Horsey!

Last week I spent an afternoon with a horse named Jim. Peter Van Dyck invited me to sit in on his animal drawing class at PAFA while the horse was scheduled to be there, as I had expressed interest in this opportunity last semester. I love drawing animals, and horses are so "architectural" that it's a special pleasure to draw them. Last time I painted a horse I was sitting out in a field broiling and swatting stinging insects, so having a horse come on in to the great indoors was a real treat!

Jim's arrival via freight elevator was a thrill! He himself was perfectly calm.

My first study...unfinished as the model decided to stop grazing.

My second study, very unfinished but I like how I caught that Jim was tiring. After a few hours of standing he had sort of "sunk" in  a bit, in his back and at his hocks (right word? I mean what look like his ankles.) And his whole expression became somewhat resigned.

Somebody just asked, so yeah, these are quick little oil sketches done from life. That was the whole point. :-) I brought my camera and I took some photos thinking I might work further on my sketches later from reference shots, but turns out I did not in fact get exactly the same angles as I was painting, and angles are key in horse painting. So, we'll see. These will most likely just remain unfinished studies. 

First Day of Spring!

George Inness (1825-1894) Spring Blossoms, Montclair, New Jersey. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1891

Happy Vernal Equinox to you! It was a beautiful day, so warm and sunny that I actually peeled off a layer at some point...a first for this season! In fact it's been so mild here on the East Coast of the US that the spring blossoming trees seem to be  blooming all at once...no slow succession of almond to crabapple magnolia to cherry etc. Just a mad froth of color and petals...like a very big and frou-frou wedding party!

I'M ON SPRING BREAK!

You were expecting maybe a bikini? Hahahahaha....sob! Actually, this has been a wonderful week, despite the lack of coconut-scented body products and drinks. I've been able to catch up a little, both at home and in both my studios, home and school. It's been heavenly to finally feel able to get work done without the distraction of classes and other school-related events. I did have to attend one meeting at PAFA but to make that day more fun I arranged to meet up with two friends for a tour of the terrific Henry Ossawa Tanner exhibit. Here's a spring-break-ish shot my friend Carla Tudor took of me in front of a piece in the exhibit African-American Artists Since 1940 a really amazing and inspiring show all in its own right. Right upstairs from the Tanner...worth the walk (or just take the elevator!)

Group Show Opening this weekend

CLICK TO ENLARGE