WWindhorses

The Horse in Art Show is "Live" Online Today

2011-05-05T18:34:00.008-05:00

The online show for The Horse in Art Exhibit can be seen at the BDAAA(Beaver Dam Area Artists Association's website through the Seippel Center for the Arts. www.bdaaa.org/horseinartpage1.com. I can't post the link here right now. But the link can also be found on the home page of the BDAAA site.

A few pics from the Horse in Art show at the Seippel Center

2011-04-20T11:09:00.002-05:00

Opening Reception tomorrow at the Seippel Center in Beaver Dam, Wi.

2011-04-16T08:26:00.000-05:00

Come join us Sunday afternoon at the Seippel Center in Beaver Dam. If you love horses this is the art show to see. We are showcasing artists from across the US. Paintings, pastels, bronze, clay and fiber represented in over 110 works of art. Artists on display

by regional and national known equine artists including Polly Knoll,Lynn Maderich,Shary B Akers,Terry Miller,Beverly Shaw,Sharon Prestegard, Lynda Sappington,Alecia Underhill, Linda Massey, Delia Pacheco,Patricia Getha, Larry Schultz, Kate Dardine,Judith Johnson, Jean Cook, Kim Santini,Debbie Flood, Karen Thumm, Karen Terpstra,Joni Beinborn, Sandra Nowicki, Mallory Beinborn,Lorraine Jerabek, Carol Pruchnofski, Mary Singer,Rosemary Tietz, Karen VanderWerff, Jeri Thorpe, Cyndi Schwake, C. Marcus Stone, Rozan Henning,Shari McWilliams, Peg Bredeson, Leslie Zantow, Katherine Bogucki and Edwin Bogucki

Standing Force

2011-04-11T20:47:00.000-05:00

Tribal Rise

2011-04-11T20:45:00.000-05:00

April 17 - June 5 The Horse in Art at the Seippel Center of the Arts

2011-04-11T20:43:00.000-05:00

Press release for The Horse in Art Exhibit at the Seippel Center for the Arts in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin

This year’s Exhibit Calendar at the Beaver Dam Area Arts Association is filled wThith diversity. The spring exhibit at the Seippel Arts Center lends itself to creativity, personal interpretation, perspective, beauty, life and light. “The Horse in Art,” will allow even the most inexperienced art connoisseur to appreciate what nature has produced in our equine friends. A host of talented statewide and local artists will appear along with some highly prominent equine artists who are celebrated around the nation for their distinctive works. The popularity of horses in art remains a time-tested pursuit that isn’t about to fade anytime soon. BDAAA’s “The Horse in Art” Exhibit opens Sunday, April 17th and runs through June 5th at the Seippel Homestead and Center for the Arts.

The featured artist, Polly Knoll, is a local celebrity from Beaver Dam known for her connection to Patrick Swayze. Knoll recently published a coffee table book compiling her professional works in photographing Arabian horses. Polly is a world traveler with many connections in many countries including Egypt. A full room will be designated at the Seippel Arts Center to showcase her illustrious work. Polly will be on hand for book signings twice during the exhibit; once at the opening on Sunday, April 17th and again on May 1st . Polly will capture your attention not only with her artistic expressions but with her stories of working closely with the beautiful creatures captured in her lens.

Thanks in part to horse artist Leslie Zantow, BDAAA’s Exhibit Chairperson, and landscape artist Rod Hill, co-chair, this exhibit contains a variety of impressive media including pencil drawings, oil on canvas, watercolor, pastel, sculpture, pottery, and fiber art. Leslie Zantow of Cambria Friesland’s Duck Creek Arts Guild, previously immersed in equine art, has been able to bring about the participation of nationally recognized names in horse art. Artists exhibiting their work include Shari B Akers, Lynn Maderich, Terry Miller, Sharon Prestegard,Katherine Bogucki, Alecia Underhill, and Lynda Sappington to name a few. The Center is especially pleased to exhibit a bronze sculpture by internationally renowned artist, Edwin Bogucki. Some of the works displayed during our spring exhibit have mostly been found only with larger and more prominent galleries. This is a feather in BDAAA’s cap to have achieved the status of acquiring many pieces from such renowned artists.

