New Web Site Column

In recent weeks, I have spent countless hours redesigning my web site. Adding new features. Improving existing features.

One of the things I have re-introduced is the Studio News column.

When I decided to follow my desires to create more original artwork, I also realized I needed a place to tell about those new ventures. A blog about portrait work did not seem like the best place to tell about the trials and errors of painting.

I did not want to change this blog, though. I will continue to do portrait work on a limited basis, especially when those portraits also fit my goals to expand my artistic horizons and to deepen painting skills. It was necessary to maintain this web log.

It soon became clear that the best thing to do was re-introduce the Studio News column. That page was still indexed, after all, and it would be very simple to bring it up to date to match the new web site design.

Studio News contains stories and articles about some of the shows, events and travels that affect my life as a painter of horses.

It gives me great pleasure to announce that a new and improved Studio News is now available on my web site. It is easier to read and loads faster than previous studio news columns. It also provides links to other sites that I think you will find interesting.

Articles and stories are arranged in two categories. Current stories are shown in their entirety and can be read on the Studio News page.

Older articles are available in the archive section, which can be accessed by links at the bottom of the page.

I invite you to stop by Studio News to see what's going on in the studio and what things are being planned or contemplated.

Expanding Horizons

For over 30 years, I have been drawing and painting horses, mostly portraits of horses. I have a passion for watching and painting horses that was born within me and will remain with me until I can paint on the other side. It is part of who and what I am; almost as necessary as eating, sleeping...breathing.

I also enjoy doing portrait work. There is something very special about working with a horse owner to bring their beloved companion to life on canvas or paper for which there is no substitute.

But things are changing.

For the last year or so, it has taken months to produce portraits that should have taken weeks. It is inexcusable, but also unavoidable. Even having accepted fewer portraits this year than in the past has not helped the situation.

I am also experiencing a growth spurt in my art. I find I am looking more and more toward the types of paintings that tell stories. Paintings with settings, with subjects, with action, with motivation and inspiration.

There is a challenging and exciting shift somewhere within forcing me to look at my artwork and my studio time differently these days. This shift makes it necessary for me to reconsider the allocation of resources; most notably the resource of time.

After much prayer and consideration, I have decided that I need to change artistic gears. I will be focusing more on the type of artwork that stretches my skills and knowledge. Compositions that tell stories in the settings around me.

For those who have portraits in progress, there will be no outward changes. Portraits will be finished in as timely a manner as possible. Until those portraits are finished, they will remain my primary focus.

For those who have won or purchased custom portraits, but have not yet begun the process, rest assured my commitments to you will be honored. Whenever you are ready to get started on your project, we will work together to schedule the portrait and get it completed in as timely a manner as possible.

In the meantime, I have started a couple of new projects for myself. One of them is a painting of the mustangs of the Flint Hills. The Flint Hills have fascinated me since my first introduction to them. This painting, which is now in the planning stages, is the perfect way to combine a subject I have long loved, horses, with a landscape I have grown to love.

The other painting is a harness racing-related painting and is being developed from a series of photographs taken while I still lived in Michigan.

Even though painting is yet to begin on either of these projects, I have had a great deal of fun gathering reference, going on research trips and working out the details of each one.

I am greatly looking forward to continuing on this course. It is like a breath of fresh air!