Misty Morning Foxhounds Re-Visited

Elegant, traditional and exquisitely visual. Great fun, what's not to love? These are my peeps and we share a love of animals and...dare I say...fortifying drinks. Yesterday morning, artist friend Bob Stebleton and his wife and my hubby plus moi braved the cold morning temps to bug the very hospitable members of the Misty Morning Foxhounds.

Master of Foxhounds (Mistress?) Alexis Macaulay and her pack of happy hounds.

Foxhunting Florida-style.

 This could be a future painting. So attracted to the dappled light in shade.

 Long-time readers of my blog will remember Montana the Thoroughbred. Two years later and he's still fit and healthy thanks to his devoted owner Susan.

 Jumping for the shear joy of it.

 

Heading back.

 

Last night two tigers visited me in my dreams. Double dose of passion and power and how good it feels to reclaim it.

"O tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide!" - William Shakespeare

Marion Therapeutic Riding Association

I'm so ridiculously last minute. Well, not really. I've been Facebooking and Twittering and passing out flyers. It's been listed in the newspaper. Twice. How remiss of me to not post this on my very own blog.

Our monthly event at VoilART! Gallery + Studio entitled Coffee & Conversation is featuring a presentation by the Marion Therapeutic Riding Association. Tomorrow. That would be Saturday, January 15th at 4:00pm. Program Director Kate Robbins will help us learn all about this amazing organization that changes the lives of people with special needs via horseback riding or driving. Oh, the many wonders of horses. We've heard of all the miraculous successes - now you ask questions about how and why.

So, let me invite you to our gallery to have a cup of coffee, munch some snacks, and sit and relax for awhile. We're in downtown Ocala: 108 E. Fort King St. (one block south of the square behind the Bank of America). 4:00 o'clock tomorrow, Saturday.

 "In riding a horse we borrow freedom" - Helen Thomson

Austin Carriage Museum

Saturday I participated in the Equine Art Expo at the Austin Carriage Museum's Festival of the Horse. I had a thoroughly enjoyable day despite the cold weather. Michael accompanied enabling me to run outside to the show ring and experience the equine performances of various breeds.

How we evolve. I'm making a shift toward networking and spreading the word about our downtown Ocala gallery VoilART! as opposed to the pressure I place on myself to always be financially productive. This applies to local shows of course, as the expense involved with travelling out of state requires that at the very least, I am way above a break even point. Those shows are ever so carefully selected to be profitable, however, lest I digress...I had a great show after all. People attending are there to watch horse-related entertainment which qualifies them as my peeps. Built-in fans.


 My booth.

Magnificent Friesians driven by Gloria Austin herself.

The Carriage Museum is HUGE. I'd like to return and spend a leisurely day browsing through the extensive collection. I did a quick tour and learned from the knowledgeable docents: fire horses were led under their ready harnesses suspended from above with pulleys. This hastened the harnessing and took less than 30 seconds. The horses were always light in color for better visibility at night. Also, the term sulky, you know - the tiny cart pulled in standardbred races, is derived from those who chose to be alone (sulking) - a one person cart pulled by one horse. I seriously did not know that.

 Belgians pulling a Hummer. This was a hit at the recent Art Basel Miami in December.

 Love the drill teams in period costumes.

The final demo was Mounted Shooting. Truly bomb-proof horses run at full-speed while their riders maneuver a course and shoot balloons with black powder blanks. Very exciting. Get more info on their website: www.xtremehorseman.com

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." -  Will Rogers

The Bucket List Bekons

Here in Florida, if you use a silent, electric battery-operated motor on your canoe, the state requires that it be registered. The last sticker date on my canoe is May, 2010. That's how long it's been since I last went canoeing. What a shame. As we age, the bucket list increases.

Although the weather was a bit cool, there were lots of turtles, birds, hungry fish, a few gators but no snakes. This is on the Silver River.

 Mistletoe and air plant inspired winter nakedness.