Sponsors for the “Horse in Art” include the Beaver Dam Community Hospital promoting their upcoming Derby Day event on Saturday, May 7th. A display and tickets are available at the Seippel Arts Center to this one-of-a-kind recreation of the Kentucky Derby. Find out more by stopping in. Betty Singer, BDAAA Gift shop manager, has done a wonderful job in implementing ideal gifts for the horse lover during this unique exhibit as well. Regular hours of the exhibit are Wed-Sunday 1-4 pm or by appointment. For more information, please contact the Seippel Arts Center at (920) 885-3635 or email bdaaa@seippelcenter.com.

"The Horse in Art" Exhibit in April

2011-02-09T08:58:00.000-06:00

I've been working as show chair for the upcoming equine art exhibit "The Horse in Art" at the Seippel Center for the Arts. The exhibit will run from April 17 through June 5, 2011 with receptions on April 17 and May 1. The show will be featuring equine photographer Polly Knoll. Invites have been sent out to selected artists. This is starting to shape up as a very nice show. We will have artists from across the US making the show a top notch collection of horse art.

I am trying to spend more time in the studio, I have 4 paintings in process. This winter has been long, snowy and cold. Time for spring and a bit a sunshine. It seems to have been a very cloudy winter. The last few days are blue skies but subzero temps. Only 39 more days until spring, there is hope.

Art work and Other Thoughts

2010-12-13T06:11:00.002-06:00

Last month the annual Christmas art show at the Seippel Center was hung. The center is in Beaver Dam and will display the show until the end of this month. I have a few things on display, mostly small paintings and some cards. Next year I plan to have much more. I am steadily trying to get more paintings finished. I have a tendency to start 4 or 5 and then get hung up with one, go to the next, become inspired with another. Its a process and with the year of working of the house, the move and making sure Jack stays well.. there is little time. I need a New Year's resolution on focusing. I have a wonderful studio space upstairs and after the holidays I will be posting some new images on here. I have decided to change medium for my larger compositions. I will be painting them in oil, not colored pencil. I started out an oil painter in the 70's and gave it up because I got cancer after exposure to silk screen solvents in a poorly ventilated studio at the UW of Whitewater. 4 students got cancer that had worked in that studio, 2 died. Thankfully there is more awareness now on how dangerous the chemicals we work with are. Artists tend to take risks for the sake of art. I did also. Unfortunately it scared me away from painting. I never did like the feel of acrylics. The pencils were fun until I realized the hours of burnishing the pencil layers was becoming painful for my hands and wrists. I love the pencil, line the sharpness of it. But I also love the paint. I have 5 large paintings in process and am very excited about posting the finished work soon. I also am having fun painting my old farm animals and some landscapes. These are more painterly and really a lot of fun.
I will try to update more often. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

Duck Creek Art Show

2010-10-14T21:30:00.004-05:00

Finally, I just hung a show at the Cambria Library for the Duck Creek Art Guild. The show is up until October 30. We had a wonderful opening with lots of guests and great food. Next is the Seippel Center Christmas Gallery show coming up in November. I hope to have a number of new pieces in the show at the center. New paintings of sheep and chickens and more. Glad to be back and in the studio daily. Will be posting the paintings as soon as I get some photos..

Solo Show at the Seippel Center for the Arts in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin

2009-06-28T07:47:00.007-05:00

I was recently invited to exhibit my artwork at the Seippel Center for the Arts in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. The exhibit will be up throughout the summer. The center is opening their current theme show, Native American Art today with an art fundraiser on the lawn. I will be demonstrating drawing horses for the children this afternoon. This is a lovely old homestead in the middle of town and a wonderful venue for displaying art. Check it out. http://www.bdaaa.org/index.php
Check out my lists of links for a quick link to the Seippel Center for the Arts website.

