I Got a Fever

I'm honored to be chosen by the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association (FTBOA) to design and paint the 10th Anniversary Horse Fever prototype presented by the Marion Cultural Alliance. Because I was asked not to share the latest design with you before the big reveal, I will tell you that his name is "World Champ". He illustrates the thoroughbred industry here in Ocala, Florida aka The Horse Capital of the World. But I've said too much...

It's safe to give you a peek of  "the herd" at the warehouse:

Laboriously being liberated from their shipping crates.

"World Champ" suspiciously eyes his transport to the FTBOA.

Here's the original "Champ" prototype, still looking great after ten years. He represents the racing silks of 14 prominent thoroughbred breeding farms here in Marion County. Posing in front of the FTBOA offices, he was also sponsored by the FTBOA who also sponsored the first Horse Fever project and...who also sponsored...me.

The flip side of "Champ", photographed at Double Diamond Farm.

"Above & Beyond" was painted by moi for the Race Track Chaplaincy of America for their annual White Horse Awards. He represents the heroic backside workers at the racetrack. A & B took me to the Breeders' Cup at Lone Star Park in '04.

I also designed and painted "Cultural Champ" who was the foal belonging to the original herd. He represented the major cultural aspects of Marion County and Ocala, but I'll be darned if I can find a photo of him!

"It is, after all, the dab of grit that seeps into an oyster's shell that makes the pearl, not pearl-making seminars with other oysters." - Stephen King

The Big, Really Big Purchase

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) is providing the tents for the artist vendors this summer at Saratoga. The new tents measure 20'x20' instead of the standard 10'x10' size and are also complete with a floor. This is a big bonus as the issue of keeping the rain and mud at bay during storms (some are extended) is a dilemma. I"m excited as I'll now have plenty of exhibit space for my large paintings and giclees. Which reminds me...

I'm gathering all my pieces, especially the large ones, to bring to my new and spacious booth. If you've been considering purchasing one of my large, and I mean big, original paintings or giclee fine art reproductions, now would be a good time to save on expensive shipping if you're in the Florida area or within close proximity to the I-95 corridor. I can personally deliver as I make my way up to Saratoga.
Click on the title under the image for details...

The Four Elements

Vying for Position

Mirror Image

Blue Blinkers

No Blinkers

"Collectors are happy people." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Where the hell am I going?

For certain, I'll be in Saratoga Springs, NY for the entire race meet, July 22nd through Sept. 5th. If I've appeared vague regarding my immediate plans to any of you, accept my apologies. The spiritual gurus instruct about the importance of maintaining secrecy when intending and visualizing. Eliminates the well-meaning from undo influence and frankly, relieves the pressure as paths veer off their original course. No explanations required.

Purging through all those photographs last week became more than good housekeeping. Surprising emotions emerged. I got all existential. The past appeared happier with fun times with more adventure and closer relationships. Clearly, I was following my bliss and living a passionate life. Or was I? From a position of struggling to survive the financial hardships of the recession (and still recovering) is anything looking better than what is, including what was and how I now perceive it?

My Saratoga landlady has offered the apartment to us beyond the end of the race meet. I'm considering. The cool, clean air and pungent earthy scent of autumn may clear this undefinable bleariness. So, my dear readers, I may stay longer at the fair.

"Go for it now. The future is promised to no one." -  Wayne W. Dyer

Old Photos of Us (really old)

I finally did the inevitable: cleaned out the old 35mm photographs that were stacked in the studio closet as tall as I. Purging to the nth degree. I've been intending to do this for...well...several years. Shoe boxes filled with photos I thought I would need for reference forever. There was a time when, as an artist, if I wanted to paint a starting gate I required lots of decent photos of a starting gate. Not so much anymore with the instantaneous internet availability of almost everything. Not to mention digital cameras.

So, I thought I would share with you the ones I deemed worth saving. Maybe even in a couple of these blog posts. After all, 10+ stuffed shoe boxes have been honed down to one medium size carton. They're the best of an arsenal.

Here I am ponying one of Michael's fillies at Bay Meadows in '93.

Michael galloping one of his own horses on the Oklahoma Training Track
at Saratoga in the mid-80's.

Don't you love this? Michael training babies with his Irish friend John at a ranch in Half Moon Bay just south of San Francisco. They made their way down these magnificent cliffs and galloped on the beach. One time I went with him and there was this guy jumping up and down like a crane with his parachute glider. The young horses were wary but curious and they all made their way past without incident. That's Michael in the blue jacket.

Gold panning in Alaska in the early '90's.

I went on an all-girl camping trip in Arizona with a couple of my best girlfriends. On a very remote section of road on the Apache reservation we came upon an area littered on both sides with a vast amount of animal bones. So eerie and I was mesmerized with the scene of destruction. The margarita in the plastic cup added to my morbid fascination.

“In solitude we give passionate attention to our lives, to our memories, to the details around us.” - Virginia Woolf

Even Too Hot for a Gator

The heat is on. It's time to curtail some outdoor activities when the indigenous wildlife look for refuge. No relief on the river unless you don't mind jumping in the water with the gators. Our summers in Florida are the equivalent of northern folk's winter cabin fever.

If you keep a watchful eye, you can watch these eyes as the alligators stay afloat in the cool waters of the Silver River.

There's always someone who doesn't mind the ninety-eight plus degree sizzle. Good thing hunting is prohibited when you're sporting that big fat meaty tail.

This Little Blue Heron quietly bears its discomfort in the stifling heat. Still pretty despite the agitation.

“If you saw a heat wave, would you wave back?” - Stephen Wright