Hartsville Horse

A good thing happened to round out 2008 ! My painting, "Hartsville Horse", has been chosen to be on the cover of the 2009 north/central Florida edition of "The Barn Book". This publication is a regionally targeted resource book for the horse industry that is circulated in 6 different regions of the eastern United States. They are associated with Sidelines Magazine. My ad will also be in there somewhere...so check it out if you see a Barn Book at your local tack shop , barn, horseshow etc. Here is the link in case you want to read more about it: http://www.thebarnbook.com/

Polo Player's Edition Annual Art Issue

I am happy to have my entry entitled "Advice From Dad" chosen to be included in the Polo Player's Edition Magazine's 23rd Annual Art Issue. The theme for the entries was to communicate the feeling of "connection". This was a competition that was juried by the editors.
The reason that I entered this particular painting was because of what I saw between this young rider and the Dad at a horse show. I wanted to express the feeling that horse and rider teams are backed up by dedicated parents, friends, trainers, grooms etc........ a long list of "connections" for sure. Thanks Polo Player's Edition Magazine......I'm honored to be part of this yearly tradition !

Greg Beecham workshop

Last Sunday morning I hugged my family goodbye and stepped OUT of my comfort zone. I flew to Scottsdale Arizona to the Scottsdale Artists School. I have never been to Phoenix and was surprised by the size of the city. It's huge. The desert surroundings were a dramatic change from where I had been the day before at Beech Grove, Tennesssee.

My reason for going to the school was to take a workshop from Greg Beecham, a very successful western wildlife artist from DuBois, Wyoming. The School is a wonderful place to take a workshop and I would highly recommend it to anyone considering taking a class there. You can stay nearby within walking distance of the school and restaurants are also within easy access. I did rent a car but in hindsight I could have managed without one. The class had 11 students which made it great for observing Greg's demonstrations. He was very forthcoming with lots of information about his approach to oil painting and his career in general. This included technical info plus lots of great tips on dynamic compositions , brushwork and color harmonies, with an emphasis on the expression of light. Workshops usually have a way of energizing an artist.

I've included 2 photos. One is of Greg during a demonstration and the other is a hallway of the school with that wonderful southwestern light pouring in. The building itself is a perfect combination of wonderful light filled studios. It used to be a one story elementary school and the changes that they made kept the convenient flow to the space while showcasing that southwestern architecture on the inside and out. Gee....can you tell I liked the place ? So, don't hesitate to sign up for a workshop there. Hopefully you'll be as pleased as I was with the experience.

Beech Grove Opening Hunt

Last week was a busy one. It started with a great weekend with my son coming home for a whirlwind visit from college. He went with me to the much anticipated opening day festivities and the blessing of the hounds for The Beech Grove Hunt . It was a glorious morning in the hills of Tennessee with welcoming hosts Dale and Elese Alsup ( MFH of Beech Grove Hunt). The picture here shows some of the hills I'm talking about. What can I say...a sight that's good for the soul ! I'm smiling just thinking about that morning full of the sights and sounds of hunting and being so welcomed by a great group of people.

a garden sanctuary !

Okay...here I go again...with the foxes. We have a little "teenager" looking fox that lives around here and he came out late this afternoon as I was painting away in the studio. I looked out into my hubby's garden ( freshly tilled and mulched , getting ready for fall plantings.... ) and there was our little friend we call "Cinnamon". He was just relaxed and happy in that cool dark dirt.
Got some good reference shots for future paintings so I was one happy camper.
He eats my impatiens.....but I guess that's his modeling fee so I say fair enough.

NJEAA 2008 Juried Show

Good news in the mail last week....I'm happy to have been juried into the New Jersey Equine Artists Association's 2008 show.

This show is held every two years at the Somerset Art Association in Bedminster, N.J. Unfortunately I won't be able to make it up there for the opening.

The show has a very good reputation and I know that there will be a lot of wonderful work to see for all of you horse lovers out there. It runs from Sept. 14th through October 25th.

Here is my entry "View from Virginia Tech Barn"

Inspired by "Rusty"

From time to time I'd like to post some of my smaller works that I do not post on my main website. These may be studies for larger paintings that work well on their own. The galleries that carry my work also like to have some small pieces available for their buyers. Last year I found that fox subjects really resonated with buyers. I also found out that they are a blast to paint. I mean nature gave them quite a ready to wear outfit! The black , white, grey and rusty red colors are a painting waiting to happen. So, here are two examples of some 5 x 7's. We have a fox that we call "Rusty" who lives and roams around where we live and occasionally I'll get some photos of him for reference. They are certainly fast little buggers and I only see him when the light is not so good, early morning or dusk. They are quick and very alert. I found that sneaking up on a fox is not easy! Anyway, these particular paintings are already sold but I have some fox paintings in progress at the moment for shows and galleries in the fall. All my time is dedicated to a fox hunt commission right now and I'll post that on my main site soon.

The Mural Mosaic Project

My contribution to the "Cadeau du Cheval, The Horse Gift" Mural Mosaic has been packed and shipped to Alberta. It's panel #5 all the way on the top left area. I still check the mural site a lot to see if I can see what new paintings have been added. It's like a game of "where's waldo"at this point, as the paintings are really filling in the space. (Warning... time flies as you're checking out all the paintings and reading the artists comments! Addictive in a good way.) I've been impressed with the attention to detail that the artists in charge have shown from the beginning, they've been great to work with..... Check it out...just go to :

http://www.muralmosaic.com/Cadeau.html

I've posted the original panel that arrived in the mail to me back in May. I took one look at it and couldn't imagine anything else but a big log jump. That's probably because my friend and I just got back from the Rolex 3 day event and I guess I still had the images of those monster sized hurdles on my mind ! The colors were not in my usual pallete for sure, so it was an adventure to slather on all that purple and electric green and blue! Can't wait to see the final mural image after it's unveiled at Spruce Meadows in Canada in September.

Welcome !

Welcome to my blog and I hope you'll visit from time to time to see what's going on at Lakehill Studio. I'll be updating with artwork and news that can act as an embellishment of my Lakehill studio website. Here you'll get a little more information about what's going on with me and what's going on in my studio. That may be updates on small works or works in progress, painting tips and my adventures in the world of art and horses. I may venture outside that world occasionally....we'll see about that !