Horses in Art Magazine

Good news ! I was thrilled to find out this weekend that I have been awarded an honorable mention for my painting "Beech Grove Blessing" in the 2009 Horses in Art magazine's cover contest. Knowing the volume of entries that they receive, I'm happy and honored with this recognition. They'll be following up with an editorial in a future edition.

This painting was done from a combination of my references shot while attending the BGH's opening hunt. The jt MFH is Elese Alsup who is pictured here on her beautiful bay thoroughbred "JB". They make quite a team for sure. The blessing of the hounds, horses and riders is a tradition of the opening day of the hunt season.

I have become fascinated with the entire fox hunting tradition and love painting the subject. My younger days were filled with riding in junior hunter shows and training for eventing, etc. but I never had the opportunity to ride with a hunt. I'm not entirely sure I would have had the nerve required anyway.....but that's beside the point! Experiencing all the tradition, excitement and atmosphere of the hunt is exhilarating even if it is from the outside looking in. I really appreciate Beech Grove Hunt's willingness to allow me to visit and learn from everyone. They are patient with my endless questions and reference shots. A few years ago, the Masters of the Foxhounds Assoc. had its centennial traveling art show and I was proud to be one of the artists included. To encourage artists to consider the subject, the MFHA urged it's members to open up opportunities for artists to experience the hunt and the members of BGH were willing to do just that very thing! I look forward to many fox hunt-themed paintings to come.

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"