So much for spring!

After one of the snowiest winters on record here, we've had a lovely reprieve for the last week or so---temps above freezing, rain rather than snow, and even some sunshine.

Until today.

It's snowing again. And blowing. It's really pretty nasty for the second day of spring. Mother Nature does like her little joke. Hopefully the forecast of sun and a little warm up for tomorrow will hold. I'm ready for green grass and flowers already! :-)

As some of you probably know, I came down with a weird viral condition in February called Bell's Palsy. Long story short, a virus attacked the main facial nerve on the right side of face, causing temporary paralysis on that side. My mouth was slack on the right, my cheek and forehead were completely immobile, my eye watered constantly, my sense of taste was off, and many sounds seemed overly loud in my right ear. After about two weeks, my eye was mostly normal again, allowing me to go back to work as well as start painting again. Nothing like two weeks of forced inactivity to get a girl's creative juices flowing! So lately, I've been painting like mad, finishing up a lot of pieces that were nearly done before the Bell's hit and starting a few new ones, too. The following are all commissions:

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j290/whitehorsepro/new/lancelot_darkbay1.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j290/whitehorsepro/new/lancelot_darkbay2.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j290/whitehorsepro/new/lancelot_darkbay3.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j290/whitehorsepro/new/mini_nahar_flaxen_chestnut2.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j290/whitehorsepro/new/mini_nahar_flaxen_chestnut4.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j290/whitehorsepro/new/mini_optime_fleabit1.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j290/whitehorsepro/new/mini_optime_fleabit2.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j290/whitehorsepro/new/enviado_black_silver1.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j290/whitehorsepro/new/enviado_black_silver2.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j290/whitehorsepro/new/spinny_buckskin1.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j290/whitehorsepro/new/spinny_buckskin2.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j290/whitehorsepro/new/dinky_duke_bay_tobiano1.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j290/whitehorsepro/new/dinky_duke_bay_tobiano2.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j290/whitehorsepro/new/vincent_bay1.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j290/whitehorsepro/new/claire_buckskin1.jpg

I'm now six weeks out from the onset of Bell's, and I'm doing quite well. My eye still doesn't close all the way, but it's much better than it was. My hearing and sense of taste seem to have returned to normal, and I'm able to wiggle my right eyebrow a bit now. I noticed last night that I can move my cheek a smidge, too. My mouth is still mostly unmoving on the right side, but hopefully this progress will continue. I feel fine, and I look normal unless I smile, so I'm grateful that of all the weird things a person can catch that I didn't get anything worse. :-)

I hope you guys are all doing well and having a warmer start to spring than me! I'm hoping to post here more regularly now that I'm nearly normal again (as normal as I ever get, anyway)---lots of projects in the offing---spring cleaning (I've actually reached a point where I have too many horses), my NAN auction piece, and several china restoration projects. Stay tuned!

Hobby hibernation

Seeing as we're in negative digits today with the wind chill, hibernating seems like a good idea! I did a fair amount of travelling over the holidays and then was under the weather for a bit, so I have been out of the loop hobby-wise for a while. But I am finally poking my head out and trying to catch up on orders. I have about 600 emails that need to be sorted and/or deleted (mostly deleted), and I need to do some major updates on my webpage. I am hoping to get alot of that done before the weekend so I can devote my days off to some prepping and painting. I hope to have a couple of minis for sale soon, too, including a trove of G1 Stablemates sculpted by the brilliant Maureen Love.

In other news, I have been asked to donate to the NAN auction this year, and I am so thrilled to have the opportunity to do so. The theme is "Kentucky," and given my obsession with Thoroughbreds, I can't think of anything more fitting for my first NAN piece. I will be donating a uniquely customized Valor resin with a new neck and new attitude (resculpted by my buddy, Tiffany Purdy) and painted up as a portrait of the late, great Puchilingui.

Puchi passed away last Saturday, Jan. 19th, at the age of 24 of an apparent heart attack. As a fan of colorful Thoroughbreds, he has long been a favorite of mine, and I am sorry he is gone. He leaves behind a legacy of athletic and loudly marked offspring who excel in show rings around the world.

Mini stocking stuffers

What better to do on a snowy weekend than listen to Frank Delaney read "Ireland" to me while I paint. It really makes the hours fly by. :-)

When I was in GA for Thanksgiving, I splurged on a bunch of the new G3 SMs at Hobby Town, and I couldn't resist painting a few of them right away. The appy Friesian cross is on ebay as is a bay roan drafter cohort of his. I will be adding a few more minis this week as well to earn a little mad money for the holiday, so please check out my auctions. I'm starting all the minis at $24.99 with no reserve.

G3 Appy Friesian:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170176013996

G3 Bay Roan Drafter:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170176012216

Another PS Chips custom to ebay

I am having a great deal of fun of with these PS Chips. They have superior detailing to all but the G1 Stablemates, and just like potato chips, you can't eat...er...paint...just one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170163395431

Finally! A model horse related post!

"And at the top of the stretch, a filly is in front at the Belmont! But Curlin is right there with her! These two, in a battle of the sexes in the Belmont Stakes! It's Curlin on the inside; Rags to Riches on the outside. A desperate finish! Rags to Riches and Curlin! They're coming down to the wire. It's gonna be very close! And it's gonna be.... a filly in the Belmont! Rags to Riches has beaten Curlin and a hundred years of Belmont history! The first filly to win it in over a century!"

This little gal is available on ebay from October 15-20.

John Henry 1975-2007

Eighty-three starts, 39 wins, 30 stakes wins, 7 Eclipse awards, 2 Big Caps, 2 Millions, 2 times Horse of the Year, and 32 years as a living legend. You'd hardly guess it looking at him in this photo I took in July, but I think the tail-to-the-door attitude even at age 32 said it all. John did it his way or not at all. RIP, champ.

Monastic Springs

It's been more than two years since I've received new photos of this guy, and I can't tell you how thrilled I am to see how he's grown! Would you believe he's only a two year-old? The last time I saw him, he was just three weeks old. For those who don't know me well enough to have heard my endless gushing about Ipi Tombe (pictured in my second blog entry here), Monastic Springs is Ipi's first foal, a colt by the greatest living stallion in the world, Sadler's Wells. He is currently in training in New Jersey, and will hopefully make his first start either late this year or at the beginning of next year. If he has even half the talent of his illustrious parents, he will be a stellar runner.

In model horse related news, I am working on a little sculpture project, and with any luck, I ought to have pictures sometime this weekend. A sneak peek at least, I hope!