One day weekend

The end is in sight, but right now, my life is all about my job.

I worked a longer than usual shift yesterday, and tomorrow and most of next week will be more of the same.

It is what it is.

Today, however, I did not work.

Instead, I spent the morning with Sage...

and the afternoon with my NaReViMo pony.

I'm still fighting the good fight, but truth be told, I probably won't finish her this month. There's just too much other stuff going on.

It is what it is.

I also chose the winner for the milestones giveaway. Congratulations, Shannon C. Please contact me privately (braymere@comcast.net) to claim your prize.

Thank you to everyone who leaves comments on my posts. I don't always respond - sorry! - but I really enjoy reading them.

Slow progress

Yesterday was another long studio day. 

On this side at least, Zara is beginning to come together.

I got a little lost in the dapples on the other side and ended up painting over most of them. Two steps forward, one step back.

Detailing is my favorite part. When I was feeling discouraged about the dapples, I moved on to working on her face. This part I'm happy with!

Today and tomorrow are work days. I probably won't touch those dapples again until Saturday. That's still okay. Slow progress is still progress!

And on the eighteenth day...

I painted!

In the paint: M-a-a-a

Last November, I finished painting my Lisa Smalley LaMancha goat.

I planned to finish her Nubian sister, too. I got this far before being distracted by the chaos that was December.

I picked her up again during NaMoPaiMo, and this week - finally! - I decided to buckle down and finish her.

I wish the pictures weren't so dark. I haven't been able to get the lighting right since I set up the new photo table in the basement. 

You're just going to have to trust me when I say her face is actually really cute.

Here she is with Goat Dear, both before...

and after.

Life is kind of stressful right now, but I am finding comfort in the paint. Hopefully, I'll have a few more finished things to share before the month is over.

In the paint: Olive

You may have noticed, there's a new Olive in the Garden...

This one was painted by me. 

I started her a couple days before we got the official news at work. At this point she was on her way to being the best - albeit the smallest and flattest - chestnut I'd ever painted.

Then, disaster struck.

Yep, I ended up with one of those glittery cans of Dullcote. Even worse, it took me two separate sprays to figure out why my medallion was getting more and more glittery.

After a quick consultation with Corina, I was able to work through the worst of the issue. In the process of that, Olive ended up a little darker and little less red. I liked her better before, but this is fine. I didn't paint her brand. She's so small, I'm not sure I can do it justice. Plus, I'm not emotionally prepared for another disaster.

The background depicts a crisp, Colorado spring day with both snow and flowers. I had so much fun with this, I painted the sides, too!

All of the Olives!

Of all the collections within my collection, this is one of my favorites. I really hope I'll have a couple more new additions to share sooner rather than later.

NaMoPaiMo to the rescue, part two

Earlier this month, Meg Schroeder posted a video of her NaMoPaiMo model in progress, which showed off some impressive hair by hair detailing in the flank area.

Some impressive hair by hair horse flank detail, which is a problem because she's painting a Stone Horses mule.

Once again it was NaMoPaiMo to the rescue! Within an hour or two, Canadian artist, Darynn Bednarczyk had typed up this informative little piece about the difference between horse, donkey and mule hair growth patterns. 

More Than Just Ears: Different Hair Growth Pattens in Horses, Donkeys and Mules

by Darynn Bednarczyk

I wanted to post something about this because I am seeing an influx of both mule artwork and hair by hair methods gaining popularity. I have been nerding out over the horse hair growth pattern for months now and am trying to provide accurate reference material for hair growth in our painting processes!

I have recently noticed a difference and variance in both horse, donkey and mule hair growth in the flank area.

Horses have a very clear 'D' shape in their flank, which extends sometimes across the abdomen. I have been heavily focusing on this in my recent appaloosa painting classes as spots and patterns will follow this. You can see the change of direction and the flow of that following the body of the horse.

Donkeys appear to have no flank change in direction. The hair just flows over the body, towards the ground.

