Half a Horse…and the Radio

Back in the studio.. I’m still enjoying the excitement over finishing my last commission of Olympic Dressage Horse, Gran Gesto.  The painting will be delivered this week.  I honestly can’t express in words how excited I am for the moment.  I will post some photo updates when Jacquie finally gets her painting..word on the street is that there is some sort of party planned for it   Stay tuned…. 

Beau

For now, I would like to introduce you to my next commission ‘Beaudelaire’. We will call him ‘Beau’ for short. I’ve met Beau twice now and have an excellent feeling for his size, temperment and colouring. His owner and I have worked together before and forged a great friendship over the course of the year. The painting of the sweet and feminine filly Fleur was completed for the same owner, Erin McLaughlin, now Editor of Canadian Gardening Magazine.

colour range for Beau painting from Farrow and Ball paint deck

Just as the Fleur painting, the palette for Beau revolves around traditional paint colour line, Farrow and Ball for inspiration.  I do love these colours!! I have to say I never realized how much my background in Interior Design would play a role in my painting career, until I met Erin. I now embrace the concept that I not only paint, but ‘design’ each commission painting I deliver to my clients. 

Throughout the process of working with Erin, I’ve kept her personal style and taste in mind. The works I’ve created are not only of her horses, but they also support my thoughts of her stylish living environment.  They are tailored to her individual taste ~ yet infused with my character as an artist .  The paintings in the end, look like they were meant to be in her home. 

Beau ~ in Progress! 24 x 36 oil on Panel

As you can see, I’ve made great strides with the hind end of Beau and his wonderful grey dapples. And YES! I will be painting him in his entirety! The head/neck/background of the painting is roughed in at this point. Unfortunately it is neither wet or dry, so I’m sidelined until the painting firms up.  The end result I can clearly vision in my head. It is just a matter of execution at this point.

One last tid-bit  – On Sunday I was featured on Erin Radio, 101.5FM, Art on Air with Daisy Divine. It was a great opportunity to talk about horses, art and my process. Please have a listen!! You can download a clip here

Summary of Links of Interest: Click to view.

Fleur Painting Blog Post

Equestrian Inspiration Blog Post by Erin McLaughlin, Simply Country

Canadian Gardening Magazine

Daisy Divine Radio Interview – click on the ‘Jenn Pratt’ box to play interview

Bun in the Oven

If you have been following my blog, you know I’ve been working a certain commission for sometime now…that would be a certain, black, warmblood gelding named…’PO”..!  You haven’t seen him in a while have you..?

Since the New Year, I had put many hours of time into his painting. However, after I completed the Sargent workshop, I decided that I would start his painting over.  Given all my new knowledge, it only seemed fitting that I use it.  I can tell you confidently now, that the painting is in the final stages toward completion..or as I like to say ‘given birth to’….I compare childbirth to painting because those final details of analyzing, critiquing and questioning one-self’s work, can often be an extraordinary, exhausting experience. Feelings that I don’t find all that different from labour..

The labour pains are this; as an artist, you get so close to your work, that it becomes difficult to judge. I’ve often left a painting at the end of the day, agonizing thinking it needed alot more work or correcting..only to return to the studio the next day to find, much to my relief, that it didn’t… And unfortunately vice versa.

The birthing part is this; Once the painting is signed, and can actually call it finished, the elation that follows is indescribable. It really does seem like feel like something has been given birth to, a weight expelled, a feeling of completion, I feel exhausted, but also whole once again. I can stand back and feel, ‘wow’ I did that..what a sense of accomplishment it can be..

At this moment ‘Po’ only needs to dry once more, then I can add a couple more finishing touches.. this would include my signature. So stay tuned..possibly for one week…?

In my downtime from working on Po, I’ve loosened up with a  few Alla Prima studies. I find working wet-in-wet, fast and in one sitting, a great exercise to free me from getting too caught up into details on my current commissions.

First one was a donkey - still wet..

Donkey Study, 8x10 Oil on Canvas

next one was a warmblood colt, named Canadian Pacific, by the Dutch Warmblood Stallion, Pacific Star.

Canadian Pacific, 8x10 Oil on Belgian Linen Panel

both of these you can find listed for purchase on my Etsy site HERE

In The Studio of Sargent Workshop

Lady Agnew of Lochnaw, 1892-93, John Singer Sargent

Back to my studio in the lucisous green hills of Caledon, after a week-long painting workshop at The Academy of Realist Art in Toronto. The workshop was based on direct painting techniques used by John Singer Sargent. The journey was not just an exercise in learning new painting techniques, but one that evoked many personal revelations about my temperament and patience as an artist.

The instructor for the course was Matthew Mancini ~ http://matthewmancini.blogspot.com/ Matthew is clearly a gifted artist, who also possesses ability as a great teacher. I believe it is often rare to find both qualities in artists. He was clear and methodical, patient and positive ~ even when things would appear to be heading on the road to certain disaster.  Matthew started the week off with a painting demo using direct painting methods. He made things look incredibly easy, focusing on building simple shapes, keeping clear statements of value and colour. We proceeded to work up a quick study using the same technique. It was then I realized it wasn’t as easy as it looked. However; at the end of day one I was happy that my initial sketch remained looking human. I’ve never painted the human form before…!

Day two, we started what would be a more finished portrait. A Sargent copy, which we would work on for the next three days.  I began the painting very much like any other; with enthusiasm and positivity.  By the end of day two, my positivity deflated…while I was learning new techniques, old work habits came to haunt me. Without realizing, I got sucked into detailing a particular area of the painting.  I kept going back, trying to fix the area using my tiny brushes working about an inch away from the canvas.  In the process I lost perspective on correcting the overall shape and things were going grey and muddy quickly.

It occurred to me that the frustration and exasperation I was feeling at this stage in the painting were not unfamiliar emotions. The same situation has happened before on horse paintings.  Matthew was instrumental getting me out this situation. Instructing me to grab a bigger brush and re-establish the basic shapes of the area I was working on. Once I did this, the painting made quite a miraculous recovery…without resorting to breaking my brushes in frustration  

Study of Sargent Portrait, created during workshop, 14x18, oil on Canvas

Previously in my studio, when experiencing similar situations I likely would have walked away. Adding it to my shelf collection known as ‘The Canvas Graveyard’. I hope in the future I will be more attuned to when a painting begins to go astray. I can make corrections early on in the painting by returning to the simple shapes that make the image.

The final day I started a third study, putting everything I had learned together. The transformation was drastic. While the painting is by no mean complete, I was pleased that I was able to simplify the shapes, keep the colour clean, and begin to build something that could work from.

Head study of Sargent copy, final day of workshop

So where do I go from here? I’m quite sure I can easily apply the process taught in the workshop to painting horses. I will begin this week, using Gran Gesto’s painting. However I will still search for my own individual style to infuse with my new found knowledge. During the more controlled portions of the painting I felt my patience waining. After years of creating meticulous drawings of the equine form, taking hours, sometimes months to create, perhaps I no longer have the want to be so ‘perfect’ anymore?  

I will always have a deep respect for old masters techniques, but when I turned to oil media, painting became such a release and an outlet.  In the studio with the music loud, a bold palette mixed up and blank canvas in front of me with no other distractions I feel alive and well. Perhaps I need to become accustomed to what the new ‘perfect’ is..?

Links of interest:

Artist & Workshop instructor, Matthew Mancini:

http://matthewmancini.blogspot.com/

The Academy of Realist Art: http://www.academyofrealistart.com/