Studio News- Art Events

The next couple of weeks will be pretty busy. So today's update will be event related. So mark your calendars! I am really looking forward to participating in these events.

ArtEast and Pawling Library Slide Slam
Friday, April 24, 2009
Pawling Library Annex
Broad Street
Pawling, NY

(845) 855-3444
Spend an entertaining and fun evening viewing the work of artists. Listen to what inspired each unique style.
Enjoy friendly conversation and refreshments with your fellow artist and art enthusiast.

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I am delighted to be exhibiting at the Maplebrook Show. I will post updates as they become available.

25th Annual Maplebrook Art Show & Sale
Opening Reception
May 2, 2009 5 pm
“Over Hill and Dale”
Art work will include a section representing the equestrian world, landscapes and other nature based themes and interpretations, especially those of our region and the greater Northeast.

This year’s show will coincide with and celebrate the running of the Kentucky Derby and feature a Derby theme at the opening including favorites such as mint juleps, big hats, and Kentucky celebratory foods, plus a viewing of the 135th annual race at Churchill Downs, “the most exciting two minutes in sports.”

Piaffing Dressage Horse WIP

I had a nice long session in the studio last night and I thought I would post the results of my watercolor painting. This is a WIP of a dressage horse piaffing (or trotting on the spot).. WIP stands for Work-In-Progress. I am at the stage where I will look at it for a couple of days and then I will make changes or additions. This is 10 x 8 on Arches Cold Press. I usually work on hot press but I thought I would give the cp a go. I found that I couldn't push the paint and water around as easily. I used a pretty limited palette of cobalt, ult. blue, yellow ochre, aliz crimson and Payne's grey then azo, sap green and black(for the greens). All images are clickable for an enlarged view.

I worked wet on wet on the background just dropping paint and pushing it around.


Just laying down glazes. Not sure how I wil finish the rider's face. I don't want much detail on his face. So this is one of the things I need to figure out..



Still laying in glazes and playing around with the colors..



This is where I have ended up. I am pretty happy with it so far. I need to work on the bridle, the horse's eye and the rider's face,shirt and boot. Then do some softening of the lines where the colors come together. I don't want to overwork this.

And as always it has no title so suggestions are most happily welcomed! Naming paintings is harder for me that painting them!

Updated Photos

I wanted to post some better photos of this dressage painting. The glare in the previous post was bothering me. I have also included some close-ups shots. I will listing this on my Etsy Store this evening so be sure to check it out! I will post the link tonight. This is unframed, price of $335 includes Priority Mail shipping + insurance. A payment plan is available for this one and all artwork over $100. See my Etsy Store for details.

Half Pass Dressage Painting

I had a super productive day in the studio today. I had the whole day to myself and I just got into the zone. I am calling this one done...theoretically speaking of course. I may find something that needs tweaking here or there. I struggled with this painting a bit because I went into it without a plan what-so-ever. This is a horse doing a half pass across the diagonal. This is a larger painting..refreshing for me since I have been doing so many small pieces lately. This is acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas and measures 18 x 14. It is available for sale! Time to do a new watercolor.. comments always welcome! The image has a bit of glare on it. I apologize for that. Don't forget that all images are clickable for an enlarged view!

WIP #2 Herding Border Collie Painting

Here is the next installment on this little Border Collie painting. I am working on the perspective trying to achieve the correct depth between the dog and the sheep. I am having a bit of time with the sheep due to poor reference photos! Does anyone have any good reference photos of sheep coming towards you that I could you use? Drop me a comment or an email at deborah@deborahosullivan.com I would be eternally grateful! :)Thanks!
This quite a bit more to be done on it. It is a small 10 x 8 acrylic on gessoed hardboard.

Herding Dog Art - A Work In Progress

The dog paintings are flowing off the paintbrush these days. This painting is a combination of images brought together. I am using my own ref photos of Ireland, my Border Collie herding and separate sheep photos. I brought them together to create this little painting. Keep in mind that this is very much a work in progress. Now that the mainn ideas are blocked in I will start to work on deepening the values to create depth and interest. I am fascinated with working Border Collies...and I am hoping to catch that fascination and excitement in this painting. This is a 10 x 8 acrylic on gessoed board. Image is clickable for an enlarged view!

Don't forget the March Studio Sale at my Etsy shop. Some really nice original pieces available at very affordable prices! Epona Etsy Shop

Another Border Collie Painting Completed

Boy, I have sure been going to the dogs lately! No worries though, finishing up a large dressage painting and have another smaller horse painting in the works. This watercolor is the final painting from the series of WIPS (Works In Progress) that I have posted here on the blog. Scroll down to see the painting come together. I am pretty much calling it done. It gets to sit about my studio for a bit where I may tweak it a bit here or there. In fact, I see a little something right now that needs to be tweaked! It's all in a days work. :-) This is 12 x 10 watercolor on Arches 140Hot Press, most favorite watercolor support. As always it is untitled! So ideas are welcome! Image is clickable for an enlarged view!

