Highland Ponies

I've been a Celtophile for most of my life, and not surprisingly, that has translated into an interest in the native ponies of Scotland and Ireland. Unfortunately, I've had only limited exposure to these breeds in person. As a kid, I took lessons on an aged Connemara gelding named Bullet (who, despite his 30+ years, could really move when he deemed it necessary). And while in college, I had the pleasure of visiting the first breeding pair of Highland Ponies imported to the United States, Quartz of Croila and Nora of Croila. I don't have any pictures of Bullet on hand, but I do have these of Quartz of Nora.

Quartz of Croila, aged 2 or 3, with owner Bill Begg-Lorimer

Nora of Croila and Bill

Sadly, Bill passed away not long after my visit, and his pony herd was dispersed. Quartz proved to be a well-regarded stallion here for over a decade before being exported back to Europe last year. I'm still trying to track down Nora.

Though I only spent an afternoon with Quartz and Nora, it solidified my already growing interest in Highland Ponies. I couldn't have the real thing, but I was interested in at least procuring some model  versions. Frustratingly, the hobby was decidedly lacking in HP models, so I was pretty thrilled to find the Beswick Mountain and Moorland series Highland at BreyerFest that July. He's not the most detailed piece, but beggars can't be choosers, and the M&M Beswicks are some of their nicest molds.

 

Since then, a handful of resin Highland Ponies have hit the market, but for the most part, they are sadly lacking in correct anatomy, conformation, and type (or all three). However, Donna Chaney's curio scale Highland Pony, like most of her native breed resins, stands head-and-shoulders above the competition, and I was quite delighted when my friend Carra M. asked me to paint two of these resins for her.

The first pony had been painted by Sheri Rhodes but had suffered some damage to the legs. He also had white markings which are not acceptable for purebred Highland Ponies, so fixing his cracks provided a good reason to add some shading to his points. The lovely dappling is all Sheri's work.

Glenfinnan Chibera champed at his first show!

Carra's second AA Highland had likewise suffered from cracked legs. Because these resins are solid cast, they're quite heavy, so they're prone to cracking if you look at them wrong. Once repaired, the second pony received a flaxen chestnut coat. It's a very rare color in Highlands.

Lassair of Lonmay

Working on Carra's AA resins inspired me to pull my own AA Haflinger off the shelf. It's the same mold as the Highland, but with slightly different hair. I decided it was high time I painted him---he's been kicking around my studio for years---and besides that, I hadn't painted anything for myself in ages. I thought he'd make a nice portrait of Quartz.

Dunharrow Quartz of Croila

Moving on to plastic models, Brigitte Eberl's new classic pony mare for Breyer makes a very passable Highland though she was not sculpted as such. Carra sent two of these to me as well for new paint jobs. Talk about HP heaven!

Several years ago, Carra visited the Brownbread Highland Pony Centre, a farm that is home to a couple of very rare silver dapple Highlands. The color traces back to ponies from the Scottish island of Rhum, and Brownbread is working hard to preserve the beautiful color. Naturally, one of the Eberl ponies had to be silver.

Brownbread Bell Heather

And the other is a classic grulla.

Coventry Skye Blue

My painting mojo continues to flow, and with models like these to work on, it's no wonder! Carra's ponies will be shipping out this week, and other commissions will be following soon. Stay tuned!

Alydar

A recently completed portrait of Alydar, the tenacious rival of the 1978 Triple Crown winner Affirmed. Alydar famously finished second to Affirmed in all three legs of that contest, the combined losing margin being less than 2 lengths.

 

Though Alydar is nearly always mentioned in conjunction with his great rival, he was a tremendous racehorse in his own right. He faced Affirmed 10 times, and while he was victorious in only three of those meetings, he was such a determined runner that he is as much beloved by racing fans as if he had won them. And for all that, his racing resume is hardly shabby---it includes wins in the Champagne, the Great American, the Tremont, the Flamingo, the Florida Derby, the Bluegrass, the Travers, and the Whitney.

Alydar also proved to be an outstanding horse in the breeding shed, siring superstar Easy Goer; Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Breeders Cup Classic winner Alysheba; Kentucky Derby winner Strike the Gold; Travers winner Turkoman; Horse of the Year Criminal Type; and champion filly Althea to name just a few.

The sad story of Alydar's untimely demise is well-known, so I won't repeat it here. Instead, I'd rather remember Alydar for his incredible talent. Here's his run-away victory in the 1978 Whitney Handicap:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0zYBc-Z7yo

Disconnected

I have several unfinished posts I've meant to make here for the last few months, and with one thing or another, they haven't happened.Work has kept me very busy during the day, and prepping and painting models has kept me busy in the evenings. This means I haven't done any blogging here in WAAAAY too long. So, to catch up...

After one of the coldest...

snowiest...

and most unpleasant winters in recorded Chicago history, spring was slow to arrive.

The crazy cold temps were not conducive to priming or sealing horses which made painting a slow process, but once May rolled around, the weather finally improved. It actually became pleasant to be outside. It was quite a novel experience.

Spring and summer have been surprisingly cool and un-humid (until the last week or so) which allowed me to make huge strides with finishing commissioned pieces.

