In between Paintings

Many of you already know my other obsession is cycling. As much as I would love to race again to prove "I've still got it", the truth is I've lost my courage. I've hit the pavement too many times and live in pain from it everyday. But I still love to train and ride. There is still risk in training, but much less.

We've recently gained a new bike shop in downtown Ocala, Brick City Bicycles. They have training rides on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. It's a great shop and Mark Yeager, owner, is a beast on the bike. So our training rides have really improved since the bike shop opened. It's really a blast!

I bring my bike on all my art trips, I actually have several groups that I ride with in Atlanta and North Carolina. It's great fun and a great way to stay in shape.

This painting is one of my latest paintings that I've done "for fun". This is a nice break from a commissioned piece and will be shown in the OoHA "HUGS" Ocala show November 1 - 15. Opening reception is November 6, 5:30 - 8:30 pm. If you are in Ocala, please stop by to support MCA Brick City Center for the Arts, OoHA Artists (Sharon Crute, Lorna Effler, Moe Hahn, Nancy Moskovitz, Jacquelyn Schindehette, Mary Verrandeaux and Margaret Watts) and H.U.G.S. Charities, Inc.

Finished Portraits

Here are some of my latest finished commissions.

The very top painting is only an 11" x 14" oil on canvas. This was a fun painting, the little girl was actually holding someone else's pony and Mom loved the pose, the "look" and the emotional feeling the photo gave. So I took some photos of her pony and made a switch, painting her pony in.

Next is a friend of mine who rode the Tour De France with me in 1985. Helen is her daughter with her jumper. This painting is 24" x 30", oil on canvas.

The last two portraits are ponies who are now forever remembered. Both these paintings are 18" x 24" pastels.

Lisa & Peter

A recently completed pastel commission is on it's way to it's rightful owner. This is Lisa and Peter, who I think are an adorable pair. I met them up in Tryon when Lisa pointed out that she had a little Yorkie, like my Max painting, and decided to have a painting done for her husband's birthday.

I'm really happy with this commission and I'm hoping it will lead to more work in that area. Tyron is a beautiful county town in North Carolina. It's a very "horsey" area and it's very close to where my sister lives in Rutherfordton, NC. It's a great place to ride bikes, matter-of-fact, on July 4th I did a century ride (100 miles or 100 kilometers for a metric century) with 8,000 ft. of climbing! Yes, I finished and I was worn out after that ride. But the weather was in the mid 70's and crystal clear - just a beautiful ride.

White Pony

While hanging out at the horse shows, I try to bring something to work on in between working with clients or waiting for someone to venture into my little trailer. This painting is a result of a late afternoon photo shoot with my two new lawn ornaments ho came my way from my Mom, who has Alzheimer's and can no longer take care of them.

This is Beanie. Beanie is an older pony, I don't know how old - but I know Mom has had him for at least ten years. When he came to us, well... he looked pretty bad. Terribly under weight and not too people friendly. After a few months, I'm happy to report, he looks like a fat happy old pony. Beanie has always been a spooky pony, and that hasn't changed. But he has a wonderful face and I've always wanted to do some paintings of him. The sun was setting and the colors were really incredible.

This painting is 30"x40".

Guilty

Okay, I admit it. I have totally neglected my blog for way too long. Well, the truth is that I have been traveling, picking up commissions here and there and finally have enough to do to stay home for a while.

Here are six very small commissions. The horses are all jumpers, most of them retired now and the paintings are only 8"x10" and the dog is a 5"x7". I love these small paintings, I think it's a great example that a portrait doesn't have to cost a fortune and can be very successful, even small.

Latest Commission

While I was in Gulfport, I picked up this commission. This is a 20" x 26" pastel painting. The weather wasn't the best and Olga (the horse), was a little nervous when we did the photo shoot, so I was surprised to discover that we had many really good shots to choose from. It was a tough decision, and I believe it took everyone's vote, but this was the pose they decided on. 

