic!
Okay, maybe I'm idealizing it a bit but for anyone that's ever spent any time around these animals you know what I mean. They even fart with dignity and magnificence. In fact, I daresay that the only thing a horse doesn't do with grandeur is yawn. They dislocate their jaw, stick out and twist their gigantic tongue and their eyes roll around in their head like the little letter blocks in Boggle. It's not dignified but boy is it ever funny to look at. If you don't believe me have a look at my horse, Al, who normally looks all regal and magnificent like the horse in my art. However, being the reliable fellow that he is he will time and time again work to prove me correct. Thanks Al!


PS- I apologize for the picture quality. Photographing a horse mid-yawn is a timed event and you must be ready and take what you get...bad lighting and all.

Done? Not quite yet.

Hello dear reader. So here it is...kinda. A south-east and south-west facing view of the unnamed gallery. I know, the carpet is, how shall we say..."ugly" but I can only afford to do so many renovations at a time. On the plus side brown hides a lot of unsightly stains that may or may not be there.
Walls- done
Ceiling- done
Trim- done
Now it's just a matter of putting furniture where it belongs, cleaning up and hanging art. Now you know what I'll be doing this week-end and hey, if you get the urge to tidy something up please feel free to stop by and help out. I've got lots of cleaning supplies and rags and paper towels and a spiffy vacuum (it's lime green!) and a mop and...well, you get the idea.

So for the art portion of our program today I'm offering up this piece which is on the verge of being complete and, like the gallery is unnamed. It's an experimental piece for me on a support called drafting film. Other artsy fartsy folks that are reading this are probably familiar with it but then again, maybe not.
At any rate I'm not sure how I feel about working on this support, after all my love affair with Colourfix was instantaneous and continues to go strong. I have a few more sheets of this stuff left so I'll experiment with a few more things (a portrait perhaps?) and see if it grows on me. You know, kinda the way that mold grows on bread that's gotten too old.
I imagine I'll finish this piece up this week-end so I'll post the final product on Monday when I should (fingers crossed) have the gallery properly set-up. Now where is that "Things To Do" list?...

We demand evidence!!

"A Quick Pose" ACEO can be bid on here.

Hello dear reader. So you want evidence of the "gallery"...or rather you want evidence that I am capable of manual labour. Well, there it is. Me weilding a paint roller attached to a pole so I can paint the ceiling. I don't look impressed, do I?
I was congested that day and in an attempt to breathe I had to use my mouth in place of my nose (ah, the shortcomings of being a land- dwelling creature). What that also meant was that while splattering paint across the ceiling I had my mouth open. So, by the time the ceiling was done and this picture was taken I had consumed approximately 1 1/2 teaspoons of ceiling paint...enough to make you sick but not enough to kill you. I had also ingested an undetermined amount of plaster dust...but that's another matter altogether.

So as I sit and write this the furniture is still in a mish-mashed pile in the middle of the room but the walls are done. 'Done' I say!! And I'm still unsure as to whether or not the paint fumes are affecting me. My back and knees are killing me but the walls no longer look like a patched up piece of swiss cheese and are a colour that doesn't smack of "builder beige" (new home owners, you know what colour I'm talking about).

Oddly enough I still have yet to pick out a name for my gallery space. I still have time to decide though since I still have trim to paint and furniture to re-arrange. So, dear reader, if you have any witty names/ ideas or even if you just have the need to post a comment please do so. I'd love to read it. See you on friday with more finalized pictures of the yet- to- be- named gallery!

News? What news?

Hello dear reader, so glad you've come back. So I suppose you're wondering what this "news" is, eh? Well, as of next week-end, barring any natural disasters or myself imploding, I will officially have a gallery space in my home for folks to come and see and purchase (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) my artwork.
Right now I sit amongst putty dust, paint splatter, step ladders, plastic drop sheets and various office related debris and write you. My other half was kind enough this week-end to get pictures of me working on the office, turning it into said gallery space. So, although there aren't any pictures today there will be some photographic evidence of said transformation tomorrow. There's still another coat of paint to go on the walls and the fixtures for hanging the artwork, which were hand-made by my other half, as well as various other knick-knacky decorating items that will need to be set up.