AAEA Mackinac Island Invitational Exhibit

2009-04-15T09:33:00.006-05:00

I submitted these 3 drawings to the American Academy of Equine Art Invitational show,"Pulling Their Weight-Draft and Carriage Horses in Fine Art". The exhibition will be on display from July 1 through July 31, 2009 at The Mackinac Public Library in Mackinac, Island, Michigan. This is that great little island that does not allow any type of motor vehicle. Its all horse drawn carriages or bicycles. Also the site of the Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour movie, Somewhere in Time. Jack and I made a short stop on the island the weekend of his brother Thom's wedding. Was lots of fun taking the ferry over and enjoying the Grand Hotel. Its a gorgeous place to spend some time. Maybe we will get up there for the opening. Maybe we will go dancing....last night Jack said he had the urge to take me out dancing. ??????never in 35 years of marriage has he wanted to dance...ever...We are wondering if his new liver came from a guy who loved to dance. Hey this could be fun..I love dancing.

Chicken Drawing revisited and reworked, renamed......

2009-04-15T09:29:00.003-05:00

I love this chicken drawing, its from a photo I took of one of my hens. Actually its a combination of two different hens. She was coming out of the little chicken door on a sunny morning in March. I had to get rid of my chickens when we moved, I still miss them dearly. I didn't like the foreground in the drawing, so put in more darks and removed some of the bright light source. Redid the hen and hopefully made more sense of her feathers. I renamed the drawing "Alpha", doesn't she look like she could rule the roost? I am entering it again in the Birds in Art show hoping the the reworking does make it a better drawing.

New Drawing Finished

2009-04-15T09:23:00.004-05:00

This is a graphite drawing on Strathmore Bristol Paper. Its one of my entries for the Birds in Art exhibit at Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wi. I totally redid the drawing on different paper a week before the deadline. Glad I did, I made a mess of the Fabriano paper I had been using. I like the way it turned out. I wonder if the composition is a bit too simple, but then I do tend to go overboard with "stuff" in my drawings. Its called "Storm on the Rise". Its a Red Crowned Crane and the lake is the view from my window on Fox Lake. I love watching the full moon rise on the lake.

On the Road Again

2009-03-07T12:13:00.004-06:00

Went for a long wagon ride yesterday with Racki pulling most of the way on his own. Looking for Sandhill Cranes after hearing their calling from across the marsh. We all had fun, got stuck on a muddy hill and the walk was farther than I had intended. We all were happy and tired after our adventure

Jack on the Mend

2009-03-05T18:25:00.004-06:00

Getting better all the time...

Racki the model

2009-03-05T18:21:00.005-06:00

His eyes aren't right!

Trying to get the paint to stick.

2009-03-05T18:17:00.004-06:00

Not sure where I am going with this one. This is Cicely Wigs, a sheep I raised for wool and friendship. Sheep and chickens have a calming effect...I miss my creatures.

Warming up to Swans..just sketching

2009-03-05T17:38:00.003-06:00

Calling the Mares..almost finished.

2009-02-11T12:13:00.005-06:00

Another difficult drawing to finish. So much is going on, I like that but it also gets confusing to where I really want to go with it. The background building is what is left of the Melchoir Brewery in Trempealeau, Wisconsin. The ruins have been sitting along the Mississippi River for decades. It had been a hotel and a brewery. Only a skeleton is left of the the limestone walls. There still is a 30 foot cave behind the structure, which used to be for aging the brew.
The photo is a bit skewed. Too much rock I think.

Step 4 Sparrow Song WIP

2009-02-11T12:10:00.003-06:00

Hmmmmmm...not sure about the change.This one is a challenge.

Step 3 WIP Sparrow Song

2009-02-11T10:57:00.004-06:00

I've been working on this colored pencil drawing for a couple of years. Just can't seem to get my head back into it. I recently did a major overhaul, adding lots of white patches to the horses, hoping to add some excitement. Not sure if I succeeded or not. Back to the drawing board. I'll post the changes in a minute/

Sparrow Song, will I finally finish this piece???

2009-02-11T10:41:00.008-06:00

Its just too cold outside!

2009-01-24T18:34:00.003-06:00

Mural in Ohio..Las Vegas and on Tour for 2009

2009-01-19T08:32:00.006-06:00

I spent a weekend in October in Columbus,Ohio at the Quarterhorse Congress which hosted "Le Cadeau du Cheval" the horse mural project from Mural Mosaic.

