Summer Siesta 2 - detailed

8 X 8 Oil on board $125
Includes shipping and insurance

I did this earlier with a lot more paint & less detail in anticipation of this more detailed version. I like both for different reasons...which is an analogy of why I own more than 1 horse. Each has his own purpose and joy. One is easy going, BIG, in the prime of life, never gets in a hurry, gets along with everyone, but doesn't know much (Easy). Another is older, very well trained, sometimes challenging, can go after a cow if needed and tolerates greenhorns taking a lesson on her (PJ). And the youngest (third) never gets upset about being taught new things, is totally fearless and never spooks, and is on the small side so grandchildren can get on her in the pasture (Dandy).

I guess there is a horse out there that can do and be everything - and if I had $20,000 I MIGHT be able to find it - though tall/short and young/experienced are hard to get in one package! Hence the need for three....

Dandy modeled for this portrait, but I painted her more of a Bay than the seal brown that she actually is.

Matthew 22:20-21 ²⁰and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?"

²¹"Caesar's," they replied.
Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."

Media: oil
Size: 8 in X 8 in (20.3 cm X 20.3 cm)
Price: $125 USD

How to Purchase:

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

Afternoon Dandy - reworked

6 X 8 Oil on Linen panel $125
SOLD to a Colorado Collector

The is the same painting I posted a month ago, but I have reworked it because I didn't like the background - it just didn't work. I like it a LOT better now. I have several more that may get the same treatment.
I am in down time now - closet cleaning, planning the garden, food storing and making sausage (from a wild pig brought to me by a friend). So I am starting small projects that I know I can finish - good for moral!
Genesis 2:9
And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

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Dandy Coming At Ya - sunset afternoon horse running oil painting

8 X 10 Oil on linen panel $125

SOLD to a Texas Collector

This one is similar to another I painted recently - this time with the horse running to the viewer.
Is dry and will arrive in time for Christmas.
Join me tonight in Dallas at the Dutch Art Gallery on NW Highway from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. I will be bringing some new paintings and sharing stories with my collectors!
Philemon 1:6
I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.

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Price: $125 USD
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Afternoon Dandy

not available

Lately I have been working on large canvases and have gotten away from the little 'uns. But Dandy was SO pretty in the afternoon sun today, that I just couldn't resist her. We have had a couple light frosts and the pasture grasses are all different, brilliant colors. Dandy has begun to put on her winter coat, and is a rich, dark purpley, brown, black color that is nearly impossible to describe (or paint).
She isn't as big as I would have expected at 18 months, but she is still growing. My best guess is 13 1/2 hands (about 54 inches at the withers, for you non-horsey people). Momma PJ is right at 15 hands (60") and had nearly reached that height by the time she was 18 months. BUT I figure, if she stays short, then that just puts the ground closer and offers less gravity influence on my old bones...
I have an old light barrel racing saddle that I plan to place on her back soon. I promise a video of that event. I really don't expect a rodeo, but with horses, you can always expect the unexpected, so she might surprise us. I really think that she will simply turn around, look at it and give me her "Oh, well, what next?" look.
Stay tuned....
Genesis 1:25
God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

Looking for Spring

SOLD to a collector in Canada

I know it's February, but there is a touch of Spring in the air. Dandy can feel it and she's appears to be looking for it. All the horses are ready for green grass. Dandy is still quite fuzzy despite the 90+ degree temperature yesterday, and her dark coat reflects every color of the rainbow.

Yesterday was very warm, but the horses were acting as if it were a cold day - kicking and bucking. I saw them through the studio window and grabbed my camera as I ran out the door. I was wearing shorts and had my painting apron on. Easy stopped dead in his tracks and stared and stared - not recognizing me in shorts, I guess! I could have taken offense, but I just assumed he was blinded by my white legs! PJ was surprised, too, and took off bucking like a young athlete - which she is neither.

Today is supposed to turn cold again - hopefully the peach trees will resume their slumber.

Media: oil on gessoed masonite
Size: 8 in X 6 in (20.3 cm X 15.2 cm)
Price: $115 USD

How to Purchase:

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Price: $115 includes shipping and insurance in US
Overseas shipping available
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Foal Love

About This Painting:
Two of my favorite babies - daughter Merideth and filly foal Dandy. This is from the first time they met - and Dandy typically was fearless, and Merideth, typically, had her trusting her instantly.

Psalm 112:7

He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.

Media: oil on gessoed masonite
Size: 8 in X 6 in (20.3 cm X 15.2 cm)
Price: $115 includes shipping and insurance in US

How to Purchase:

Buy this painting on PayPal
Price: $115 USD
Or, send me an email

Show Me The Way

SOLD to a collector in Colorado
8 X 6 Oil on Canvas board $115
Includes shipping and insurance in U.S.