Celebrating Tess

I was organizing my computer and found some photos of Tess, my beautiful Border Collie, and me playing on the agility course. Next to herding sheep (and Guinea Hens) and playing ball.. agility is one of Tess's most enjoyed activities. She is intense super,super fast ( I have to work very hard to keep up on course and place myself strategically so she doesn't have to wait for me) and she just never stops smiling! So for fun I thought I'd post a few photos of us having some fun! For those of you who don't know about Tess. I got her from a Border Collie rescue here in the North East. With her previous owner she spent the first year of her life locked in a crate for most of the day because of her intensity level. I am incredibly lucky to have her. She is the most amazing dog, incredibly smart, trusting and just so much fun. She always makes me laugh. She is always so joyful..We can learn a thing or two from our dogs in that regards. So without further ado here is Tess and I having some fun!


Here I am trying to remember the course... she is so fast that I have to know exactly where I am going! There is no time to even think...Tess is rolling her eyes! I always get lost on course!



Case in point...the rocket is out of the tunnel......and where am I?



Tess up on the dog walk...I am staying with her here to try and get her to slow down a bit so she won't miss her contact on the ramp down.


Now she is supposed to be holding her stay her at the start of the course so I can get a nice big lead in. I can then send her and KEEP UP!! :-) However, if you look closely..Little Miss Let's Get On With This has her butt off the ground and is creeping to the first jump!



My happy girlie!



So there you have it!

I do have some updates from the art end of things. I received notification last week that 2 pieces of my horse art have been accepted for cover art for The Chronicle of The Horse magazine. I am very excited about that. I have also been invited to participate in an artist Slide Slam here in New York. There will 10 artists altogether and we each have 10 minutes to show slides of our work and (lord help me) talk about the art... I hate public speaking... Other that that I really don't know what to expect and will know more when we do a trial run through. If any of you folks have ever done or been to a Slide Slam can you pop me a comment and let me know more about them? Off to the studio to earn a living! Enjoy!

Some more paintings

Last night's painting session has resulted in this Border Collie playing in the water. I really enjoyed painting this one. This is an 8 x 10 acrylic on gessoed hardboard.
I have also enjoyed the reasonably warm weather and took my pochade out and did a small plein air painting. This is our barn painted from the driveway...still cold..stil some snow. I really enjoy painting outside. This one is a small 5 x7 ,acrylics on canvas panel.

Dressaeg Work In Progress

I am posting several images of the progression of this acrylic Dressage painting. I went into this painting without any sort of plan what so ever. Not a good idea...it has gone through many changes and has been a bit of a compositional challenge. I need to get rid of that low fence line..I have added a planter of flowers to break up the line... I need to stare at it for a while. You never know where this one will end up! I welcome discussion or thoughts on where to go compositionaly on this! All images are clickable for an enlarged view

March Studio Sale!

Time to think spring and take stock of my studio inventory and make room for my new paintings. So now is your chance to take advantage and get the piece you have your eye on! I offered several pieces of ORIGINAL artwork for sale for the month of March in my Etsy store! Feel free to make offers AND I offer a layaway plan offer artwork with price tags over $100. Details at my shop site! My store is at Epona Studio

I am also very excited to announce that I heave been invited to join the Etsy Whoa Horse Artist Group. Whoa Blog

Foal Painting

I want to give a warm thanks to all of the folks who have purchased my artwork and for the emails of kind praise . Thank you for helping me stay in business and appreciating the art that I so lovingly create. It is much appreciated! In these tough economic times I will be offering a lot more small, affordable works so that you may have the opportunity to purchase an original piece of artwork at an affordable cost. Nothing brightens your wall better than an original painting that touches your heart.
I completed this painting last evening. Here an adorable foal sketch done in acrylics. I just love his long eyelashes! This a 10 x 8 gem done on canvas panel. It is ready to pop into a stock frame and hang on your wall. As always title suggestions are welcome!! Available for purchase. Click here to purchase .

Border Collie Puppy update

I have put some more painting time into this so time for a new update. I have added quite few more glazes of Ult Blue, Perm Alizarian Crimson and Davey's Grey. I am trying to find the darks and balance at this point. I have a ratty old brush that I use to do fur. I need to do bit of lifting next and some more glazes on the nose for the next step. I am pretty happy with this so far. Watercolor, 14 x 11 on Arches Hot Press

Playing with my paints!

I homeschool my son with a Waldorf style curriculum and we do a lot of watercolor painting. So yesterday I joined him in one of his wet-on-wet projects and just played with my watercolors. This was unbelievably freeing (and fun)! I didn't know where it was going but out of the mingling colors I found interesting shapes and themes that are very familiar to me. This quite large..18 x 24...I usually work 11 x 16 or smaller. If you have been stuck or used to working in a certain way I highly recommend trying something like this and just letting loose. It was quite intimidating at first! I had no plan.... just a jar of water, a big sheet of white paper and a big brush..... untitled, M Graham watercolors on Arches CP paper. It is a bit washed out from the flash. I apologize for that. The colors are much more vibrant and brilliant IRL.