Back on the way up

2009-01-18T08:06:00.004-06:00

Jack finally got his new liver on November 25, 2008. What a wild ride this has been. Not even space on the page to talk about what we have been through these last 2 years. Thankfully we finally got the call from the UW Transplant team in Madison that they had a match for Jack. So far everything is going well. The liver is working very well, Jack is feeling better and better each day. It will take a long time for him to get his strength back but its happenings slowly. Here's a pic of Grandpa Jack and Isabella Johanna at Christmas.

Panel Finished for Mural Mosaic Project

2008-06-29T09:58:00.006-05:00

This is panel 132 for the Mural Mosaic Project, Le Cadeau Du Cheval. This shows the before panel, which I think is the upper hind leg of the horse in the mother image. I did push it a bit, but we were given a 20% margin of darker, lighter or whatever in our creative choices in painting the panel. The theme for my panel is Sitting Bull's horses, Blackie and Bloated Jaw. I did quite a bit of research trying to find out about his horses. I read two biographies, searched endlessly on the web and all I could find was that someone gave him an impressive black stallion which he loved to ride into battle. But Bloated Jaw was considered his favorite mount. He was a sorrel he had taken from a white man. Bloated Jaw was extremely fast and handy in battle and wore the eagle feathers of a good war pony in his forelock. Bloated Jaw had a large lump somewhere on his jaw. After further research I found that the Nokota mustangs of the Dakotas trace their lineage back to Sitting Bull's horses.
The shield in the panel is a representation of Sitting Bull's shield. The image on it was given to his father in a vision. The shield was passed down after his death and there are actual drawings of Sitting Bull riding one of his ponies into battle, carrying this shield. Sitting Bull was a Medicine Man, a peace loving, family family who was considered one of the greatest chiefs of the Sioux. He was a Hunkpapa Sioux Chief who wanted to keep his people's land for his people to survive on. He was not war hungry for the sake of war with the white man. The Black Hills was a sacred place for the Sioux, the white man wanted it for the gold and the land. The story is long and heartbreaking with many deaths on both sides. Maybe we can learn something of value from the past, about our human nature, the depth of human spirit and go on as better people on our journeys. Not to repeat the past. We are at a time where we all need to reevaluate our lives and how we can move forward to make a saner world and leave a liveable earth for our children and grandchildren. I believe there are many lessons to be learned from other tribe's, other people's across the planet. Some of these are very simple yet so hard to acquire. We must learn to live with each other, to live with less and leave little damage behind us. To honor each other's lives. There needs to be a healing on this land for all the people's.

Le Cadeau du Cheval "The Horse Gift" Mural Mosaic Project

2008-03-28T22:42:00.008-05:00

I received an email today welcoming me into the "The Horse Gift" mural mosaic project. Check out the website at www.muralmosaic.com. Click on link for The Horse Gift on the top right side of the page. The artists are listed with samples of their artwork and links to their websites. Artists from all over the world will be participating in this project. Plans are in motion for the mural to be unveiled at the Spruce Meadows Masters competition in Calgary, AB, in September 2008.

A long and busy weekend

2007-06-04T11:06:00.000-05:00

I promised a picture of Raku aka Racki(pronounced Rocky)and his beloved bike. I cannot use the word bike, ride, trail, ready or harness without him having a fit. He loves his bike and has been amazingly repectful of its wheels and me when we are on the road. The dog/bike attachment is called a "Springer" and its about the best way to take your dog out for a run and feel pretty good about not losing your dog but still giving him a great way to exercise. Racki weighs close to 80 lbs and has not pulled me off balance to date. He has tried chasing a few squirrels and made some pretty sharp turns but it hasn't effected the bike at all. He loves it and its made him a more obedient dog. I like how he can be right by my side, so its more like him and me sharing the ride as a team. There are other dog/bike attachments that they call springers but the dog has to follow behind the bike. What fun is that? This one is made in Norway and used all over Europe and now the USA.

