Thoroughbred….Folds

This is where I left off from the last post.  Just getting started on the folds in the five saddle 
sash….(whatever it’s called!  Haha)



And working the cylinder of the boots and the folds of the pants.



If I remember correctly from my last horse….I’ll be bringing in India Ink to get those blacks darker.  Watercolor is very translucent.  It gets pretty redundant to keep adding black watercolor on top of black watercolor and it still won’t get as dark as you think it should be.



I’ve gotta be careful here, because I have about 7 tubes of various blue watercolors, and some of them are on the more turquoise side.



The horse and jockey are coming together well, so far.  I tend to save the really hard parts for last, like the body of the horse.

Thoroughbred….Wash

All I can say is…. “it was time”.   Time to draw another beautiful race horse.  When my family came in town for some Kentucky Derby activities, I asked my son for my framed horse back for the occasion.  Since the framed horse is such a monster, It took up too much room in my previous home.  It measures 49 inches wide by 36 inches tall (framed).  I consider it my best piece to date.



It was 4 years ago that I completed that horse, and I’m curious if I can repeat the challenge of making another.  I’ve been doing much smaller, “en plein air” drawings and haven’t felt the push to do something this big in awhile.

NOTE: Crescent #114 watercolor illustration board 30 x 40

First things first!  Get that wash down.



Then I started drawing with WATERCOLOR pencils.  There is a lot of play and adaptation with watercolor pencils versus straight brush work.    Good for us more realistic drawers/ painters.  I will bring out the Faber-castell regular colored pencils later, when it’s time for the finer detail work.



That stippling you see, will be smoothed out by applying water with a paintbrush. Gotta be careful here, cuz too much water will play havoc.

What are you doing for Derby?

If you live in my neck of the woods, this is the statement of the day? Actually for the month. With the Kentucky Derby on your home turf, it’s a huge deal around here! The Derby festivities kicked off 2 weeks ago with “Thunder over Louisville” and a must-see air show, followed by a Hot Air balloon race, Steamboat race on the Ohio river, a mini-marathon run, Pegasus float Parade, a Bed-race and a bunch of Chow-wagons to feed you throughout town. And I’m sure I’ve forgotten something, too. It’s actually treated like a Holiday here. Did you know there is no school the day before Derby? What a deal, wish I grew up here!!

The one thing that really surprises me, is that I’ve never even stepped foot inside of Churchill Downs. I’ve gone to horse races at Longacres Racetrack in Seattle and Arlington Racetrack in Chicago. But that’s the extent of it. This doesn’t really bother me much since I’m pretty clueless about horses and I’m not much of a gambler. We do go to the occasional Derby parties and have a good time. These parties usually have an informal bookie where you can put your bet in on the 6th race. This year, I’m pulling for Dublin at 12-1 (in honor of my Dad’s mom being from Ireland).

Diane- the Derby Jockey……She loves her sport!! Why else would she want to be on a horse that’s got a mind of his own and weighs over 2000 pounds? Gotta love it!!

I’m such a little collector!! I thought it was time to photograph all my little birdies together. Now, this is when I really miss Renee. Because she belongs in this collection too! She resides in the little tiny mail-art journal! I hope she’s having fun! Good Lord, I’m sure she’ll tell ya if she isn’t!!