New Border Collie Painting WIP

I have been doing so much acrylic work lately that I've been itching to get back to my watercolors. WC's are my most favorite medium and I particularly enjoying painting dogs with them. This posted image is my latest effort. I found this really cute BC pup in the Wet Canvas reference library. I am using a very limited palette for this painting..6 colors. Aliz. Crimson, Yellow Ochre, Cobalt, Payne's Grey, Indigo and Gamboge. This is the early stages of many glazes. I work wet on wet at this point just buillding up layers, mixing color on the paper and pushing the paint around. I just get in the zone, listening to Jack Johnson and playing with my watercolors! No title as of yet so I would love some suggestions. I am really bad at coming up with titles!:-)
This painting measures 14 x 11 on Arches Hot Press, M Grahams.

Tess, my Border Collie

This one was so much fun to paint. I have a GREAT photo of my Border Collie, Tess, that has a bit of distortion and makes her nose big! I decided to run with it and paint this because it just captures her with her most delightful smile. I need to brighten the whites on the top of head a bit more but it is pretty much done. Tess can almost always be found with me, involved with whatever I happen to be doing or not doing! She is my best girl. This one is not for sale...it will be hanging up in my studio. Need a title for this... so comments welcomed! This is acrylic, 8 x10 on masonite panel.

I have 4 more paintings that are almost finished so I will getting those posted this week. But now I am going make my way down (across the ice) to the barn,feed the chickens and get the locked up for the night before Mr. Fox pays a visit!

Pochade Box

It has been freezing cold here in the North East and what better time to be hitting the studio. We are starting to get a bit of cabin fever and I am so looking forward to getting outside to paint again. On that note I thought I would post about my newest addition to the studio. This was a Christmas gift from my husband. It is an Alla Prima Pochade box. I have a small 6 x 8 Guerilla Thumbox which I adore (I have the acrylic set up) and is perfect for 5 x7 and 6 x 8 panels and is so easy to take along. But I have been wanting something for the slightly bigger panels. I love working with 8 x 10's and 11 x 14s.
These gorgeous Alla Prima boxes are handmade here in the U.S. by Ben Haggert. This model is the 11 x 14 Bitterroot and it perfect for my 8 x 10 and 11 x 14 panels. It also has a plate for a tripod. I LOVE it!!! And Ben is a real pleasure to do business with. Highly recommended. Here is the link for more info Bitterroot Pochade.
Off to finish that little foal painting sitting on the pochade!
Stay warm!

Gypsy Vanner, and Daily Painting

As promised here are 2 new paintings. The first is from the Daily Riding Essential collection titled Mane Comb. This is 6 x 8 acrylic on canvas panel.

The second painting I actually started a while ago and got stuck with it. I dusted it off and and completed it this week. I really like painting these Gypsy Vanners. This one is un-titled so suggestions are most welcome! This is acrylic, 14 x 11 on gallery wrapped canvas. Both paintngs are available for sale. Images are clickable for enlarged view.

Back to Work!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I took a bit of a break from blogging and now it is back to work or as my son says "back to fun"! I have been busy painting. Later today I will post a new Daily Riding Essentials painting and a larger Gypsy Vanner.

I am thrilled to announce that my husband ,Brian,(that's him pictured above with our Doberman, Joey) has joined me in my business to help promote and market my artwork. I call this his Andy Warhol pic!He is a horseman and one of my biggest fans! :-) So feel free to welcome him in the comments area!

I have big plans for my newsletter this year. As some of you already know I have spent most of my life teaching riders and training horse. My specialty is equine and rider biomechanics. I can help riders learn how to really ride using non traditional methods that really work! Since so many of my subscribers are horsepeople I have decided to include articles on riding/training, horsemanship and holistic horse care in my studio newsletter. To subscribe to the on-line newsletter go to Email Newsletter Sign-up . Your information will never be shared and NO SPAM EVER! If you prefer to get the newsletter by snail mail fill out my contact for form and enter you mailing address in the comments area. Again your info will never be shared!
Snail Mail Sign-up

This morning I have been listening to the SmARTist Telesummit Free Pre-event audio downloads this morning. Click here for Audio Download. I highly recommend them to all working artists, particularly, Alyson Stanfield's marketing audio. Tomorrow night is a free teleconference on using Facebook to market your artwork. You have to sign up here.

Lots of catching up to do!! So more later!

Happy Holidays!

I want to wish everyone happy holidays and healthy and prosperous new year!

Warmest regards,

Deborah
www.ArtoftheHorse.net