The artist within and the inspiration from a magnificent creature, the horse!

I am 4 or 5 years old. Its a warm, humid Ohio summer day. I am riding a bus with my older sister to a summer day camp. Shaker Day Camp, to be exact. A magical place that has everything a kid would want to do. Swimming, boating, arts and crafts, and archery (I had to grow a bit before they would give me a bow and arrow!) and Horses! The camp had at least 30 horses, it seemed. I was so mesmerized by the size and beauty of each and every one of them. But the thing that got me most was the feeling I got when you looked deep into their eyes. It was like they were as intrigued by me as I was by them. The connection was like kindred spirits. The mythical creatures I only heard about from the neighbors next door were right in front of me, and it felt like I knew them deeply. I would run away from my group of kids and make my way back to the barn. I would run my hands over their skin to keep the wonderful smell on me. I wouldn't want to wash it off when I got home. I wanted to keep Calypso, Pirate, and Plum Pudding close to me until I could get back tomorrow. If I was missing from my group, they all knew to just check the barn or the fence of the pastures!

Since I was so enamored with the horses, I started to draw them. I never got discouraged with how the drawing looked at first. Of course, skill is developed, but it came faster than I thought. I credit the absolute love I had to give me the ability to pay close attention to what I saw and the shapes and definitions of their bodies and train my hand to my eye. It never felt like work or that I couldn't do it. I just kept on. Then I wanted art supplies!

Look at that face. Do I look happy or what? Even a fake horse will do!

Below are my Appaloosa and Quarter Horse. And a little foal from a visit to a stable in Arizona. Yes, I was a young girl when I had my horses. Now I am much older, but I haven't lost that love.

I follow the plight of the American Mustangs and their right to be protected and exist as the icons they are. I am thankful for the amazing people that document the herds in the wild and the horse rescues out there that save them and give them forever homes.

I had my Appy while I lived in Ohio. I had him at the school I attended in Willoughby, Ohio. The trails were magical in all four seasons in Ohio. I learned a lot with my first horse, as do we all. I read every book I could, so I would take the best care of them. I was lucky enough to have my Quarter Horse in my backyard in California. I lived in Rolling Hills Estates, California, on the Palos Verde Peninsula. This was the last bastion of country and open spaces left in Los Angeles. The Penninsula had, I believe, 240 miles of horse trails woven around its canyons. It was a great place to live. I was so lucky! I have so many stories of adventures there. Riding to the beach and getting chased off by the lifeguards was always fun! Golfers didn't like me so much!

I try to express the bond between horses. They are highly sensitive animals with deep ties to one another. They feel everything. You can't fake it around a horse. They know what you are feeling. They feel your heartbeat.

Sorry for the long read; I just had to include bits and pieces, and that adds up! I hope the New Year brings you much joy and long wished-for experiences. To be continued later... Peace and love to the world.

Let's take a peek underneath. Shapes rule, strong contrast and movement directs the eyes.

Beach Wave X

I so love to paint these types of paintings. It is such a dance with the universe. It takes a while to work out the shapes that direct your eyes into the painting and keep you wandering around. I like the feeling of floating on top of the water and seeing through to the sandy bottom. Shallow water provides such an opportunity for gentle details that offer depth in the shadows of the foam. I can enhance the movement with just the right little swirly foam running parallel to the large foam shape. The shapes pull you into the wave for your enjoyment in discovering its features. For me, this is just pure fun!

Beach Wave VI

Beach Wave IV

These two paintings are sold works that I wanted to include in the conversation of shapes and movement. As much as they are sister paintings, they each have their own shapes and directions, color combinations, motion, and stillness. It can accomplish slow motion, too. As the top painting has movement, drawing the foam toward the wave in a pulling motion, these two have a feeling of being suspended and waiting to be pushed and moved into yet other shapes!

I absolutely loved the curl of the wave and the illumination of light. The gentle use of purples and blues contrasted with yellows, browns, and greens in the dark shadow of the curling water. Acrylic paint is great for layering and glazing to build the right color and value. I can't tell you how many times I changed the shapes of the foam on the water until I got what felt right. Creating negative shapes and exchanging sand for sea foam and vice versa. It just added richness to the painting. I was never worried that I would not find the right combinations of shapes and directions. It all just comes together. That's part of the magic!

To show the wave is coming in from deeper water, it is darkest right in front of the curling wave. The depth change is apparent, going from dark to light sand with shadows of sea foam in the shallows. The light sea foam and sandy bottom direct the eye to that contrast. From there, you can peek under the water and play among the shadows.

For clarification, the rectangle painting, Beach Wave X, at the top of the blog is still available for purchase. The bottom two square paintings, Beach Wave VI and IV were previously sold. Available as giclee prints only.

I hope you enjoy my discussions about different paintings. Please feel free to leave a comment, ask questions, or leave a suggestion for future posts. I'd love to hear from you all. Until next time, stay healthy, safe, and happy.

Find the painting in the photograph!

When it comes to taking pictures of water and waves on the beach, it can seem overwhelming to find what you're seeking to paint. There can be so much confusing wave action, varying light and values, and sometimes the entire water can seem all turquoise, and it's hard to tell the subtle differences that give it form and dimension. Let alone translate that into paint and a painting. I thought I would share a little about this process and what I've learned by showing two paintings and their original photographs. The most recent painting is number XV of my Beach Wave series. and the painting at the bottom of the page is number VIII. Each with their own original photos and then an edited one that brought that scene to light.

Below is a photograph taken on a windy day on the east coast of Florida. I was looking to develop better skills at finding close-up sections to paint smaller pieces. I wanted to train my eyes to see multiple potential scenes within one photo. Talk about maximizing references!

At first it was frustrating and wearing on my eyes.! But like anything, it takes practice. I finally have a little better ability to look for the gems within my photos. Looking for composition candidates is always challenging. I don't know if you feel the same, but it can feel like there are so many rules to painting and composition that I tend to go with what feels right. Yes, I am self-taught. So if anyone has some great cheat sheet material, I will take it!

Boy, I seem to hit the beach on windy days! I find it most satisfying for photographing waves. Yes, the calm, gentle waves are nice too, but give me some sand in my teeth and spray in my face, and I'm a happy girl. The east coast of Florida is great for movement, color changes, and great skies. On my coast, the Gulf Coast, it's more of a gentle lake effect. We barely get waves higher than 6"!

Below is the original photo of another piece in the beach wave series, number VIII. I expanded the photo as my laptop is touch-screen—I love that, by the way! I saw this very interesting line of small wave action moving in to the shore with just fabulous activity and color variations. The swirling was mesmerizing. I honed in and edited a closer view, then did my interpretation from that photo. I find it exciting to have so much information in a single reference. I look forward to what my new eyes will find for me as I go through these at another point in time.

Beach Wave VIII, my final interpretation Thank you all for visiting my art website. I appreciate all the kind words and encouragement. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me or leave a comment. I love to hear from you. So for now, I will say to be continued... until the next topic, stay safe, healthy, and happy.