EEEEEEK!!!! 2 Weeks!!

2 weeks until my amazingly awesome road trip!!

Wild horses, rodeos, amazing scenery and history.... for the better part of 11 days! I cannot WAIT!

Anyways - here are some photos from last weekend - after the rodeo I watched the draft horse pull. I love drafts. The size, power and beauty - there is just something so special about those gentle giants!

A Few From Today

This Trakehner mare was playing hard to get.... but I snapped some great photos of her! Enjoy!

Inspiration & Motivation: Where Are You?

When I wake up in the morning... I want to draw and paint.

By the time I get home from work, I am so drained and unmotivated that I cannot find the urge.

Art used to be one of my favorite things to do to unwind and distract myself. It is frustrating to not be able to have my ideas go from my brain to a piece of paper or canvas.

I have THOUSANDS of photos to work from. Anything you can imagine. I have unlimited access to horses and various other livestock. I take trips to places that have subjects that I WANT to turn into art. I flip through magazines that are dedicated to western art and culture trying to draw from them. I have wandered from gallery to gallery in Jackson Hole - like the Trailside Gallery. I have set eyes on some of the most amazing pieces of work that were going up for sale in Jackson Hole in their legendary auction. I have been to the National Museum of Wildlife Art, the Whitney Western Art Museum  But I cannot make it happen.

My ultimate goal is to find myself as a successful - and well known western artist.

It is a tough goal to achieve. I am fortunate to network through social media with many successful artists. They work hard. They make it look easy, but we all know it isn't. One - who I have watched over the last 6 or so years - has gone from painting children's portraits and "dabbling" has come so far and has been making a name for herself as a western artist. However she has encountered some criticism and ridicule for her style. She is fabulous! There are two types of people in the art world: People who want to see you succeed and help you and support you and people who re jealous and want to see you fail. The same can be said for the equine world as well from what I have seen so far.
I am lucky to have supportive art friends.

Rodeo!

Good morning!

I woke up at 4:30 and decided I would go through my Cody Night Rodeo pictures and play with a few! Enjoy!

It's Not All About Horses....

I don't just photograph horses all the time! Here are a few shots from this fall of other things than critters that I have stumbled across! Enjoy! :)

 

 

Montana

Here are a few pictures I took in Montana this past June. Such a beautiful place. I cannot wait to go back and see more of it. It is pure eye candy.... and a place I will love forever and probably return to many times.

I had always wanted to go there and was finally able to make that dream come true. Little did I know that I would love it as much as I do. Here I am - 3 months after I went there, still weeding through the photos.... reliving the experience and falling in love with it over and over again.

Please enjoy these photos!!

Oh Wyoming....

Here is a photo I took on the way to Cody. What a beautiful drive that was.

I wish I could have stopped and taken photos of everything.... but if I did that - I would still be there now!

I am starting to plan my trip back next summer. I would love to spend some time chasing wild horses as I had to skip it this trip.... and maybe catch the Cody Stampede.... I for sure want to spend the 4th of July down there as well.

I want to delve further into the art scene there... see as much as I can and learn more about the old west history that made Wyoming.

I wish I could be in Jackson right now for the auction.... The greatness that auction is presenting is out of this world! \I was fortunate enough to walk through the works they had collected up until June.... and it was humbling. Particularly the Norman Rockwell piece of John Wayne.

Free Reference Photos

Good morning!
Just throwing this out there for anyone interested.... I have a Facebook page and on that page I have an album with hundreds of photos that I am offering up free to use as reference for artwork. Horses, grizzly bears, orcas, deer, landscapes, cattle, flowers, birds, ocean things, dogs, cats, mountains, big horn sheep, geese, ducks, goats, draft horse pulls, rodeo... and I am constantly adding to the album! All I ask is that you let me know that you are using it, give me full credit for the photo and let me see the finished piece - and possible share it in an album on my page for others to enjoy!

Here is the link to my page, please give it a like and take a look!
https://www.facebook.com/prairiefireequineart?ref_type=bookmark

Work In Progress....

Well - I have been picking away at this for a few weeks now... and I am liking how it is coming along! This is a colored pencil piece on Mi-Tientes paper from a photo I took in the Caroline, Alberta area of a gorgeous quarter horse stud. Hopefully I actually finish this one.... might offer it up for sale after it is done.

 

Wishing I had a studio space to work in - might be more inspiring if I did, but sadly cannot right now.

 

As for the rest of my life, July saw my personal and work life at complete opposite sides of the spectrum. I had an EPIC month at work and rocked it. But while I was doing that, my heart was breaking. I let a man get me down. Well - a boy. Men do not treat women in such a cold, cruel way. But I have learned from the experience and I have moved forward.... and was given the chance to meet someone who seems to know how to treat a lady! Stay tuned to see how this one plays out.... it may be the happy ending I have been chasing after!

 

Life is short. It is an adventure. Make the most of the time you are given. It is so easy to focus on one bad thing in your life and to forget about the many things that you have to be thankful for. Any day you wake up is a gift. Do not take it for granted!

June 28 Photos

 

 

Well - I took a little drive to Caroline Alberta and got some nice photos! Please enjoy!

Sneak Peek....

Well - in no particular order.... here are a few photo's I took on my trip!

What a great time I had! I went ti Vaughn, Great Falls - briefly - Helena, Butte, Yellowstone, Cody for 3 nights - and saw Old Trail Town, The Buffalo Bill Center, Cody Nite Rodeo... and a few galleries. I detoured back through Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons and I went to Jackson and drooled in some galleries and saw so many gorgeous pieces! I scooted up through boring old Idaho and I spent my last night down there in Helena and then spent a night in Old,s Alberta after going to the Sundre Pro Rodeo.

Please enjoy these pics and I will detail my trip at a later time!

 

Bison in Yellowstone

Baby pronghorns in the Vaughn area - from my visit with artist/photographer
Donna Ridgeway.

Pelican from the Vaughn area.

From Sundre.

From Sundre.

From Sundre.

From Sundre.

From Yellowstone.

From Sundre.