This is another deviation from my usual palette. Despite the purple, this painting is a little warmer than the ones where I use a lot of blue and green. Which is nice since we are expecting a cold night in the low 20's. There goes my spinach.....
Genesis 8:22
"As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease."

Dandy Dandelions

6 X 8 Oil on Canvas Board $115

Includes shipping and insurance in U.S.

I couldn't resist painting green grass today. It's winter outside, the pasture is dead, but I had this great photo of Dandy hanging around and begging to be painted. Think Spring.
We have passed the Winter Solstice, so the days are (theoretically) getting longer. That's the only thing that gets me through these winter months - knowing that tomorrow I will have about 2 more minutes of daylight. We lived in northern Illinois back in the early 70's and I remember the REALLY dark winter days - getting up and going to work in the dark and coming home the same way. REALLY depressing. And we weren't all the far north. Poor Canada! How do they endure it? Just knowing that summer WILL follow. Faith. It's how we all survive, isn't it?
Matthew 8:26
He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

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Price: $115 USD
Or, send me an email

Who's "It"?

SOLD to a California Collector
6 X 8 Oil on gessoed masonite $115
Includes shipping and insurance

This cold weather we have had lately makes the horses playful - especially while they are waiting for me to come feed them.
Georgia, the border-collie-wanna-be, has a morning routine that is fairly predictable. I get up first around 6:00 and go straight to the studio, Georgia on my heels. I immediately let her out, make coffee, start a fire, turn on the computer, and let the dog back in. Same routine, every morning (unless it's too warm for fire and I skip that step.) It's still dark out, so Georgia comes back in quickly and settles down in an arm chair in the studio and waits for Mike to get up. I then make breakfast for us and feed the dog. About 9:00 Georgia needs to go make her rounds and check on the horses. If I'm smart, I'll go out then, too and take my camera in anticipation of frisky animals. Of course my favorite subjects are Georgia and Dandy - they have their game of tag all worked out. Dandy knows that the teeth are only for show and Georgia knows how to avoid a well placed hoof (she's good at staying close to a fence line where she can duck under if the horse gets too close!)
I have heard of single horses becoming attached to dogs - they are both herd (or pack) animals and need the comfort that comes from associating with their own kind. I have heard of race horses that had goats for stable mates, too. Comfort comes in many forms, doesn't it?
Psalm 23:4
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Winter Coat

SOLD to a California Collector
5 X 7 Oil on Canvas Board $115
Shipping and Insurance included within U.S.

While I was painting on a large canvas today, Georgia hopped up into a chair to look out the picture window into the front pasture. We have moved the horses to the "North Pasture" for the winter. It's easier to feed them there, and they have the barn for shelter. Ron has moved his cows off, so now I watch horses instead of Longhorns out the studio window. And so does Georgia. And if one comes close to the house or barn, she thinks it's necessary to go out and check on them. Georgia saw PJ coming up to drink and wanted out to go check on her.
I obliged and let her out, and she immediately proceeded to try and start a game of tag with her. Dandy was behind her mom half way to the barn and immediately started running, thinking it was feeding time, I guess. I grabbed my camera and snapped a quick action shot. She is very fuzzy and shows no highlights when the sun shines on her. All her dense velvety fur absorbs sunlight (and heat, too, I guess) and reflects very little light. She must be very warm on sunny winter days. Her winter coat is nature's furnace....
Earlier today friends Pat and Ken stopped by to announce a milestone in their Financial Peace University class - they paid off their truck EARLY and are snowballing their horse trailer now. They are following the class instructions as well, if not better, than everyone, and I am so proud of them! Keep it up, Gazelles! They will be debt free in no time...
DON'T FORGET: Go HERE to bid on current paintings on eBay!
Psalm 12:6
And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times

Like Mother Not Like Daughter?

9 X 13 Oil on flat canvas $125
Check with me for availability

Little Dandy started out life the same color as her momma - bright sorrel. But as Spring and Summer passed, she morphed into the color of her grand-dam, Miss Jack, who was registered as brown, but turned a gorgeous black in winter. Children do that too - start out like one parent or another and suddenly they become like a grandparent, too. My mom has a creative, mathematical mind, and we share many traits. My daddy had a goofy sense of humor and a salesman's gift of gab. But my artistic genes come from my mom's mother, my grandmother who I called "Itee". It was Itee that first put a paintbrush in my hand and taught me how to draw and compose and manipulate oil paint. She was a teacher with an artist's soul who didn't actually start painting until she was middle aged. She's been gone for more than 20 years now, but I still have some of her old art supplies - including her student easels and her paint box. I like to think she watches me as I paint and smiles. Thanks, Itee, for the genes!
Proverbs 19:8
He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; he who cherishes understanding prospers.

