Day 23 - Maybe it's Neighbelline

Yes, I am one of those people who find satisfaction in a good pun.. and this one fits the bill.. 

I'm not sure if Maybelline, the cosmetic company, still uses the tag line "Maybe she's born with it... maybe it's Maybelline.." but, you can see where this pun came from :)  Made me laugh when I came across it and, well, frankly, all horses are beautiful creatures naturally, and white horses can be particularly stunning.. so, of course, this title was the one.

Titling my work:  Sometimes I am lucky and a title just comes to me as I'm painting the painting.  Other times, not so much.  When this happens, I will do some research on the animal or subject matter I am painting (which I do anyway) and as I read about it, a title often emerges. 

This is the companion painting to yesterday's half of a horse, "Horse sense".  I like to paint in twos, or threes (sometimes more..) because often one painting doesn't quite satisfy my desire to explore the subject.  With this one, I truly was wanting to hone my skills of painting a horse (not an easy animal to paint, I will admit) as well as experiment with this half of a horse composition.  Again, I am interested in the negative space around the horse, maybe not as much as, but in addition to the horse itself. :)

"Maybe It's Neighbelline", oil, 7"x7", click here for purchasing details

Day 24 - Derry Edain Plein Air Day

 Good morning :)  Today's painting was done plein air of the Derry Edain horse farm in Cochranville.  It was a beauty of a day with the early Autumn colors just beginning to pop.  The highlight of the day was when the 2 horses who board on the property came galloping down to greet me and the white horse allowed me to pet her. She was such a gentle giant and not only that, but even bowed to me several times. I truly was honored to have been given this gift from such a beautiful and powerful animal.  White horse energy has been strong in my sphere for at least the past week. Yesterday's painting was one I created before the plein air expedition to the Derry Edain farm as I had the image galloping through my mind for several days..  Connecting with the beautiful white horse on Friday not only was an honor, but felt like an affirmation.  Later, I looked through my photos and realized that the sign flanking the driveway into Derry Edain has a woman in a dress riding on a white horse.  And, as I am writing this post, I looked up the address to the Derry Edain farm and just now realized that it is located onWhite Horse Road.  I do love when synchronicities like this pop up.. to me they are a reassuring nudge from the other side.. :) Scroll down to see pictures of the horses, the farm as well as some possible adjustments I could make to the painting..

Derry Edain, Oil, 11"x14", nfs

When you paint on location, you have to decide what you are going to include and what information is not necessary to your painting.  It is something that challenges me every time and this painting was no exception. After bringing it home and looking at it for awhile, I am thinking it may be better if I crop some of it off.  Since I paint on wood panel, this is something I can do relatively easily with my bandsaw, after the painting dries.  Below are 2 crops I could do. The first is a square and would measure 10"x10". The second is the painting cut directly in half and would measure 7"x11".  Something to ponder.. the question is, is the tree necessary to the story.  Is any of the right hand side of the painting necessary to the story?

Day 23 - A Moment of Clarity

Today's painting veers off the path a bit for me.. It is an image I had in my mind's eye for the past week and so I finally had to try to paint it.  I tried to stay loose and create a sense of movement outside of time.. but I think I still have a ways to go in that area.  I also tried some new color ideas out and a few new painting techniques.  All in all, this was an experimental painting. Coincidentally, I painted this one a few days ago, and yesterday, I had the good fortune of meeting a beautiful white horse while I was out plein air painting. I had a bonding moment with this horse when she bowed down to me and allowed me to pet her.. <3 That experience made this painting a bit more meaningful to me as I feel like it completes a circle.. :)

A Moment of Clarity, Oil, 12"x12", Click here for purchasing details