It was a busy weekend so I did not get any painting done. Mostly time spent in the garden and in rearranging space in the house and studio. This morning I cleaned off the crusted, dried paint from my palette and I'm ready to go. I have 8 small chicken paintings started. I'll post the pics once I feel good about the progress I'm making. In the meantime..... here are a few graphite drawings I've been working on this spring.
1) Rodeo Flow
This is from the Holmen High School Rodeo Finals from last September. It was pouring rain with everyone huddled in tents and under umbrellas to avoid the soaking. Not a good day to be out with a camera but I did get some good pictures, especially of the roughstock. There was this high tower stand right above the horses which was a perfect perch for taking pics of the broncs as they milled around in their pen. The drawing is approx. 7" by 11" and is one of my entries into the AAEA American Academy of Equine Art Fall Showcase in Lexington, Kentucky.
2) Sunlight on Feathers
This is another graphite on Fabriano Artistico rag paper and another entry into the AAEA Fall Showcase. Its almost square in shape, about 11" by 12" in size. The horse is a Gypsy Drum stallion I saw at the Midwest Horse Fair this spring in Madison, Wisconsin. What a great shot with all that lovely light on his feathers. This stallion was quite the character. His has his long, thick mustache and an attitude. What you don't see in the picture are the other two handlers, one having a whip in hand. He was kicking out at the hose and the water and not being the nicest boy. He is over 16.2 hands and a lot of horse to deal with.

Once in a blue moon

2007-05-31T18:17:00.000-05:00

Hey, tonight we will have a blue moon. A blue moon is a second full moon in the same month. Ever hear Nanci Griffith "Once in a Blue Moon" song? I've been digging for it all day long and can't get my hands on it. Seems it needs to be played today of all days. I'm hoping I don't forget there will be a blue moon tonight as the moon rising time approaches. Enjoy the moon!

Starting over again

2007-05-31T17:47:00.000-05:00

Here's to new ideas, fresh starts and a dog on a bike. Who's the dog? And what's that got to do with wwindhorses and making the paint stick? Beats me but I think it might work. Its been a real long dry spell in the paint for me. Oh, I've still been an artist but settled on grey pencils and colored pencils and pencils of all sorts. Add to that bags of soft wooly fleece thats been spun and woven and knit and stored away from the dozens of moths, filling way too much space in my closet and studio. Shelves of colored glistening glass packed upright in wooden frames waiting to be cut and soldered into window delights. But no paint, no real paint that was retired many decades ago into a safe place. I used to think of myself as a painter. I went to college thinking I was a painter and I left college thinking I was a painter. I loved it and breathed it and obsessed with it. I was told by my professors that I would be a hell of a painter someday. I knew how to move the paint around. All I knew is that it was a large part of my identity and I enjoyed it but the smell of the turp was starting to do me in. Then something happened and the paints were sealed up in the old metal tackle box and left for dead. I got cancer, most likely caused by all the fumes of paint, ink and solvents. Too many badly vented studios, university art rooms with air conditioning but no open windows and no venting fans and little awareness of what could cause Non Hodgkins Lymphoma in a young person. Many, many years ago and I'm still here and still wondering about how to make the paint stick. I've tried bringing the paint out over the years but my heart wasn't allowed to get back into it. Each time I tried, I pretended, I thought I could jump back in and recapture what I had once felt about the paint. No luck...I crawled back to the graphites, the wax pencils, the oil based pencils and the spinning wheel. This blog is to start over one more time with the paint and this time see it through and become a painter again. One more time...

Now about the dog and the bike. The dog is Racki alias Raku, a almost 2 year old Samoyed dog. I bought myself a bike, a girls bike, something I thought I would never be caught dead on. But I went to the sheriff's bike auction one fine spring day and the first bike I saw was the one I bid on and I won. Its a GT and has a good brand of shifter, gears and brakes. I had no idea what kind of bike I was bidding on but I lucked out. Even the tires were new. Since then I found something called a "Springer". Its a bike attachment for dogs. Its made in Norway but can be purchased over here for under 50 dollars. It allows the dog to run by your side as you bike, the large spring absorbs most of the shock from potential squirrel chases so you don't get knocked off the bike by the dog. Its great and Racki and I have logged lots and lots of miles together. He loves it. If he sees me touch the bike without him around he gets very upset. As far as he is concerned, this is his bike. Biking with your dog comes somewhat close to riding your horse. You've got this great companion to talk to and explore the fields and woods with. Your a team, you look out for each other and its fun. Soon to come, pics of Racki and me and the bike.