When you cross a donkey with a horse, you get a mule with the flank pattern as expected. A smaller almost 'cowlick' section that can vary in height and position but is often much thinner. It also seems to rest higher up the flank, not making contact with the lowest point of the flank skin. While the rest of the hairs seems to flow similarly to that of a donkey.

Meg took the information and ran with it.

Her mule is looking fabulous.

NaMoPaiMo is all about community, education and art. Thank you, Meg and Darynn. You're both awesome.

Quick tips: Warm whites

I most of yesterday working on my model. She is almost ready for detailing, which includes - among other things - eyes, hooves and white markings. Just in time for that is this short but sweet tutorial from Grace Bisnath. Thanks, Grace!

Warm Whites

by Grace Bisnath

The end of February is quickly approaching, and many of us may be at the point of painting whites. I wanted to share a method and mix that works well for me. Hopefully it is helpful to someone! 

The first photo shows a comparison of a stark, plain white straight from the bottle (on the left) vs my custom mix warm white (right.) Both are thinned. The warm white may look too tinted when mixed, but it looks natural when painted on your model.

My custom mix is mostly white, a touch of khaki, and some white Earth Pigment.The pigments dry the mix out, so make sure to thin, incorporate, and somewhat "mash" it around until smooth and the consistency of milk. Be sure to check the consistency often and thin as needed..I do not have ratios for this mix - you just kind of have to feel it out!

I add the earth pigments because I feel it helps with opacity, is a bit less streaky, and looks more creamy.

Whirlwind, the MFT, and the black rabicano are all examples of completed pieces with the warm white mix. The Athenian Lady is in progress. You can see the difference between the stark white currently on Liefde (the Zebra) vs the others. I hope this helps!

Thanks, Grace! I know a lot of people - myself included - will find this very helpful!

NaMoPaiMo day thirteen

The first NaMoPaiMo was held in 2017.

I painted a Carissa Kirksey Aggie resin.

I wrote a lot of posts about my finishwork journey.

So,

so,

so many!

I documented every step, every setback, every triumph.

Doing so felt important. Vital, even.

I did also put a lot time and energy into running the event, but really, 2017 was all about painting for me.

Boy, have things changed! In recent years, my focus has shifted more and more from painting to admin.

I still paint, of course, but I don't talk about much. Last year, my NaMoPaiMo pony only made it into three posts.

He was fun to paint, and I like him. I just no longer think my personal model is an important part of the overall event.

Prior to this post, I've shared just one picture of my 2026 NaMoPaiMo model.

There are two reasons for this. The first is that I no longer feel like my personal project is an important part of the overall event. More significantly, however, I was quite unhappy with the way my foal looked. Last night, I went to bed planning to strip and start over. This morning, I decided to give her another chance. I sat down at my desk, mixed up some paint and went to work.

I didn't start taking pictures until I'd fixed the worst of the problems. That's too bad. The before was really dreadful and should have been captured for posterity.

There's still a lot of work to do, but I'm glad I didn't strip her. For the first time I can - kind of - see the Olive in Pimento. 

Alicja Gąsior also woke up this morning feeling less than pleased with her NaMoPaiMo project. She writes: Day 13 began with the conclusion that I really don't like this horse. He is not finished and not ugly, but definitely past the famous "ugly stage". And yet, I really didn't like him.

From the beginning I had a very clear vision of how he should look. And I got it, my picture perfect model, exactly how I pictured him. Except he just... didn't feel right, didn't feel like the version of Atlas I had in mind. 

So back to the drawing board I went. I decided to merge whatever I had going on on my model already with bits and pieces of what I originally had in mind.

It helped a lot. Now after a brief mental breakdown I'm back to really liking this horse. He is a good reminder sometimes plans need to be changed and that's alright.

Thank you so much for sharing that, Alicja! I'm so glad you were able to pivot and make the necessary changes to get your model back on track. He looks great, and you are the NaMoPaiMo Champion of the Day. Congratulations and good job to everyone who worked on their models today. I know it isn't always easy, but if we just keep going, good things can happen!