Patience is a Dude Ranch Horse

8 X 10 Oil on Gessoed Masonite Board $125

This painting is SOLD

We are just home from our yearly trip to Cuchara, Colorado, and I admit to once renting a horse there. It wasn't as much fun as I thought it would be...we had to walk in line, nose to tail, and we weren't allowed to take photographs (my MAIN reason for going in the first place!) I did sneak my little pocket camera out a couple times, though, at the risk of having to walk home!
Those trail horses are the epitome of patience - and they have to be very special to put up with an assortment of people, all sizes and levels of competence. Of course, one really doesn't have to know how to ride to participate - just stay in the saddle and the animal will do the rest. A horse in front of me did startle at a baby elk barely hidden in the grass right next to the trail, though, and I was truly impressed with the young lady who managed to stay upright and not lose her seat (and was secretly glad it was her and not I on the suspicious mount!)
It's over 105 here in central Texas again today with no rain in sight - and Abbey-the-cow is due to calve any minute. Her udder is quite full and her belly tight. Right now she is as far from the front studio window as she can get - under a copse of Mesquite trees. I am using the binoculars every hour to make sure she is OK. Hopefully she'll calve at night, and I can get the calf under cover before the heat of day tomorrow.
We have a new puppy...and Georgia has a wrestling buddy...more on this later!
Luke 21:19
In your patience possess ye your souls.

If you are interested in this painting, click here to send me an email. I accept checks and Paypal. I can also arrange LAYAWAY. To view my latest paintings on Daily Painters go HERE. To view larger paintings, go to my Website HERE. To view a wealth of OTHER Texas Artists, enjoy THIS site!

Don't Fence Me In

Don’t Fence Me In

8X10 Oil on Masonite Panel $125

Includes Shipping and Insurance

For the past three weeks we’ve been in Colorado on our yearly escape from the Texas heat, and I am happy to announce that I have been painting again – and I HOPE to continue it now that we are back.

As usual, I took my minimum paints, brushes, solvents and canvases/boards. I neglected, however, to pack my wet canvas carriers! I paint with traditional oils, and they take a LONG time to dry – so the camper ended up with little cut-off box bottoms holding individual wet canvases. Fortunately most fit in the space over the cabinets – kinda out of the way - but still a concern during travel. All survived, and I will be sharing my favorites over the course of the next couple weeks. (This painting has a bit of Colorado stuck in the paint, but it will be removed once I get it home! - OR you may just wish to leave it there for interest!)

This first one is a scene we see as we leave Road Canyon Lake, heading away from Thirty Mile Campground, near Creede, Colorado. I added the horse and decided that he, like many of us, resent fences and rules, but we do the best we can within the confines we are given.

The fishing at Road Canyon Lake was great, as usual. I ate fish every one of the 11 days we were at Thirty Mile Camp – some caught in the Reservoir on the Rio Grande above the campground and some caught in the Lake below. I even hooked a very nice Brown Trout in the Rio Grande where it runs through River Hill Campground, just below Thirty Mile. I expect the gills I grew while there will come in handy when we visit Merideth and Garrett who have recently moved to Bay City!

Exodus 13:21
By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.

If you are interested in this painting, click here to send me an email. I accept checks and Paypal. I can also arrange LAYAWAY. To view my latest paintings on Daily Painters go HERE. To view larger paintings, go to my Website HERE. To view a wealth of OTHER Texas Artists, enjoy THIS site!

Wind Runner 3

6 X 6 Oil on Linen $100
Includes Shipping and Insurance in US

Cold day in Paradise - ice on the sidewalks did not melt today and tonight is gonna be colder. I am enjoying the excuse to stay inside and paint this image which reminds me of the joy I get when I ride a running horse.
I almost ruined the afternoon by tuning into Talk Radio on XM. First the Conservatives then the Liberals. BOTH incite me to riot, so I guess they all need to be taken off the air, huh? Actually, the Liberal radio personality (RANDI RHODES) makes me want to kill something more than the conservative Glenn Beck. So I guess she is the one who needs to be removed first.
Folks, your First Amendment Rights are being threatened by all this controversy. The Talk Nazis want to squash your ability to voice your opinions about anything they don't agree with. The tragedy in Arizona is just that - a tragedy. A sad, mentally ill young man lost control - and he wasn't inspired to take up a gun by anything other than the voices in his own head. He didn't listen to the radio anyway (maybe THAT would have PREVENTED him from going berserk - the conservatives stress NOT being militaristic!)
Keep praying, oh ye faithful...