Itchy Spring Foal

SOLD to a collector in Ohio
8 X 6 Oil on masonite $115
includes shipping and insurance in U.S. Overseas extra.

I have started several larger paintings this week and I'm waiting on the undercoats to dry a bit. I used to use acrylic paint to undercoat my paintings (years ago), but I had issues with "stickability". You are SUPPOSED to be able to paint oil on acrylic, but not the reverse. I have learned not to trust it either way.
At the end of my undercoating work, I always have extra paint left over and my little paintings are the result of me using up what's on my palette. This particular image is Dandy, of course, when she was about 2 months old and just beginning to lose her baby coat. It must have been pretty itchy, because I witnessed her contorting herself like this many times. Or maybe she was going after a fly. You may be beginning to recognize her from the goofy blaze on her face that I think looks like a can opener. And her long stockings.
SPECIAL NOTE to MERIDETH: Happy birthday to my adorable, talented, creative, smart and beautiful daughter. Thanks to you, I spent Thanksgiving 1983 in the hospital!!!!! It's been a wonderful 25 years watching you become better than I ever hoped to be. You make my heart proud. I love you.
Matthew 12:33
"Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.

Waterhole Buddies

24 X 20 Oil on Canvas $960
Includes shipping and insurance

There is something appealing about horses in water and I hope to get more images like these this weekend. I am attending a photo shoot designed for western artists. There will be horses and cattle and people in period costumes and native Americans and tepees and wagons and.... It's a 3 day event and you can tell I am excited. PLUS the weather is supposed to be cooperative - which is good because this will happen rain or shine, dawn till dusk.
This painting is not actually finished - there are a few more tiny details to add, and I will post the completed painting on my website. If you go there, you can sign up and be notified when I post new paintings. If you are tired of being inundated with messages from this blog, you may prefer the website because I usually post several paintings at a time and only the better ones. You won't get as many e-mails (but you also may miss some of the little paintings, so think before you change!).
Dandy update: Dandy has a big old belly - like babies get when they eat and eat and eat! Her best friend is my friend/trainer Trista's Gizmo, and it looks as if he will spend his winter here (yea!). They eat together and sleep together and play together. Both are getting really thick, fuzzy coats. Dandy has Giz beat in the mane growing department (but she's 6 weeks older, too), but Giz is still a little taller. He knows more, too, thanks to Trista's early training. But yesterday I taught Dandy to lunge on a lead line in about 5 minutes. Stop, turn, come to me, no problem. I even got her to trot and lope a little bit. I can't wait to ride this horse!
For those who are interested, Gizmo is a registered American Sport Horse. He is 1/2 Quarterhorse and 1/2 Oldenburg. He has passed his exam with flying colors and been approved for registry and I suspect he will make a superior eventing horse. These two are so alike in temperament, it's uncanny. When Trista and I selected the studs for our mares, we both considered temperament first and then went for conformation, color, etc. And both sires are famous for easy-going, willing natures whose foals practically train themselves who also sire foals with outstanding eye appeal. If I breed PJ again, I will go back to Banjo, Dandy's sire, for sure.
John 19:30
When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

All in the Family

7.5 X 12 Canvas on 3/4 inch board $125
Includes shipping and insurance within US
SOLD to a collector in California

I thought you might enjoy seeing how I put a particular painting together: four separate pictures of my animal family into one painting. This is also an experiment in mounting canvas on board. The board is a leftover piece of pre-fab shelving; very heavy and 3/4 inch thick. I like the heft of it and the fact that it shouldn't warp at all. I am going to try the same technique on masonite for comparison. I probably could buy the same product for very little more, but I like the fact that I am not restricted to a certain size - or have to cut something to fit the size I need - or wait for an order to arrive. Some paintings demand to be a certain dimension and no ready-mades will do.
A little more information on the upcoming BIG SALE. All little paintings that have not sold (or are not in galleries) as of November 1 will be available for half price for TWO WEEKS. Some of the ones I have painted recently will be going to a gallery next week, if they haven't sold for the original price here first. I will mark them "unavailable" on both the Daily Painter website and and here on my blog. PLEASE e-mail me first before you PayPal me, to be SURE the painting you want is still available. The yellow rose that was posted a couple days ago has sold - and it WAS going to a gallery, so that collector was smart to jump on it quickly!
Matthew 23:4
They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. (Was he speaking of politicians??!! dl)

Horse Update

No painting today - I have been horsing around!
Little Dandy got separated from her momma today, per vet's instructions. Easy is 16 hands tall, and as you can see, Dandy is pretty big by comparison - especially for a 4 1/2 month old foal. Vet says she's growing too fast and so we cut her off from Momma's milk and are giving her grass hay only and supplemental minerals. Don't worry - she won't starve! If she's anything like her momma (and she is EXACTLY like her momma), she'll stay fat on dirt. But maybe we can give her tendons a chance to catch up with the rest of her.
By the way, in case you can't tell, she has shed all her red baby fur and is the color of a chocolate hershey bar, so she'll be registered as a brown paint. By next spring her coat will glisten a seal brown and she'll be even prettier than she is now.
Genesis 4:4
But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,

