Stepping Lightly

I've started the new year in a slightly new way. My usual comfort zone with a painting is on the smaller side. That said, I have done a couple of 3 x 4 foot wall murals (acrylic) in a local school and had fun with them. So to make a break with the past few years of mostly little paintings, the first one of the new year is bigger. This is a 14 x 18 inch watercolor on Arches Hot Press 300lb paper (or 'board', as I think of it), and I've called it STEPPING LIGHTLY.

This painting came out of something I saw one lovely spring morning a couple of years ago. I was watching this mare and her new foal, and snapping photos, when the foal lay down, sprawled all around his Mum's hind hooves. I was sure she was going to step on the little guy - how could she help it? But with enormous care, she picked her way out of the tangle without brushing a hair of the little fellow's body. I knew then, that sooner or later, I would have to paint this scene.

I'm really pleased with the way it has turned out. I feel that I captured that fresh, spring morning in the sweep of the clouds and with the clear, bright meadow. I also like the contrast I achieved between the power of the mare and delicacy of her movement, and I think I showed the utter trust her baby has in her.

STEPPING LIGHTLY will soon be on my website, and it is available for purchase.

The Great Thank You

There is a legend that says that on one night close to Christmas, the animals gather in groups and bend down under the night sky to give thanks for their lives and for all the things that sustain them. It's called The Great Thank You. A couple of years ago, I did this tiny painting as my Christmas Card. Naturally, I chose a horse for this painting, instead of a wild animal. It is a 4 x 6 watercolour sketch and I bring it out at Christmas to remind me to say "thank you" for all the life-gifts I have been given, and that even the creatures of the field and forest understand that we need to give thanks.

SHADES OF GREY

This past December, our major newspaper ran a series of the early black and white Society photos of a famous photographer who had made his home in the area. They were so beautiful with all their rich black and white nuances, and they inspired me to pick up my graphite pencils again. I finished BLACK ON WHITE on New Years Eve and posted it at once. (Don't I have the exciting life!) I wanted it to be my first official piece of the new year, a personal symbol of change in my art and in my life. Two days later, I started the companion piece SHADES OF GREY.
I gave myself a bit of a challenge with this one by choosing to draw an Andalusian stallion in a foggy background - shades of grey.
Graphite is an exacting medium that requires much thought before putting pencil to paper, not only at the beginning, but all the way through. Graphite does not allow for any but the smallest of mistakes and reworking. This is a medium for the patient. It takes time, lots of time, to cover the paper one thin, carefully placed pencil line at a time; it takes time to gradually build up the layers of pigment to get the required depth, and to go back as often as needed to develop the subtle textures and detail. A reasonably simple 8 x 10 drawing like Shades of Grey takes me a minimum of two weeks - it took nearly two hours to do a one and a half inch by two inch area of grass beneath the big tree. Grass can drive you crazy. I like to work intensely for several hours until my hand, eyes, and concentration give out, and then stop unil the next day.
I have to say that it has been wonderful to dip back into this medium for a little while, and I will be returning to it more often after this, but now, I need to move back to colour again.
Both BLACK ON WHITE and SHADES OF GREY are available for $125. each.

Heather Anderson
http://www.heather-anderson-animals-in-art.com/

Fall Fair

This weekend was our local Fall Fair. This is an event that we try to never miss. We love to go and see the children's art and all the produce, baking, quilts, and other exhibits in the agricultural hall, and then it's off to see the horses. We can spend hours, watching the various jumping, driving, and saddlehorse classes, and hanging over the rail at the heavy horse ring. I love the way the ground shakes when they trot past, and the sound of thunder from their huge hooves and the wild jungle of their harness. But even these giants get nervous before they go in the ring. I saw this lovely Clydesdale being quietly reassured as he was walked to the entrance of the ring.

"You'll Be Great" is a 10 by 13 inch watercolor painting, and it is available for sale.

Painted Ladies

The end of August/beginning of September is such a beautiful time of year. The fields are golden with hay stubble, the corn gleams yellow/green on tall stalks, and the grass develops a soft look. Even the light has a warm, golden glow to it.
There is a hush in the air - a feeling of waiting, as if Nature is gathering her energy for the spectacular blaze of color to come.
I often pass the field where these two Painted Ladies graze in harmony with their surroundings.
They even have an occasional Painted Lady visitor of another species.
This Colored Pencil painting is available for purchase.

Heather Anderson
www.heather-anderson-animals-in-art.com
www.kelpiestudio.com

In Legend and Story

For weeks I followed the progress on a huge horse mural - the Horse Gift (Le Cadeau Du Cheval) that will be premiered in September at Spruce Meadows. It totally fascinated me that the artists involved were taking what amounted to abstract panels and turning them into horse paintings, that when put together, will form a new image .

But I couldn't take part - I had too much work, too much "stuff" happening that had to be dealt with. There was no way I could do a mural panel - was there?

One by one, the impediments slipped away and suddenly, I realized that I would be able to do one after all, and I wrote and asked if there was anything left for me. Fortunately, I wasn't too late, and I was able to join in the fun with Panel 19 that became IN LEGEND AND STORY. My panel is about how legend became stories, and those stories eventually became the horse books that young girls dream on. My panel salutes the glorious stallions of every color, the gentle mares, and the loyal geldings.

Many of those horse crazy girls are lucky - they never outgrow that love of horses and they grow up to be horse crazy women who make their horse dreams come true. I know they do, because I was one of them.

Welcome to Sheltie Hollow

June is a busy time here at Sheltie Hollow. We are occupied putting in the annuals that I have bought or grown from seed and checking the overall design of the garden. Do we need to divide or replace perennials, or do we need to fill in a bare spot?

The Shelties watch carefully and are always ready to lend a paw, digging in the dirt, carrying light objects, or finding and bringing us lost gardening gloves. At the end of a busy gardening day, everyone looks forward to a warm, soothing bath.

Visit my website: http://www.kelpiestudio.com/