They're off!

The jockeys are off again!

Yesterday (shortly before the Kentucky Derby was run), I was delivering eight of these jaunty fellows to the Women Painters of Washington show titled "Wonder" at the Columbia Tower Gallery in Seattle, WA.

Some of the paintings from the show are above. The canvas size for each of the paintings is 16" x 8". All are original oils on canvas, and naturally all of them are framed in the same lovely dark espresso colored frame.

Magazine Cover

A couple of weeks ago the Washington Thoroughbred magazine came with my painting "Working Out" on the cover. That's the result of my having won the Washington Thoroughbred Publication award at the 2008 Equine Art show.

Just thought I'd show it off.

A Jockey a Day

Here's another of these fellows that I have painted for Parklane Gallery in May. Again he's very close to completion, but still needs a couple of more strokes, and of course the signature.

All the reference photos for the jockey series I took last summer at Emerald Downs racecourse. I look forward to racing starting in April so that I can go back and get some more photos. They've been a blast to paint.

As before this jockey is for sale, and won't screw anything up if he goes to a new home before May when he's due at the gallery, because I have several of these paintings I'm working on, and probably more than I need for the gallery show in May. The price (before he gets to the gallery) is $250.00, and includes a custom wood frame, but not shipping.

If your a new viewer to my blog, this is an original oil painting on canvas. All the jockeys are the same size 16" x 8" (this is the unframed canvas size).

The Jockeys

Come up to the lab and see what's on the slab . . . er easel. I have to confess I was playing that soundtrack the other day when working on my new series. While the jockeys may be tan there is no blonde hair ;-).

This is the first in a new series I'm working on. They'll be shown at Parklane gallery in May. I have been enjoying painting the bright colorful silks immensely. I've chosen to do almost all of the jockeys from the back with the exception of a couple of side views. I made this decision on purpose because if I were doing them from the front, their faces would automatically be the focal point, which is not what I was going for. To me it's all about the posture, and the beautiful silks. What are they doing? What are they thinking? I find I am really drawn the to mystery of figures from the back. They capture my interest. B.C. Nolan, a fine artist who also paints many figures from the back expresses it much more eloquently -- but naturally I can't find that article when I want to. So I'll just have to leave it by saying it was a conscience decision.

This painting is done except for the signature, which I'll get done this week. So in the meantime I've got the copyright mark across the bottom.

They are for sale, each painting in the series is 16" x 8" and they are framed. The price for each one is $250.00 (plus shipping). Plus they do not need to be purchased as a set. I will probably have prints made of them, but do not have a final decision on that yet.

If you wish to purchase one of these fellows you can contact me directly until they are at the gallery (in May). After that they maybe purchased by contacting Parklane via their website at www.parklanegallery.com.

Morning Workout

Recently my daughter's pony club made a field trip to the race track. We had a blast watching everything, including the morning workouts, and I took pictures like mad. As you folks have seen before I like to crop my images close. I really like the visual interest and tension it gives to a piece. Much less static than having horse and rider centered in the middle of the canvas, with a lot of space around.

This painting is all about the rider, not the horse. Earlier in this blog when I did "Andalusian Dressage" it was the opposite, about the horse not the rider. "Working Out" is entered in an art show next month, therefore it is not available for purchase right now. But I can always do something similar if you're interested, or contact me in the end of July, and I can tell you if this piece is available.

This painting really shows the size of the horse, versus the size of the jockey. Later I'll post another of the pieces headed for the show next month. It's that green ball and the young stallion again, he was just too much fun to paint.

Working Out 18" x 36" oil on canvas