I can't believe its been 2 months since my last post! I've been busy getting the drawings for the Coors Western Art Show and Sale ready and am just finishing up the two small pieces for the silent auction, which only the people that attend opening night will see. The photo I've attached is an attempt at a quick snapshot as it was going out the door to be delivered. The angle makes everything look a little weird, but I will post a proper image once I get one. This drawing is very large and very complicated as you can see. It didn't help that he is holding a reata which are the least favorite things to draw in the entire world. (besides rein chains)

We did take a week and go to Hawaii for some R and R before the full court press that is the Coors every year. Kayaked for the first time and did a lot of snorkeling, which I love. Came home to a dreadful snow storm that became a mini-blizzard the closer we got to our house. Rude welcome home after being in the 80's all week.

I'm going to start painting after the holidays and if you never see any of them on here, its because it didn't go so well! Just kidding! It may take a long time, but I know that I can do it (eventually) and am looking forward to the challenge.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!!

Just finished my latest piece. Off to the photographer tomorrow to get shot for the catalog for Cowgirl Up. The show isn't until next March, but in order to produce the catalogs they require a long lead time. Feels really nice to have this one finished. It was a bit of a challenge, but am pretty happy with the way it turned out.

Day two of my latest drawing and I still have a long way to go. No horse and a kid to boot! But, I really like this one. He is the son of the woman on the horse in my last post. This is the second time I've drawn this boy, the one previous is still sitting in my closet until I can look at it again with fresh eyes and try to get it right. I'd better hurry because the deadline to finish that one is Monday.

It's the last day of summer and we got our first snow today! Makes me wonder if we are in for a particularly harsh winter since we've had interesting summer weather too. It has the effect of keeping me in my warm little corner to draw, which is good since I have deadlines fast approaching for some things coming up. I am working on a drawing for the Cowgirl Up! show in Wickenburg, AZ that is of Stacy Grosskopf and her horse. Totally different for me and I'm loving the whole scene. This photo is of one weeks worth of work, so it looks kind of scary right now, but I think it will end up being one of my best. I am working on a couple of pieces for the Coors show that are also "whole scene" drawings. It just means I have to work larger to get the same amount of detail, but since I'm getting faster it's O.K.
Stay Warm!

Karmel

We are doing the Castle Rock Artfest this weekend. Not to sound like a negative nellie, but the weather is supposed to be kind of awful, so not exactly thrilled about that! But, it is our "local" show, so we get to see lots of friends and customers which is always fun!

Had a nice chat with Jennifer Dennison of Western Horseman magazine yesterday. She drove up from the Springs to hang out at our humble shack in the woods for the morning to interview me for an upcoming issue. She took pictures of me and my dog, Abby, that looked like they might be funny, so am hoping they use one of those in the article. I, like most people, hate having my picture taken, but maybe one will turn out and be usable. :)It was great hanging out and talking art with someone who shares that interest.

I've been invited to do Cowgirl Up! in Wickenburg, Arizona this spring, so am working on new stuff for that. I was invited last year, but had to decline because of my schedule. We always need an excuse to get to Arizona in the winter and to see our friends over there. Should be fun!

I am working on more story driven drawings right now, and am excited for the challenge. Full backgrounds, the whole person on horseback, things like that. The prevailing wisdom in this economy is to scale things back, but I feel like right now I need to challenge myself and do bigger and better. We'll see how I feel after the first one is finished!!

We had a fantastic time in Santa Fe this weekend! It was exhausting but great and all in all I think it was a real success. Opening night was Friday night and we had about 200 people there according to the security guy. Food was provided by Jinja Bistro, owned by Doug Lanham who owns the ranch that had the BBQ the next day. I am going to harass him until he gives me the recipe for the prickly pear margaritas that they served that night. YUM! Will post it if I am able to get it. As of opening night we sold 8 of the 20 pieces that I did for the show, which is sort of miracle these days, so am really proud of that fact. The show hangs for another month so we'll see how it all ends up. James Robinson is the super salesman at Altermann and he has done a great job. After the opening we went to dinner at a restaurant called Maria's that is apparently an institution in Santa Fe. We went with a big group and we were put in a separate room called the Robert Redford room since I guess that is where he sits when he goes there. Great Mexican food, laughed a lot and had so much fun. Karen (Prairie Karen) Wall Ross, Steve Bell, Emily Kitching (Eclectic Horseman) little Sydney joined us as well as good friends of Karen's whose names I can't remember right now (I knew it yesterday!) and Pedro Marquez and his girlfriend Anna Marie. After dinner, Pedro got out his guitar and we sat outside of the restaurant where he treated us to a couple of songs, which were as wonderful as you would think they would be. As we were sitting out there, the restaurant staff came out (they were now closed) and were taking a break. The bartender asked to see Pedros's guitar so he asked if she played and she sang/played a song that she wrote and it was jaw-dropping awesome. That was very cool way to end the night.

Saturday afternoon we went to look at the Canyon Road gallery scene with our good friend Stephen Lee, who is also an artist, and does sculpture. We goofed off with him most of the day until it was time to go to the BBQ. That ended up being alot of fun too, I got to meet and chat with collectors and people involved with the Spanish Mustangs, eat great BBQ and have more yummy margaritas. Weather was perfect and the weekend could not have gone better.

Now that all of that is over, I plan on doing some fun stuff including playing with painting (oil) and seeing where that takes me. I have more deadlines coming up soon for other things, so it's back to work in a day or two, but for now, I plan on cleaning my house since its been neglected for awhile now.

Thanks to everyone who attended or emailed with their well wished, it means a lot to me! Thanks to Emily, Steve, Karen, Wally, Stephen for coming up to support me and thanks to Altermann Galleries, Tony, Richard, and James.

The show is fast approaching and I am really ready for it to be here. Going shopping tomorrow for my outfits with my friend Karen who is a consultant on things like that (prairiekaren.com) She dresses me for all of my important events. If it were up to me, I would wear comfy boots, jeans and a t-shirt, but that doesn't really work.

Here are a few of the last drawings for the show. I smartly decided to do the small pieces last, and boy am I glad I did. I'm having a tough time concentrating now and that hasn't helped get things finished. I have one more to do and then I'm done!

We have had a bunch of pre-sales for the show and that has helped me relax a little. I think it's going to be a fun/crazy/exciting event.