Horse Painting Workshop

Completion of my class demo, in need of a title.  20x30

Wow!  What a great three days of painting and horses!!  The weather wasn't exactly cooperative but we were able to adjust thanks to Ann Delzell and her neighbor Juliene and his beautiful appaloosa horses, not to mention his indoor arena keeping us out of the rain.  Thursday morning we studied anatomy and drew from photos then in the afternoon we went to Juliene's.  It was pouring rain outside but we were nice and dry in the arena.  Our extremely handsome model was Captain Kirk!  And he seemed to love all the attention the ladies bestowed on him.  We were able to examine up close the skeletal structure and musclulature noting particular points to look for when painting.

What a beautiful mover!!

I may have adlibed the Captain part of his name but he is quite a stunning boy
and so patient with us! And thank you to Mindy his handler!!


The next two days everyone worked hard on their own paintings from photos assisted by their experience with the Captain.
Judging by the quality of work produced I'm convinced of the amazing power touch has on the memory!  I sidtracked into the realm of composition a little also.  There was such a good response to this that I'm planning a mini workshop in the near future on the subject.  If you are interested in being put on my workshop mailing list please e-mail your information to:  lani@riverhawke.org

 

Painting Horses Workshop

Come paint horses from life and photo:  Learn anatomy and how to paint the colors of a horse's coat from life, then how to plan your painting and work from photo reference.



Beging with a block in to establish composition and values

Then start on the primary focal area

Begin working secondary focal area

Underpainting for water reflections



Finished painting

To reserve your spot, May 9-11, 2013, Loveland, CO go to:  http://lanivlaanderen.info/classesworkshops.html

$30 deposit   $125 total for workshop

 

"Magpie Study"

 

12x6 (?)

oil on linen, unmounted, unstretched

 

$125

$5 shipping

 

This is a demo done during my Bird Painting Workshop illustrating penumbra and how to paint irridescence on bird feathers. I enjoy doing these quick little studies.  I liken them to playing the scales on the piano as a warmup. It is unmounted and unstretched and an odd size but turned out alright I thought so am offering it for sale.  For purchase go to:  http://lanivlaanderen.info/sketchesandstudies.html

"Sage"

 

11x14

 

 

July 4, 2012.  Walking the hills of Sandwash Basin, this bay stallion and his two mares, one with her foal in tow, were browsing in amongst the sage.  As I stood on a small hill, they worked their way towards me, glancing occasionally in my direction but not worried about my presence.  Reaching within about fifty feet of my position they stopped for an afternoon siesta, as if to welcome me to the fold and letting me know I was accepted on the range they call home. There they dozed for an hour or more, wind whistling over the barren landscape, through mustang manes and my mind.  This painting depicts a moment they were approaching my position and the stallion, Femur, raised his head giving me a glance before resuming his high noon grazing.  Such beautiful, strong, and powerful animals, yet wise and sentient at the same time.  Hence the title "Sage".

 

Purchase inquiries:  $1100 framed  www.lani@riverhawke.org

"Midday Reflections"

9x12

 

This is a painting of Vogue and one of her brothers, both members of Cosmos' or Kiowa's band, I'm not sure who is the leader.  I've heard both refered to as the leader.  The wild horse band heirarchy is quite interesting.  There can be a lead stallion and a dominant stallion both in the same band.  Kiowa, most probably Vogue's daddy due to similar coloring, was the meet and greet stallion.  When another band approached Kiowa was the one to go out and do the posturing, striking, rearing and poop pile sniffing, and adding to ( a curious thing, similar to dogs urinating to establish territory).  Cosmos seemed to be the disciplinarian, chasing the little sorrel in my painting here with snaked neck all around the watering hole, only to be stopped by Kiowa resulting in a bit of rearing and striking. Quite the display!   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



"Kinstry"

9x12

Working on using greys.  This is Kinstry, a mare in Femur's band, from my visit last summer to the Sand Wash Basin HMA, outside of Maybell, CO.  She had a foal when I was there and I plan to do a painting of her and her foal, Sunka Wakan sometime soon.  The Sand Wash area is pretty arid and I wanted to capture the feeling of the dry air and the sage colors and knew this would be a great way to practice mixing harmonious greys.  Not to mention wanting to paint this fabulous mare!  It's a possible contender to be in the Governor's Show this April.