Safety in Momma's Shadow 3

5 X 7 Oil on Masonite $115
includes shipping and insurance
SOLD to a California Collector

I didn't think I would get to paint today. As a result of this year's New Years Resolution to get up-to-date on medical check-ups, I had a colonoscopy this morning. The procedure was a snap - the preparation was awful. I had no problem not eating all day yesterday, but the laxative and resulting you-know-what was dreadful. Thankfully everything was fine (and I have pictures to prove it!) and I won't need this done again for 10 years. I have a feeling I won't do it EVER again! But I must admit that it's a relief to know I am OK. I had a dear friend pass away last year due to colon cancer, and I'm sure it was a lot less pleasant than the procedure I just experienced. There, I just talked myself out of complaining any more...God Bless you, Mary Ann. We miss you.
One of the nice things about my studio is a big picture window looking our over the pasture. When the cows come up to nap under the trees, I always see them. Yesterday morning when they came up, I dashed out to take MORE pictures (I can hear their bovine brains thinking "Not HER again. SMILE, ladies!") One by one, I plan to paint each Momma with her baby. This is number 2. In my opinion, the first cow was the prettiest. This one is the smallest with the tiniest heifer calf, and she's really skiddish - hard to get close, so I have to use the zoom lens.
This afternoon Merideth and I went out to get some new pictures of the horses, and of course the dogs came with us for a chance to play. Easy has become the Uncle Babysitter and Dandy looks to him for protection as much as her mother. PJ is fine with the arrangement - so much so that while we were playing, she continued to graze 100 yards away - totally unconcerned with us playing with her baby.
First Georgia chased the horses, then the horses chased her, then they all ran together.
I don't know if you can tell, but Dandy is changing colors. She is losing the reddish colored baby fur and underneath she is a dark-almost-black. I will probably have to register her as a brown paint, because she isn't a true black, but she will appear black if I keep her out of the sun - like her grand-dam, Miss Jack.
Isaiah 30:23
He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows.

Learning to Dance With Four Feet

20 X 24 Oil on Stretched canvas
Contact Artist for Price

When Dandy was first learning to walk, she treated her legs as if they were abstract glued on appendages. Her first attempt to lay down after her first meal was hilarious. One leg would buckle and then straighten up. Then another. Finally she could stand no longer and just flopped down.
The first time she ran was even funnier. She careened into her momma and the sides of her stall. When she got a chance to really run in the pasture, there was no stopping her - except when she stalled out and studied her legs as if to question what they were and how they worked. It was as if she was at a dancing studio and leaning the two-step (or in her case the four-step!).
She didn't give up, though (obviously), and now she runs like a gazelle. Practice make perfect. Well, not always PERFECT, but practice does improve. And that's what I'm trying to do here. Practice, practice, practice. And I'll be happy with whatever little improvements I think I'm making.
My studio is nearly finished, but so many little details are left. And I have a huge pile of really bad to mediocre little paintings that I would love to burn just to get them out of here. Some I have already gessoed over so I can paint something entirely new.
I have also discovered that there is a HUGE difference between paint brands - both in consistency, speadability and pigment content and mixture. You would not believe the difference between Ultramarine Blue among 3 major paint suppliers. I need to establish some consistency here.
One of my favorite instructors told me 2 years ago: "If you devote 5 years to really studying and painting and learning, you could become a really good artist." I am nearly halfway there....
Psalm 23:4
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Learning to Eat Grass

6 X 8 Oil on Masonite $125
SOLD to California Collector

We are still working on the roof - outside stuff while the weather cooperates. I expect we'll be inside next week with the predictions of rain. Meanwhile, I paint what I can with limiting what I can move into the studio.
I mailed out several paintings today - hoorah! Now I must paint again....
Dandy is growing in leaps and bounds and is learning to eat like her Momma. At first she would pluck large grass stems and mouth them, letting them fall from her lips. Now she is actually consuming them - and searching for those stems that have tasty seed heads. She is not yet the mowing machine that her momma is, but she is quickly learning.
I go out every evening around 6:00 to let them out of their pen and graze the lush grass behind the barn. PJ immediately strolls to the best grazing, lowers her head and commences to mow. Dandy leaps and runs and twists and gyrates and then follows her momma's lead in eating. When I walk them back through the gate into their pen, it's a real challenge to get Dandy to follow in and stay. You can tell she would much rather remain in the midst of the tasty pasture!
Exodus 34:28
Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.