Skyline Sleigh Rally

It's not often that one gets to see horse drawn sleighs up close and in use, but Skyline Farm and Carriage Museum presents that opportunity at least once every year. Today was the day of their annual Sleigh Rally and it was bright and sunny but oh so cold. The temperatures didn't dampen the spirits of the participants or onlookers though. It was a very good turnout of spectators and beautiful sleighs with drivers and passengers cloaked in fluffy fur hats, coats and blankets. All of the horses and ponies had thick wooly coats of their own. Puffs of warm breath from the working horses and the crowd watching the scene filled the freezing air. Luther Gray brought his team of Percherons and his big passenger sleigh so that others could enjoy riding through the snow covered fields behind the farm.

On my way home I stopped again to take shots of a nearby apple orchard. The gnarly tree branches and long blue shadows cast across the snow in late afternoon peaked my interest.

In the grip of a brutal winter like this its hard to believe these crotchety trees will come back to life and produce sweet juicy fruit in 6 months. This orchard will be green and the trees will be loaded with big red apples.

We do what we can up here to keep moving despite the weather conditions outside. Winter can be a season of beauty and enchantment and you can make the most of it..or not...I try but personally.... I can't wait for spring.

The Final Touch

Choreographer Twyla Tharp got it right when she said , "Art is the only way to run away without leaving home." As the snow piled up outside our house today my head was working out this scene in pastel of the Fryeburg Fair. We enjoy wandering through the livestock barns at the fair, especially where the draft horses are stabled. When I took this photo there were lots of people around oohing and aahing as well as the horse owners and handlers, but I was interested in this twosome who were preparing for a show. I snapped the shot before they moved.
The reflected light and shadows caught my eye and also the way the Percheron's head was framed by the barn opening across the way. This is 14 x 11 Unison toned pastelboard..It's available..
I had a reality check when the painting was finished and shoveled a foot of snow off the roof and walkways in 15 degree temps with my husband ...the painting getaway was fun while it lasted..

The Finest Pair

This pastel of a very fine pair of Percheron draft horses will be included in the upcoming invitational art exhibit, The Dog and Pony Show at Skyline Farm and Carriage Museum in North Yarmouth, Maine.
I've always loved horses and these big powerful guys really stood out during a day at Maine's largest and best country fair in Fryeburg, a few years ago. The owner was ground driving them outside the pulling arena and had taken a break so I asked if a few photos were possible. The horses stood quietly as I moved around them taking shots. Alert and attentive their ears swiveled and followed every sound made by the driver who stood behind them out of frame. As a horse owner for many years I have to admit to being completely intimidated by this breeds immense size and power. Their feet were bigger than dinner plates.
Instead of using the bright sunlit scenery of the fairground actually behind the horses I painted a swirling mixture of rich dark hues around them creating a chiaroscuro painting, which is a technique truly mastered by the Flemish painter Rembrandt. The grey horses pop out of the background and the warm terra cotta paper showing through in places makes the cool colors sparkle giving the horses the energy and excitement I felt that day..