Mongol horse

New Painting Debut! “Mongol Horse #7- Getting Warmed Up”

| foxstudio
Mongol Horse #7-Getting Warmed Up 18x24" oil on canvas

This was the first painting I started after the long travel layoff. I wanted to keep it simple, so I chose this beautiful paint horse standing with his back to the morning sun. In my reference he was standing with a hill behind him, which wasn’t very interesting, so I “moved” him to a  background that let me do a landscape, too. The setting is the Hangai Mountains of central Mongolia, a lush and scenic part of the country that isn’t anything like the vision most people have of the Land of Blue Skies.

Mongolia Monday- Juried Show News!

| foxstudio

We interrupt our regularly scheduled series on cool things to see and do in Mongolia because I got a packet in the mail yesterday informing me that my painting “Choidog and Black” has been accepted into a special exhibition of the American Academy of Equine Art, “The Horse in Fine Art, a Salute to the World Equestrian Games 2010”, which are being held in the United States for the first time ever.

Submission was by invitation only, so that was gratifying all by itself, but to have a painting accepted is a thrill! Especially when the invitation encouraged artists to submit images that reflected the events to be held at the Games, such as dressage, show jumping, reining and endurance, none of which I have ever seen in person. The only work of mine that the Academy has seen was the Mongol horse piece which was in their fall juried show, so I figured they knew that that was what I do and what they would get.

I submitted three paintings, two of horse racing with the boy jockeys ( here and here) and one of Choidog, the horsetrainer. They chose what I would consider the “purest” Mongol one, because he is wearing traditional clothing, not the modern clothes the kids have on. I hope they post the show on their website so I can see the other paintings!

Choidog and Black 18x24" oil on canvasboard

So I am in the happy position of having one of my Mongol subject paintings in a show that will be viewed by horsey people from all over the world. Nice way to start the week.

Next Monday, I’ll return to my six part series with my personal choices for the six best souvenirs to bring home from Mongolia.

New Painting! Mongol Horse

| foxstudio

Mongol Horse #3- Young Stallion 16x20 oil on canvasboard
Mongol Horse #3- Young Stallion 16x20 oil on canvasboard

This young stallion was part of a bachelor group that I photographed at Ikh Nartiin Chuluu Nature Reserve last September. The soft edges of some of his markings made me think of watercolor washes. I hope that I’ll see him again in July.

New Year, New Painting and… A New Cat!

| foxstudio

NEW PAINTING!

I was able to take many good pictures of Mongol horses on my trip there in September. This was a stallion who showed up with his harem very near the ger camp at Ikh Nartiin Chuluu late one afternoon. Due to lack of rain, all the herder families had left the area, along with their livestock, but a few groups of horses had been left behind to shift for themselves until their owners returned.

I wanted to really work on understanding horse structure so this is a bigger painting than what I’ve recently been doing – 24″x 36″. The horse is almost 19″ at the withers. I really loved the rhythm of the movement. It was almost like he was showing off. I don’t know horse behavior nearly as well yet as dog or cat, so I’d love to hear from anyone who can interpret what he’s doing and why.

Since the horse was what I cared about , I left the background as a field of mostly warm color with some cool color showing from underneath.

mongol-horses-ikh-nart-stallion

NEWS FROM THE FELINE FRONT

Meet our new family member, Alexander! We brought him home yesterday from the Humboldt County Shelter, where I volunteer. He’s four months old and extremely friendly. He likes other cats (although our three girls aren’t too thrilled at the moment). He’s done a nose touch greeting with Niki the collie. We’ve set him up in a crate in my husband’s office since Alex is supposed to be  mainly his cat.

new-tom-cat

The vet was just here (she does housecalls only; how cool is that?) and she thinks that he may be part rag doll because of how easy he is to handle, kind of like, well, a rag doll. She pronounced him in good health and recommended a bath at the groomer’s to get rid of the whiff of shelter odor and get him all nice and fluffy. We all want to get him the best start on the rest of his life that we can.

FYI: never bring home a new animal, either a cat or a dog,  plop them down in the living room and turn them  loose. New introductions need to be taken slowly with consideration for everyone. The new animal should be in a crate or behind a baby gate or in a room like the bathroom to ease in gently and avoid conflict. He’ll stay in the office at least until Sunday.