Surviving the holidays

I'm in the clear! Now that the gift-giving holidays are over, I have some time to sit down and regroup. You see, every year I tell myself I will not take on any last minute projects in time for the holidays. And every year, I do anyway... resulting in a caffine-induced stupor, pulling all-nighters to get everything done on time. Ah, reminds me of college....

This year I had three photography shoots, two portrait models and an actual portrait. It was a holiday full of mixed emotions, since some of these gifts were spurred by the death of my filly's father, Henry. Henry was an extraordinary gentleman, and his tragic death send a ripple through the farm and those who knew him. The saddest part was the revelation that his owners, the Shepards, had no good photos to remember him by. And so seperately, the two of them commissioned me to do related gifts, for each other. The first were the photoshoots, one of each of Henry's babies, and then some holiday shots.

Here are the babies: Legs (my little girl), Barbie (who belongs to Mrs. Shepard), and Callie (other bay filly). There is also Murphy, Barbie's full brother, but being a yearling, he was a goober for his photoshoot. Then we did a few holiday pictures. All the mares are SUCH hams! They loved every minute of their glamour shots.


The portrait was of Henry himself. It is 22x28" in oils.

It has been nearly a year since I've painted on canvas, and I didn't realize how much I missed it. It was so nice to paint without limits-- no need to worry about brushstrokes or anything else-- just me, my palate, my reference pics... and whatever comes off the brush. After completing it, I know that I need to be doing more portraiture again. So, my books are open for portrait painting once more.

I will share the portrait models tomorrow. One of which is a portrait of Barbie, leopard mare. It came out GORGEOUS! I hope to borrow her for a show or two, hehe!