Grace and Skye's NaMoPaiMo, part one

A couple days ago, Corina Roberts asked if I would like a not too serious guest post featuring Grace and Skye prepping their models for NaMoPaiMo. Of course, I said yes. This post - and its prologue are the happy result. I have optimistically added the words "part one" to the title, because I am hoping this is the first of many. Thank you, Corina, Grace and Skye!

Grace and Skye's NaMoPaiMo, Part One

by Corina Roberts

Prologue

We blame everything on NaMoPaiMo. Really. Because before Grace decided she wanted to participate in 2021, none of what they have today existed.  

Grace felt it was important to have a proper space to do art.  And that might include some furnishings. And some artwork, for inspiration. Never mind what horse she was going to paint, she needed a place to do it. And so did Skye. 

January was a flurry of activity. Katy Niles made the girls custom beds. There were frequent trips to various stores to find the rest of the furnishings. Linens. Lighting. And art. And idols. And animals. The girls threw themselves wholeheartedly into every detail. The model horse community cheered them on with gifts...from art and grooming supplies to clothing, tack and saddles. 

That's another thing we like to blame on NaMoPaiMo. The very real sisterhood that emerged between the girls.  

NaMoPaiMo changed the way we approach equine art. It has to be the best work our hands can do...our very best effort, every time. That doesn't mean things always go to plan...but if we've done our best, there's an immense satisfaction in being able to say, "I did it."

Grace and Skye painted their first ever models in 2021. In fact, they painted their first ever anything.  Grace's model sold before it was completed. The second model she painted won a contest. Skye has taken up two dimensional art, and together, the girls recently completed a life-size resin, the Bremen Town Singers, which includes a donkey, hound dog, cat and rooster.  

We can hardly wait for NaMoPaiMo 2022.

1.4.22

The NaMoPaiMo candidates filled the table, in various states of readiness for painting. Skye ran her fingers along the raised foreleg of the Arab mare, marveled at her expressive eyes and finely chiseled muzzle.

"This one is just gorgeous. Is she a resin?"

"That one is a kind of plastic. Vinyl, I think. Now this one," Grace said, gazing at the semi-prepped Brabant, "...This one is a resin. And it's only about half prepped. There's a lot of work to do on this boy before he'll be ready for paint."

Skye examined a far smaller model, an old Breyer. This scale would certainly be easier to complete in a month's time. 

"Which horse are you painting?" she asked.

Grace wasn't sure. Smaller would be easier...at least in theory.

"We have all the way until the end of the month to choose.  Let's give it a little thought.  For right now go get your jacket.  I found a bunch of fresh hoof prints in the creek bed."

The ground was saturated with recent rain and snow, the sky clear and blue, the morning air cold.  The sun's rays would quickly warm the ash-darkened soil. A few more days and the snow would be a memory...and if they were lucky, a memory filled with horses.

They didn't have to wait long to catch a glimpse of them...and to their delight and surprise, the first horse they saw was a lovely dun mare that they had never laid eyes on before.  

Clinging to the side of a granite boulder, peering over a ledge of snow, the girls watched silently as two stallions, each with a single mare, had a brief and non-violent encounter.  

Just for now, the harsh high desert landscape was rich with fresh grass and running water.  It was, however briefly, a time of plenty.