Alexis (the rider), is just a naturally beautiful girl. I think thats why it was so hard to choose from. 

Last weekend I sat out at the Florida Horse Park and had a great show. I didn't really know what to expect, I've never participated in a 3-day event. But even though the economy is still on the skids and crowds were thin, I had one good sale that made my week end. I hope to pick up some commissions along the way, as well.

Charleston Summer Classics Show Cover

The Charleston Summer Classics Horseshow was looking for something a little different for their cover this year. This is a quick sketch in oil on masonite that I'll be painting as a demo for the Ocala Art Group in the public library. My goal is to actually finish the painting in a matter of a few hours. I really like the looseness of this sketch and I want to maintain that only a little bit, well, a lot larger. The actual painting is roughly 16"x20". I had originally thought I would work on canvas, but I like the sketch so much that I decided to do the final on the masonite board as well. I'll publish the final painting after the demo.

Here is another pastel portrait just completed for one of my most favorite customers. This is Elton. The final size of this piece is 16"x20".

And finally - here is Dakota. This is an 8"x10" oil on panel.

Mobile Gallery In Use

With being the Official Artist of 2009 HITS Ocala, I was fortunent to get a week in "vendor row" to set up a booth and try to drum up some commissions. In the years past, the weather has been anything from too hot, too cold, too windy and almost always, too rainy. This past week we had everything, but the too hot. I remember one year when the VIP tent by the Grand Prix ring came crashing down from one of Florida's famous winter/spring storms. So with all that in mind, I took the opportunity to deck out my utility trailer and make it a mobile gallery. On Monday, I emptied it out and painted the walls. Tuesday I laid the carpet, packed it back up and set up for the week ahead. With a little music from my ipod, furniture made for small spaces and paintings hung on the wall, I felt very secure and "out of the elements" painting away in my new mobile gallery.

I have to admit, this was better than sitting at a weekend art show waiting for someone to come in my booth to buy a painting. First of all, I know so many people on the show grounds, I felt like I was home. And even in the middle of the day, when riders and trainers were at the ring, there was a lot going on to keep me entertained while I finished a portrait and almost finished a landscape. Out of the wind, the sun and on Sunday, the rain.

I had a really incredible show. And I have to admit, I love my little trailer.

Goals, goals, goals

It may seem a little late to some of you to be working on the new year's resolutions, which I like to refer to as goals. I tend to take them more seriously and they are work in progress. Goals change and can be updated throughout the year. Personally, I believe 2009 will be another tough year as far as the economy goes, but I believe that all the marketing and hard work I've been doing for the last three years will start to pay off big in 2010. So with that said, I am looking for two very strong galleries, one I believe I have found in Orlando. Until the final details have been completed, I'll keep the gallery to myself. I am reducing the number of outdoor artshows I'll be doing. Although, I will do them every year. So you can count on seeing me there. And this year, I will be marketing heavily online. I've heard a lot of nay-sayers "you can't sell art over the internet", I disagree. So I will be working as much as time allows to expand my collector base and following through the internet. We'll see if I can or can't sell artwork over the internet.

I am very excited about this year.

So far, here are the shows I will be doing this year. I may be adding a few more or deleting one, so sign up for my newsletter on my website to keep totally up-to-date.

Winter Equestrian Festival, Wellington Florida: 1-28 - 2-1

HITS Ocala, Ocala Florida: 2-4 - 2-15

Gulf Coast Winter Classic, Gulfport Mississippi: 2-25 - 3-1

Santa Fe Spring Arts Festival, Gainesville Florida: 3-28 - 3-29

Celebration Arts Festival, Celebration Florida: 4-4 - 4-5

Pony Finals, Lexington Kentucky: 8-5 - 8-9

Ocala Arts Festival, Ocala Florida: 10-24 - 10-25

Disney Festival of the Masters, Downtown Disney Florida: 11-6 - 11-8