Governor's Show

"Ascension" 

 

 

 

30x40

 

This is one of four paintings I will have at the Colorado Governor's Show, Loveland, CO, opening in late April.  I was plein air painting outside Jackson Hole Wyoming overlooking the Gros Ventre River last summer during the Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters annual event, as an osprey circled above, ascending higher and higher into the clouds and blue sky, until finally disappearing into the vastness that is his home. What would take me an hour to travel he covered in minutes, silently and with grace.  I think that's one of the reasons I love painting birds, there is a grace about them, an honesty in their existence that transcends anything of which we as humans are capable.

 

On the Easel Today

 

On the easel today while it snows a foot outside.  A bison painting from last summer's trip to Jackson Hole with the Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters.  Hopefully it will be close to finished tomorrow.  I really kind of love being snowed in!  Below are pictures of my horses enjoying the snow.  It makes them playful!

 

 

Bird Painting Workshop

February 28 through March 2nd I conducted a workshop on painting birds at my studio in Loveland, CO.  It was an incredible group of talented artists who worked hard and worked ME hard!  Above is a demo I did illustrating penumbra and how to paint iridescence.  We concentrated on making deliberate, thoughtful and expressive brushstrokes with attention to edges.  They blew me away with the quality of their work!! 

 

 



Marilyn Haffey

Linda Hanselman

Linda and Julie Kirkland

If you wish to be notified of future workshops please send me a message at lani@riverhawke.org to be put on my workshop mailing list (not to be included on any other mailings, workshop notifications only).

Art Silk

Mary Ann St. Peter



Ann Delzell

Billie Colson



Lisa Connor Pentz

 

"Gathering the Mares"

"Gathering the Mares"

18x24

Another painting from my first Sandwash Basin adventure to view the wild mustangs.  This stallion is Cosmos, gathering a few mares after their afternoon siesta.  He is a beautiful white stallion hooked up with Kiowa, a dark bay paint stallion.  They seem to share custody of this band, I'm not sure who is the lead stallion and who is the dominant.  I suspect Kiowa is the lead stallion as he was the one to do the meet and greet posturing, squeeling and striking when another stallion approached.  Cosmos was the stallion who came first, even before the lead mare, down to the water hole.  These bands are ever changing as stallions steal mares from other stallions and the young bachelor stallions are forever attempting to get mares of their own.  Quite a bit of drama going on, their own version of soap operas I suppose.  This painting headed to Arts at Denver www.artsatdenver.com  for their "Irresistable" show in February.  Hence the working title for this piece has been "Mr. Irresistable".

Look for more in the mustang series at the Greeley Stampede Invitational Art Show beginning June 28, 2013, Island Grove Arena, Greeley, Colorado, www.greeleystampede.org  as well as the Governor's Show, Loveland Museum, Loveland, CO, opening gala April 27, 2013,  www.governorsartshow.org . 

The Watering Hole

11x14 oil on stretched linen

 

 

This is a painting of a few of the wild mustang mares in Kiowa's band, at the Sandwash Basin HMA, May 2012.  The little paint looks pregnant.  I don't know her name or if she in fact foaled later in the summer.  What a treat it was to watch them come in and drink!!

Update:  Dec 28, 2012

I have found out that the bay paint mare in the middle's name is Vogue.  She didn't foal this past year but has a sorrel two year old filly, Gem, with whom she maintains a close bond.  There is a helicopter round up scheduled for fall of 2013 at Sandwash Basin.  If you're not aware of how brutal these roundups can be: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=Vw8iX7LO8g0&NR=1 .  I  hope that all these magnificent horses survive. 

Children's Hospital Foundation

 

 

This past season has been a very busy one, five commissions and one more to go!

The following paintings were done for the Children's Hospital Foundation:

 

It was so much fun to gather my reference material for this project.  The girl with the bike is Jordan, the granddaughter of a friend.  The other two were strangers whose parents were gracious enough to let me photograph them.  What a fun way to spend time, watching children do what they do best, be children.

The other three commissions were for private parties.

As they say though, there is no rest for the weary.  I have the Western Show at Abend Gallery, Denver, CO in January, a private show in Boulder. CO in February, Representing the West at the Sangre de Cristo Art Center in Pueblo, CO in March and The Governor's Show in Loveland, CO in April. What a wonderful problem to have!!

