Happy Father's Day

Here's the silver grey dappled Percheron, finished on Father's Day!
This piece was done in memory of my father who loved the majesty and power of the draft horse.

Percheron, 24" x 24", charcoal, acrylic paint and composite silver leaf on deep cradled Ampersand Gessobord.

if you would like to add this piece to your collection, please e-mail me at soundthebuglestudio(at)charter.net for purchasing information.

Forward

Forward, 24" x 30", acrylic, charcoal and copper leaf on deep cradled Ampersand Gessobord.

A new piece inspired by the beautiful Brentina; she was on my mind when I painted this. Give the pic a click to see it bigger.

If you would like to add Forward to your collection, please e-mail me at soundthebuglestudio (at ) charter.net for purchasing information.

Seabiscuit postage stamp now available!

How cool!

The stamp was designed by John Mattos, and it was unveiled in May.

The stamp depicts the match race Seabiscuit ran with War Admiral. My oh my--look at Seabiscuit blow the doors off of the Triple Crown winner! This is the moment Seabiscuit became a true Champion...and it was captured beautifully with this beautiful Mattos illustration.

Here's a story about the unveiling ceremony:

http://www.legendhorse.com/ranchnews11.html


Side note:For those of you who have not read Laura Hillenbrand's masterfully written book on Seabiscuit--what are you waiting for? Get a copy today. It's an amazing story.

New work in progress

...a chestnut doing a bit of an extended trot. I guess I've been thinking of how much I'll miss seeing Brentina in the dressage arena.

I will post the final soon.

A dressage great, a true Champion: Brentina retires

Great story and fantastic photos of Brentina's retirement ceremony, April 17, 2009 in Las Vegas:

http://www.dressage-news.com/?p=538

and... I found some great vids of the ceremony! Look at that passage she does to Aretha Franklin! Is this horse great or what? (go ahead...I dare you not to cry when you watch these videos):



and, make sure you see this video, too. It's just beautiful:

http://www.clubequestrian.com/videos/watch/1097218420.aspx

Brentina was one of the greats in dressage; a powerful, graceful, beautiful coppery chestnut mare with a sweet face and a big heart. She had incredible natural talent and she achieved dressage greatness with the wonderful Debbie McDonald on her back. Their harmonious performances delighted and awed so many.

What a team. Check out this video of them in action:



Thank you, Brentina. Enjoy your retirement! I wish you happiness and lots of sweet treats.

Final

Red Bay, 16" x20" charcoal, acrylic paint, and gesso on deep cradled Ampersand Gessobord.

I added deep crimson along with burnt sienna to bring out the bay coat. I added more deep black compressed charcoal to add gestures of muscle contour and texture. White gesso was also used for highlights, mainly on the metal bit.

Fun is!

If you feel like getting up close and personal with this piece, click on the image to make it bigger. The textures and shapes the charcoal, gesso and paint formed are pretty neat. I just applied it and left it alone to dry and do its thing...