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Monday, March 11, 2024

Minis painting minis

Every year, I try really hard to cover as many NaMoPaiMo stories as possible. I think I did an especially good job in 2024, and yet, I somehow haven't talked about NaMo's "little sister" event, Minis Painting Minis.

Organized by Lynne Penner and her team of wrestlers, Minis Painting Minis is a small scale version of NaMoPaiMo.

Dolls..

photo by Jay Linds

small animals...

photo by Ilana Ostrar

and other less-than-human-scale beings sign up to paint a model during the month of February.

photo by Melissa Addison

The results are every bit as weird...

photo by Crystal Rowland

and wonderful as you would expect.

photo by Jill Webb

And you know what?

photo by Ellen Kennedy

Some of these minis are really good painters!

photo by Kim Brandner

Also, while I don't have the stats to back this up, I suspect the minis have a better completion rate than their larger NaMoPaiMo counterparts.

photo by Shannon Rodgers

Although I have plenty of minis that would love to paint, I've learned the hard way that I do not have the time to participate.

photo by Sharon Killcoyne

I just don't.

photo by Carrie Sloan Meyer

Still, I'm really glad Lynne and company have kept this going.

photo by Shannon Tostanoski

The next couple posts will follow the painting journeys of some of this year's most accomplished mini painters. Keep painting, tiny friends!

Sunday, March 10, 2024

The pretenders

Ask any performance shower, the best horse is the one that can do everything.

I wanted that in my real horse, too, but then I chose Olive.

I love her, but she's not going to do everything.

It's okay. Sometimes pretending is to do things is good enough.

In the two plus years we've been together, Olive has done a lot of pretending.

I can't say that she's actually mastered any of the skills associated with these tack sets...

maybe this one!

...but she looks cute in everything.

And really, that's all that matters, right?

Karen's new Icelandic horse came with an Icelandic halter. She hung it on the outside of her stall, and I started having ideas.

The ideas were not so much about the halter, but about Icelandic tack on my decidedly not Icelandic horse. She already had the bridle, Karen had a saddle... One thing led to another, and this happened.

Technically, she should have a dropped noseband to complete the look.

It might have helped in other ways, too.

But whatever, my Icelandolive pony is cute.

The saddle doesn't fit her well enough for an actual ride, but in my imagination we are tölting together, across the beaches and fjords of Iceland.

Skál!

Weekend Showcase: NaMoPaiMo families

One of the best NaMoPaiMo traditions happens after the month is over. People start gathering up their models - either physically or virtually - and taking "family pictures". I absolutely love these pictures. Thank you so much to everyone who painted with me, this year and every year.