Cypress knees...sculptural little fantasy villages.

Hungry cichlids enjoy crushed up yellow corn tortilla chips.

You know about the monkey decendants on the Silver River, right?
Surprising visitors with this alien species is always great fun.

And now for a few pics of why I love to canoe...some of my favorite critters...

This gator became cranky that we got so close, yet he didn't relinquish the sunny log.

You never know who you'll run into on the river...

“Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known." - Winnie the Pooh

My Wish for Everyone 2011

Can you feel it? It's a 'tude, a revival, inspiring. A collective focus on the positive that's palpable and exciting. So many of us are relieved to begin fresh in 2011 with expectations of a better everything...therefore...the law of attraction MUST make it so.

Here's to new beginnings. May you all be wealthier, healthier, fitter, smarter and more loving.

"Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right." - Oprah Winfrey

6 Things I've Learned in 2010

Instead of the usual yearly list of "What I Did" accomplishments for 2010, I thought I'd make a bit of a shift in my thinking and contemplate "What I've Learned: 2010". For your thoughts and comments as well:

 1. Persistence is key if you have ambition without resources. Goals are attainable with a bulldogged mindset and focus, but it does require...time. It takes longer to launch a project requiring capital and the lack of funding means the components must be executed in affordable increments. So, my multi-canvas pieces are created on carefully graphed paper and gradually constructed as my budget allows. That's okay because I know if I stay firmly committed to my ideas, they'll come to fruition eventually. They always do, even if they're stacked up in the sky like commercial aircraft on holding patterns.

2. Less is more. I'm living the simple life through necessity, not choice. The recent recession took away a lot of things from me. Yet in the present moment, I have everything I need. That's empowering. When you finally realize that the latest gadget with unlimited apps will never fulfill your basic longings, life takes on a new clarity. I choose to stay connected to the life force surrounding me, not the things.

3. I know who I am as an artist. I am finally aware of what drives my urge to create. I possess vision that is uniquely mine. Although I'm not 100% sure of the source, I recognize that speed, motion and direction inspires me and I can express passion in my paintings without succumbing to sentimentality. Take that, all you romantics!

4. I'm good enough. Although we as artists constantly strive to achieve excellence which is a healthy goal, we must also balance a respect for our own accomplishments, intellect and abilities. A self-pat on the back is reassuring and makes us a little less crazy. I'm doin' okay. And you're doin' okay.

5. A strong support system is imperative. My husband, friends, family, peers, and neighbors provide encouragement and bolster strength. Yes, I will disappoint. Sometimes the more you do the more is expected. I am making amends to those that deserve it. Integrity compels me to do what is right and good even though...life lessons happen. When I become anxious and impatient, affirming this truth sets me back on the path to acknowledging my divinity. Thank you, thank you God.

6. Goals for 2011? Of course I have a business plan in place that evolves as necessary. I'm learning to relinquish my iron fist control (just a little) as I accept that I work too hard, try too hard, never sleep enough and never play hard enough. Where's my canoe?

"Stand in the middle of a crisis to invite the next stage of evolution to appear." - Michael Bernard Beckwith

It's an Ah-Ha Moment

You may be wondering why the miniature paintings I've previously posted are of ocean scenes. Well, there's a couple of reasons.

Last year when my gallery partner Jackie Schindehette conceived the idea of creating mini oils for the holiday season, I thought it was a wonderful concept. A client could purchase an original painting for gift-giving (or self-gifting) that was affordable and we could produce and frame multiple pieces.

In theory.

Turns out, Jackie effortlessly painted tiny lovely landscapes, flowers, water scenes and even birds (at least it looked that way to me). On the other side of the studio, I struggled with the teensy format until going bonkers and gladly handing over those microscopic canvases to her.

After much soul-searching, I concluded that the large equine subjects I paint with unrestrained va-voom just didn't translate into a miniscule format.

