Clear vision, speed, and a safe return

I have so many ideas for horses.  I am really trying to make each horse have a distinct personality and theme, since I know that the kids riding the carousel will have their favorites and use their imagination to tell a story as they ride.  Who doesn't love dreaming about thundering across the plains, bow and arrow at the ready, on your smart and trusted steed?  I really wanted to create a Native American painted war horse, so I started with making her a realistic Appaloosa, dark brown with those distinctive white and brown spots on the rump.  Then a leather saddle and patterned blankets in Southwest colors, added some eagle feathers, and then I did some research on symbolism and traditions in horse painting. 

Here's the code:
-the circle around the eye is for sharp and clear vision
-the lightning on the legs is for speed (and also an arrow, which means it will go poorly for your rivals)
-the left handprint on the hip is a mark reserved for horses that have brought their rider safely back from a dangerous mission...this is also my handprint, and happens to be the way I sign large paintings!

Once she's back on the carousel in natural light, I'd love to get a better photo.  As Julia said, working at Sarah's Patisserie these last few weeks has been a pleasure.  Thanks Tammy!

I wanted to include a photo of this horse before painting.  As part of the outside circle, you can see how much the colors have faded and worn.  She was originally cream-colored, but the years had turned her slightly green.  I really love bringing them back to colorful life and can't wait to see the whole carousel bright and shining.

-Christi

Dragonflies and Sparkly Eyes

I finished this little guy today...I'm pretty happy with the colors and patterns...and I'm especially happy about the eyes and face on this one! More painting next week.     -Julia

Painting and Chocolate: My Favorite Things

Painting at Sarah's has been so much fun! The girls who work there (Allie, Kiera and Francisca) are the sweetest, as is Tammy the owner. There is a constant stream of curious people who are very excited to see and hear what we're doing, as well as delicious treats for when the artists need some chocolate and a cup of tea. We've been kept dry and cozy in the patisserie this week, happily painting out of the rain. We'll be there through the weekend at least I believe, so feel free to stop by and say hello!          

Rick Manning, from Friends of Stewart Park, got a nice picture of Christi and I painting together yesterday.

Thanks for the picture Rick!

-Julia 

2 more!

The past two or three weeks have been absolutely crazy for me, so painting has been an hour here hour there. But! I did manage to finish two horses, one down at the park and one at the Patisserie. Both places are so pleasant to paint. Maybe painting anywhere is pleasant to me. Anyway, here is Wells Fargo, one of the two named horses on the carousel, and the other medium sized horse. Apologies for pictures taken through the fence-I'll get some better ones-but in the meantime, you might have to head to the park and check them out!       -Julia

Meet Jungle Jane

It has been a blast painting the horses at Sarah's Patisserie.  People walk by and wave all the time, stop in and chat with us too, and then there are these cases of pastries which have wreaked havoc on my resolve to keep to a gluten-and-sugar-free diet.

I wanted to share some photos with you all about my last horse.  While I kind of want to call all of these horses "Trixie" for some reason (I think it's the look in their eyes), this one is definitely more of a Jungle Jane.  Both Julia and I have been talking a lot about trying to mix good horse-y brown colors, and I think this is pretty close.  And then I kind of went a little nuts mixing animal prints.  She has a leopard saddle blanket and a zebra saddle, ready for the safari or to prance around at the circus!  You can see Julia's white horse here too, who is very colorful and happy.

 I mean, look at the look on her face, doesn't she look like a Trixie?

 That's my Theobroma cacao mural in the background.  And loads of amazing truffles on the counter.

We have some good news on the fundraising front: we are almost 1/3 of the way to our goal!  Please keep those donations coming if you feel led to do so, it's easy on the Friends of Stewart Park website.  Every little bit helps.  We will continue painting at Sarah's this week, please stop in and say hello.

-Christi

Painting at Sarah's Patisserie this week

A quick update, photos to come in the near future: we have taken the horses on the road and are painting at Sarah's Patisserie downtown on Seneca Street this week and next!  We are right in the window, and are painting throughout the week at random times.  You might know that Sarah's is THE PLACE to go for world-class pastries and gorgeous and delicious chocolates and macarons.  Plus I painted their Theobroma cacao mural.  Stop in, have a treat and watch the horses in process.

-Christi

Grey and pink with wings

We are making progress!  Julia has been quite busy and is almost done with her second horse, and I just finished the first of my horses.  It has been lovely to see the carousel in motion while we are painting, and to see the bright new horses in place and being enjoyed.  Currently we are painting at random times at the maintenance building at Stewart Park, and have met a lot of nice people who walk by wondering what we are up to.

I'm feeling very pleased with the horse I just finished yesterday on a gorgeous Ithaca summer day.  Here she is before, with Annie's painting, a very pretty dapple grey with a very decorative saddle:

As I mentioned in my last post, we heard that this horse was a particular favorite of a little girl fighting cancer, and the request was to keep it a dapple grey.  So I did some research and observation of grey horses last weekend, and learned how their colors fade from light dappling on the top down to darker legs.  I chose a white mane, and a young girl I know said that a pink saddle would be appropriate for honoring those who are fighting cancer.  Then I thought about wings!  WINGS!  Ya know, like Pegasus but also like hope being the thing with feathers.  So here she is, completed:

I am really enjoying working on the faces.  It seems that the horses are all designed to look a little frantic, like they are galloping along at their fastest while the kiddos saw on the reins.  I'm trying very hard to give them realistic eyes and as pleasant an expression as possible.

I'm becoming more familiar with the paints, exterior latex enamel is definitely NOT fine art paint but it mixes well.  Some colors cover better than other.  It's really hard to get around the inside of the horses' legs.  And in case you were curious, they are all mares.

We are arranging some other places for painting, and will keep you updated as we start to bring the horses out to play around the Commons and elsewhere!

-Christi

Ithaca Journal article link

If you wish to read our Ithaca Journal article, you can find it here, as long as that link stays active.  We are getting a lot of nice feedback from the article, and I hear a little buzz from the Friends of Stewart Park that there have been some donations!

I'm heading into a busy weekend, but eager to start work on horse #3 early next week.  She is washed, sanded and primed and ready for paint.  I heard from the lady running the carousel (I'm sorry to have not caught her name) that this particular horse needs to remain a dapple grey, as it had been the favorite horse of a little girl with cancer.  Cue the misty eyes.  I was already planning on making this horse a dapple, so will carry on with that plan.  Perhaps with a pink saddle, to honor little girls and those who are fighting cancer.