I'm tired, dirty and I'm pretty sure I'm high on paint fumes but because I've been doing this for 3 days now I'm unsure. If you'll excuse me, I have the munchies and need to go eat a bag of Doritos. Toodles!

A Quick Post

"Sense of Sight"- 10x13 charcoal sketch
To purchase please contact artist

Hello dear reader, just dropping in for a quick moment to let you know that I might not be able to post again until next tuesday because I have some very exciting things going on this week-end. I could let you know what it is right now but that would spoil the suspense and fun for next week, now wouldn't it? So I'll leave you to mull over what the news might be...HAPPY WEEK-END!!

Heeeeere's...winter?

Hello dear reader. I apologize for not posting yesterday but Blogger and I are at odds again, as it were. The Friesian stallion can be bid on here and the Arab stallion can be bid on here.

The title for this little diddy is "Plums in the Bay" (I apologize for the quality of the picture). It was a still life I set up of two lonely little plums I had left over from Holiday festivities sitting together in the bay window at the front of my house. Clearly I need to paint the sill of the window, however, home maintenance is not my forte.
This piece measures in at 4x5 inches and has been done with Prisma's (my weapon of choice) on Colourfix paper (my victim). Loosening up is the name of the game for this one and an excuse to use some of the lesser utilized purples in my ever growing stash of coloured pencils. It was also an exercise in speed because I started this one about and hour and a half prior to "Evening Chore" time and I didn't want to have to come back to it after dinner and finish it off. So, given the time frame I was making myself work in I'm pleased with the effort.

So what's with the title for this post? Now, before all you summer lovers attack me, hear me out on this. I live in Ontario. It's January 4th. There's usually snow on the ground and the daytime temperature should be hovering at about -4 celsius. Instead the scenario is this: I live in Ontario. It's January 4th. It's sunny, no snow in sight and 9 celsius.
So what's wrong with that, you ask? Well, while I must admit that I'm enjoying the weather, it's making outdoor chores much more tolerable, I feel uneasy about said weather. Even you summer people have to admit...something's not quite right about this. Think about it. I'll chat with you tomorrow, dear reader, unless I decide to re-open the pool and take a dip to cool off.

Happy Belated New Year!

Hello dear reader. So hopefully your New Year's festivities were fun, exciting and involved eating lots and lots of food because, as we all know, January first is official "I'm going to resolve to eat better" Day. I gave up celebrating that day a long time ago because I have better things to worry about...and I actually like eating vegetables.

You'll notice the pretty horsey on the ACEO to your left, another of my Workday Paintings, titled "Humility". He'll be up for auction this week on eBay along with the horse ACEO from the previous post. I'm particularly fond of this one and the colours I got to use in the background.

I've resolved (no, not to eat better, don't jump the gun here) that I'd like to play around with backgrounds a lot this year, and not just within the confines of my Workday Paintings. Larger pieces will also be subjected to my artistic whims of experimentation. I'm finding now that when I do pieces I get about one-third to half way done with the main subject and I suddenly feel I need to do the background. Oddly enough, this whole arrangement I've made with myself seems to work out quite nicely. A testament to this is a horse I started last year (in September, I think) and I still have yet to complete the piece. The horse itself is done but there he sits...with no background. I can distinctly remember working on this piece and thinking to myself half-way through "Y'know, I should really attend to the background." I didn't listen to myself and instead forged ahead with the horse and now it is officially "in limbo". Lesson learned.

So, dear reader, that's where I sit for today. Tomorrow I'll post the links to the auctions for this ACEO and the previous one as well as share with you some more artwork. The Holidays are over and that means back to work...or is it play?