 

It's been a very quiet summer for me otherwise though. I wasn't able to make it to Springamathing this year, alas, and while I did go to BreyerFest, the weekend passed all too quickly. I enjoy chatting with my hobby friends online, but I really, really miss getting to spend time with them in person. Because of this, I've been feeling disconnected from the hobby lately. Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it to any shows in my area anytime soon, but I'm going to (really, for real, seriously) try to keep this blog and my collectibility blog more active. If I'm writing about the hobby and my participation in it, such as it is, maybe I won't feel like such a recluse. Fingers crossed!

Chiberia and New Year's Resolutions

If you live anywhere in the United States other than southern Florida or Texas, you've probably been experiencing extremely cold weather recently. Here in Chicago, the polar vortex effect has been dubbed "Chiberia." To wit, a week ago Monday, the high here was -14 with a windchill of -43 which broke a 20 year record. And we got something like 18 inches of snow to add insult to injury.

 Yep, this definitely happened.

Needless to say, between the holidays, the abysmal weather, and AT-ATs running amok downtown, not much has been happening in my studio in terms of priming or painting. (A fair amount of sanding though.) Happily, the temps climbed to 45 yesterday, a full 60 degrees warmer than the week before, and while it's supposed to get colder here again, it won't be anything on a par with last week. Warmer weather (relatively speaking anyway) means studio time!

In other news, in November, I started a new job, and while I like it immensely, it does keep me far busier than the last one. I haven't had much online time lately, other than a few minutes here and there to share memes on Facebook. But I'm finding that I'm happier than I've been in a long time, in large part because of the change of scenery so to speak, and I'm determined to make a fresh start in other aspects of my life besides work.

My biggest goal is to clear out all of my old commissions once and for all, and then take new ones on a monthly basis so as not to become overwhelmed. I also hope to offer one or two sales pieces each month. And then I'll need to address the state of my body boxes and my collection. I have models that I will probably never get around to painting that need to move along to new homes, and I have a bunch of OFs that I'm not sure I really need to keep after all. And then there are the books...and the clothes...and the old Blood-Horse magazines... It's going to be a busy winter!

That said, despite reduced internet time these days, I am hoping to keep my blogs more active, both this one for my studio and my Model Horse Collectibility blog. I have so many ideas; I just need to borrow Hermione's time turner to get them all done.

I'm also planning to scrap my Yahoo Group in the near future in favor of a newsletter-style email announcement system that will support images and other graphics, much like what several other artists have already started using with great success. I'll post details about that here and on my Facebook studio page once I've explored my options.

In the meantime, Happy New Year to you all!

Now taking offers on the CM Appy ISH!

This is the Stone Ideal Stock Horse customized by me with a swishy tail and new windblown mane.  He has been painted to a black leopard appaloosa using a combination of airbrushed acrylics and and hand-applied pastels. He is has all the bells and whistles---striped hooves, a multi-toned mane and tail, chestnuts, detailed eyes, glossed hooves, eyes, and nostrils, etc. He is brand new and ready to hit the showring! I'm starting offers at $250 with no reserve, so he is guaranteed to sell. (Shipping is postage paid in the USA; overseas will be an additional $45.) I will consider time payments, but please let me know your terms up front. Sorry, no trades. I'm accepting offers until Wed, Oct 2nd, 10pm CST. Thanks for looking!

http://www.modelhorsesalespages.com/view_details.asp?id=1030902 

 

Sneak peek!

An in progress shot of a Stone ISH with a CMized mane and tail in black leopard appaloosa. He'll likely be for sale this weekend!

Busy summer

Once again, I find that I have been neglecting this blog, mostly in favor of writing my Model Horse Collectibility blog. I have also had a pretty busy summer, what with work, a bit of travel, work, BreyerFest, and work. I'm going to play catch-up a bit here, and I will try to cram most of my news into this post if possible.

Since 2006, my summer has traditionally kicked off with a trip to Golden, CO, for the Springamathing live show (formerly Devilish Kokopelli Live) hosted by Heather Roell. I've judged there every year since 2006, and I've absolutely fallen in love with the scenery and the terrific crowd of hobbyists out there. It's always a blast, and the competition is always fierce. To wit, you might recognize these famous beauties that were present at Springamathing this year:

The incomparable appy Victrix by Liz Shaw (Yes, the $17,000 Victrix.)

 A rare Orinocco resin by Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig (painted by Carol Williams)

Valor sculpted and painted by Carol Williams in an intricate dominant white pattern

As if the amazing models weren't enough, here are a few pictures of the view from the show hall.

Looking out the front door first thing in the morning

 The evening view out the back door

Teresa Fedak and I drove up Mt. Evans the next day:

June and July were devoted to BreyerFest prep as well as a lot of work on commissions. I finally have a nice camera, so I took bunches of photos at the BreyerFest Open Show, the International Museum of the Horse, and a variety of shots around the park. You can see them here.

A trip to the Kentucky Horse Park is not complete without a visit to the grave of the horse that started it all for me, Man O' War.

A top-notch drill team in the covered arena

The skeleton of the famous 19th century Thoroughbred sire Lexington recently returned home to Kentucky from the Smithsonian.

BreyerFest was the end of my summer fun, but seeing my hobby friends and their incredible models always leaves me inspired to tackle my own commissions when I get home again. I've been making a concerted effort to finish up the last of my custom orders by the end of September, and here are a few that are ready to head off to their new homes.

 

Kathi Bogucki's Equus Maximus resin in leopard appaloosa as a Sugarbush Drafter

 

Breyer Andalusian in grulla sabino

 

Breyer Idocus with a new mane in chestnut as a portrait of the commissioner's real horse

 Breyer Classic QH in blue roan sabino