Shortly after THAT realization (duh) I had a huge epiphany. Looking at all the paintings in my studio and recalling how I felt as I painted them brought me to an enlightened state of awareness: I have an intense desire to paint subjects in motion. Yup - movement, speed, direction, flow and all those mobile adjectives are indeed the source of my artistic inspiration.

Seriously, why does it take some of us so long to figure out the obvious?

"An artist's working life is marked by intensive application and intense discipline." - John F. Kennedy

Last Chance Mini

There is still time to ship this out quickly...I know there are plenty of you out there who wait until the last minute to do their shopping. I cater to you.

Miniature original oil on canvas, 5"x7", framed $50.00

“Punctuality is the virtue of the bored.” - Evelyn Waugh

Why You Should Collect Art (from a collector's viewpoint - not mine)

Rarely does a show excite me as did "The Unseen Eye - Photography from the W.M. Hunt Collection" currently on exhibit at the Appleton Museum of Art here in Ocala. Why? The collector, W.M. Hunt has written a transcript accompanying the exhibit that illustrates his passion for collecting in an intensely personal and accessible narrative. I'm not easily impressed but this is a must see show.

My fellow artists would do well to recognize the importance of describing and speaking about their own artwork as well as Mr. Hunt depicts his emotional connection to his collection.

No gallery labels, only numbers which are listed on a photocopied checklist describe the photographs. Purposely ignoring these, I wanted to experience the images without bias to Mapplethorpe, Arbus, Weston and other well-named photographers. Interspersed throughout the images is signage containing the honest, forthright and engaging feelings of Hunt written in the first person. This open invitation into the psyche of an obsessive collector makes the show absolutely extraordinary. We get to be voyeurs.

Here are a few of his quotes:

"I was a very unhappy child, full of melancholy and depression, full of dread and sadness. I was capable of great good humor and generosity, socially skilled, but I was fraught with anxiety and feelings of loss. I can’t get over how collecting offered me insight into so much of this. One of the successes of the collection is its consistency in terms how the images relate to me. When you look at this collection you don’t, in fact, need to know anything about me, but there is a through line that is amazingly consistent. It is my unconscious."

"I have always felt that I have been an enigma in need of sorting out. Collecting did that."

"Collecting photographs is a completely visceral experience, an epiphany. You know you have found a great one when the hair on the back of your hands stands on end, your heart pounds, and you can’t move your feet."

"Collectors are obsessed, ravenous for this one and then the next one. People who do not collect, won’t. They don’t connect with this intense, obsessive force. Too bad. It is huge fun."

"Great art is insistent. It demands a visceral response: unease, awe, relief, and it calls for contemplation. It resonates like a primal chord. The earliest mark making strikes me as a spiritual response to living, a primitive attempt to find or create meaning."

"Insist on engagement. Wrestle with what’s difficult. Pretty is boring. Seek intensity."

"Escape, intensity, pleasure, I like those things so I have to remind myself that my reaction or reading of a photographic image is mine alone. But as I have said, it is only my truth."

These quotes are only a few excerpts barely scratching the surface of Hunt's fearless openness. These are the people we create art for. At least we'd wish for them if we had a choice. The passionate who wear their hearts on their sleeve. I'm buying that painting because I love it and it speaks to me.

“Look, look, look. You have to look. It's the way to educate your eyes. Stare. Pry, listen eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long”. - Walker Evans

Another Mini

Our exhibit at VoilART Gallery + Studio will showcase miniature original oil paintings beginning tomorrow, December 1st. A great way to start a collection, add to, or help someone start a collection of original artwork. Or, just give as a really, really nice "little" gift.

"Rolling Wave" oil on mounted canvas, 5"x7"

If you're interested, please respond soon. The last mini sold quickly and I've provided a "Buy Now" feature to make it easy for you to purchase, especially if you can't visit the gallery. Reminder: it's only $50. and it's FRAMED! Check out the sidebar to the right:

“I've been doing a lot of abstract painting lately, extremely abstract. No brush, no paint, no canvas, I just think about it.” - Stephen Wright