"Outlaw"

10x10

inquiries to: artsatdenver.com

This is my latest painting from the mustangs of the Sand Wash Basin herd, Outlaw.  Outlaw is  somewhat of an vagabond, attaching himself to various different bands as the mood suits him.  I am especially attached to this particular stallion as the very first horse I ever fell in love with was a little blue roan mare named Outlaw, and this Outlaw is colored like my daugher's little mare, Chinook, whom we lost several years back.  Even before I knew his name he stole my heart, for I first laid eyes on him as he came up beside me, not more than twenty yards to my right, as my attention had been on another stallion.  I turned, and there he was, facing down a stallion named Femur, and I witnessed my very first wild stallion encounter.  Not too much mind you, some squeeling and striking, but I was thrilled beyond believablity!  It was as if there were no humans around.  They were totally oblivious to our presence.

Portraits

My latest portraits done while teaching on Tuesdays.

 

It feel so good to be painting portraits again!

RMPAP Jackson Hole Even 2012

Whew! Just got back from ten days in Jackson Hole Wyoming plein air painting with the Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters. It was a wonderful, hard working week and the show at the end was incredible, as always. I'm posting some rather bad photos unfortunately, which I took in front of my cabin at the Murie Center (an incredible story in itself of conservation and living truly with the land). "Morning Solace" sold at the opening, going to a wonderful woman living outside Jackson.

"Morning Solace"

10x8

sold

My last morning painting I found this stand of aspen trees on Wilson Rd.  The majesty of this stand is what first attracted me to the scene,  it's distant mountains and trees giving depth to the vertical format. The shape and color of the cast shadow was another intriguing aspect of the scene. The title came from the sense of peace and contentment I felt at the culmination of a wonderful week spent painting this amazing area.

"The Silver Streak"

10x10

This was painted at the Cunningham cabin.  My intent was to capture the scene that Mrs. Cunningham may have seen each day as she went about her daily chores.  This was done in the evening, so perhaps it was what she saw at the end of a hard day, content with the results of her labor, knowing this country was truly God's creation.

"Quake and Shimmer"

10x8

SOLD

As I was engrossed in doing this painting I vaguely heard  from behind, some grunting.  It finally dawned on me it was the sound of buffalo.  Turning around I discovered a herd of about fifty buffalo were coming through the aspen tree grove where I was painting.  As they came closer I grabbed my pochade box on tripod and retreated to my truck about a hundred feet away.  This proceedure repeated itself three more times during the course of the painting.  Needless to say I got some great shots of buffalo in amongst the aspen trees for later paintings.  Finishing this piece I then followed the buffalo to the adjoining field where I then did the next painting . . .

"Buffalo Gals"

10x10

sold

They stood relatively still as the calf nursed and when they moved on I noticed another pair in pretty much the same position, the light being slightly different, but I could use them to finish the painting.  The third bison was added from another dozing in the field. I did several of these plein air paintings of buffalo, each with their own story about trying to stay out of their way while still getting the painting done.  Note to self, one must always be looking behind oneself for more approaching bison.

"The Point on Elkhead Island"

12x9

This painting was done on Elkhead Island. The husband of my friend and fellow painter Ruth Rawhouser brought his boat up for the day and took several of us across Jackson Lake to Elkhead Island where we enjoyed painting the park from a little different perspective.  Facing east, I didn't notice the storm brewing in the west, almost totally obscuring Mt. Moran until Mack came motoring up politely suggesting we wrap it up.  Traveling back in the rain and hoping to beat the lightening we had a great time none the less and enjoyed lunch on the dock in the rain.

Needless to say, a great time was had and I can't wait to return, perhaps in the fall, to paint more of this captivating area.

Sand Wash Basin

Femur

Just spent yesterday hanging out with Femur and his small band of two mares and a foal!

It was so great as they let us get close, within about 50 feet, then they grazed their way to within 30 feet of us!! Did their dozing, hanging out afternoon thing and let us join the herd in that way.  It was an incredible experience!  The foal lay down and we felt like welcome guests in their home.  Saw Kiowa and his large band from a distance as they were making their way towards evening water and observed Whiteout on our way to Two Bar Spring with only one of his young stallions, the grulla, still in tow.  What magnificent animals!!

The mare and foal stayed further away but still were accepting of our presence.

The other young mare in Femur's band.