Magnolia Tree and Mountains Mural

This is my latest mural, a Magnolia tree in bloom (also known in China as the White Jade Flower) and a mountain and water scene behind the shower.
The magnolia tree was painted and then muted with a soft glaze effect over the entire wall. I bought stencils to do the Chinese characters, but ended up painting them all by hand because they looked more authentic that way.

Please feel free to pass along my blog to anyone whom you think would be interested in a mural or a custom painting. (See the archives for more painting examples.)

Four paintings by my horse Rainy

On Saturday Rainy made these. Below is a video clip of her painting one of them.






Have you seen the fabulous website www.paintinghorse.com? This spring we will adopt some of Cheryl's ideas and methods. Maybe Rowdy would like to paint too. Last time I tried it with him, he thought he was supposed to eat the paint brush.

Rainy making a painting

Here Rainy is making one of the paintings featured above. We are still working out some of the details, such as how it is preferable to paint on the canvas rather than on Sara or in the sand. When it warms up, we'll spend more time doing this. Rainy really enjoys it.

Playing with Rainy

Rainy and I participated in the Charity Fun Horse Show at Saddleridge Stables this Saturday. After the classes, Rainy showed a few people some of her tricks. Here she shows how she's learning to do the Spanish Walk. I use positive reinforcement and a clicker noise as a way to communicate when she's on the right track.

india ink drawings

I made these in December just before Christmas, 2007. Somehow these ladies got overlooked!
They are 4"x6", pen and ink.

Rainy's new work

Rainy is my beautiful Morab horse, 4 1/2 years old. She paints by holding the paintbrush in her mouth and waving it over the paper/canvas.


Note the bite mark in the upper left corner of the second painting. This occurred when she grabbed it with her teeth and began waving it around. Next she dropped it to the ground and began to do the Spanish Walk on top of it. I made a quick rescue before the painting became completely destroyed.







Soon she got into the painting mood, and enthusiastically painted the two other tall paintings. We stopped because it was cold and I ran out of carrots. I'll need a helper to take photos or a video the next time we do this!





Sales of Rainy's work go to pay for her boarding, hoof pedicures, special feed and vitamins, etc. She has also volunteered to paint for a horse charity or other cause.

Painting Joey's mural

Here's a short video of Joey's superhero mural in progress.

The Batman wall - Joey's Superhero mural

Only one wall of this mural is depicted as night time, so that the room wouldn't feel too spooky.

Joey's Superhero Mural

Here are the other finished walls. This was a fun collaboration with Joey and his mom. I included elements that have personal meaning for them into the mural.

Joey checked on my progress regularly, and it was satisfying to hear him state, "I really like my room!"