NaReViMo class of 2026

I may not have finished my NaReViMo horse, but a lot of other people did. Here's a look at a few of the members of the class of 2026.

Sue Rowe completed not one, but two, horses. She writes: Old school, old school, old school! Lying - ha! My first repaints (1971) were done in oils, photographed while still wet, and wiped off to as OF as they could get. That’s one way to create a photo show string! I don’t recommend it. 

These two are acrylic over gesso. Baby was going to remain unhaired. But I couldn’t resist! So… OLD SCHOOL - well, not quite. Old School would be gluing Fake Fur with backing still in place on top of plastic mane and tail. The fibers on these are mohair and/or ramie. 

No names yet. Open to Sunshine prefix suggestions. All the spotted folks here are Sunshine (something). Ain’t breakin’ with tradition now.

Grace Bisnath was another two horse superstar. She says: This was my first time participating in NaReViMo. It was great to get into a different mindset and paint more freely, not worrying so much about hyper-realism!

The appy was intended as a test piece, but I ended up doing them side by side. Both are done in hand-painted acrylic, making various mixes from only about 4 base colors. My main focus was a technique observed in the work of several vintage artists to use gestural layered brush strokes to mimic wrinkles and/or hair texture, and more dark defined lines for musculature, m/t grooves and the like. I also used a mix of wet and dry brushing to paint the illusion of coat shine, though I did hold back a little for fear of doing "too much". However, I do like the end results very much. Markings were kept a little more simplistic and not too detailed.

This was a great experience, and I look forward to next year!

Stacey Kianese painted her model in just two hours, with craft paint and sponge for roan affect. Amazing!

Talk about a blitz, she jokes.

Malia writes: I did it! I may have finished at 7:40 on the last day but...

This is a G3 standing thoroughbred - twenty years old this year, which is somehow terrifying - painted in gesso and acrylics to a flaxen chestnut semi leopard.

I honestly love the gritty texture this guy has and how much I had to struggle to get the color right. He was supposed to be a palomino but had other ideas! I love the way he came out.

I haven't painted in almost ten years, so it was very nice to jump back in with something "low stress" that I made stressful anyway. lol.

Here's Shannon Rodgers' model, a Swaps painted in true retro vintage style. His name is I'm The Bad Guy.

Jamie Heiberger's model is called Lady Sunshine. She says: I really LOVE this mold with the seams fixed up and a nice paint job. I could totally see myself getting more of these in the future to paint. She is so worth the Herculean amount of effort it took to fix her up. She has so much sculpting medium that she's kind of heavy and feels expensive.

And the best part? Now she gets to reunite with baby Scooter! I can't wait to put them in some Mare and foal fun classes in photo shows!

Kelly Weimer writes: Finished! “Yacht Rock” was inspired by the kind of horse I wanted in the mid-1980’s as kid - a dapple gray Arabian! My plans were high white stockings on all, but that white paint sure did show all of his mold flaws, so I changed at the last minute. I used brushed acrylics with a lot of wet on wet technique and evened it out with thinned coats on pieces of makeup sponge.

Of course, this round-up would not be complete without looking at event host, Sarah Minkiewicz' glorious Sebastian.

This is, of course, a completely reimagined but still recognizable Breyer "bubble-butt" Belgian.

He is absolutely glorious.

Congratulations, Sue, Grace, Stacey, Malia, Jamie, Kelly and Sarah. Your horses are all amazing. And thank you, Sarah, for hosting such a fun and inspiring event!