Buy this painting on PayPal
Price: $100 USD
Or, send me an email

Exodus 10:7
Pharaoh’s officials said to him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the LORD their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?”

Apart From the Crowd

12 X 24 Oil on Canvas
SOLD to an Indiana Collector

OK - this is one of my few (yeah, sure) political/social/personal statement paintings. From an artist's point of view, I have always been a little skewed from the rest of the world. Likewise politically speaking. I have, however, managed to be diplomatic and keep friends in my life. So which horse do you think is me?
If I paint this again, I will make all the horses plain sorrels and me a flashy palomino! Or perhaps the reverse...I will be the plain one and the others will be paints and/or palominos. Which leads me to my bucket list...item number 22: Own or breed a palomino horse like Trigger. I have just about written that one off. Color DOES NOT define "good" horses and I have owned one very good horse in my life, and for that I am immensely grateful. She's gone now, but I still have her daughter and granddaughter. I should be satisfied...SHOULD. But I would still love a palomino...(or a buckskin like "Buttermilk" and then I could pretend I was Dale Evans).
If you are interested in this painting, contact me quickly - it will be in the Dallas Show at the Dutch Art Gallery starting November 1.
Psalm 22:26
The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the LORD will praise him— may your hearts live forever!

Siesta 3

8 X 10 Oil on Canvas Board $125
Includes shipping and insurance in US

I was sent this image by a horse breeder in Oklahoma after I admired a picture on her Facebook page. I don't normally use other people's photos, but this shape was just too nice. In actuality, the foal is a palomino, but I found myself thinking Santa Fe colors and so it evolved.
Today was a restful day, even though I spend nearly all of it in the studio. Garden was too muddy to work (now THOSE are nice words!) and I finished up several large works that are heading to a gallery next month. AND I shipped off a commission that I left drying while we were gone for 2 months.
Life is good.
John 13:5
After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

Buy this painting on PayPal
Price: $125 USD
Or, send me an email

Shaggy Winter Coat- small abstract horse painting

6 X 6 oil on canvas panel $100
Includes shipping and insurance

Let's face it, shiny horses are more fun to paint than shaggy ones - at least for me. But all my "models" are really shaggy right now. And with the exception of a few tufts of rye grass, there's no green grass to be seen, either. Winter is in full swing - and the rainy background has returned to Texas. A slight drop in temperature will turn the drizzle to ice and/or snow. I welcome the moisture still, but am missing the sun. THIS IS TEXAS!!!! It's supposed to be sunny! There's just no pleasing us, is there????? At least my garden's winter greens are doing REALLY well - we eat fresh spinach and Swiss chard nearly every day. And this Spring (number 3 since planting) we get to EAT asparagus instead of watch it grow into ferns. SO much to look forward to....
2 Peter 3:12
as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.

Buy this painting on PayPal
Price: $100 USD
Or, send me an email

Wind Blown - abstract running horse

6 X 8 Oil on Canvas panel $115
SOLD

In between letting layers of the "Big Commission" dry, I am playing with paint on small panels. This is another image inspired by Tuffy, the Napoleon complex buckskin paint. Obviously, this is not his real color, but this IS the way he moves - head high, ears up and a lot of leg action. I never tire watching him.
Yesterday was NOT a good day - I wiped off two painting. Poof - gone. Just couldn't seem to get it together. Should have stuck with painting the pantry shelves - better results and much more satisfying!
Today is better, despite the brutal cold. Temperature is in the teens, so there is no urge to venture outside at all. Little wood stove is glowing, kitty is curled up in the chair and Georgia periodically sticks her nose out and goes, "uh, uh." I have to shove her out to go to the bathroom. She must have a huge bladder!
Don't forget to send me your WELL LIT horse photos for consideration. I am still planning on painting 28 horses in 28 days in February. E-mail them to me at debbiegraysonlincoln@yahoo.com.
Acts 3:19
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.

Or, send me an email