Fat Tuesday

Fat Tuesday (February 12th) will be the day of Tiny's release, finally! It seemed appropriate that such a large little guy have his big day on Fat Tuesday. My idea for the mold worked and he will be cast all in one piece with the resin being poured into the mold via his left hind leg/tail, so he will be super easy to clean up for shipping with no need to fit the base and deal with hoof pegs or a belly vent. I'm passing this time savings on to my customers by keeping the price at $75.00, even though he is larger than the average stablemate scale horse. He's in scale, he's just a big horse! 

There are a few new mustang paintings, too. I have found a few photographers willing to allow paintings to be done from their photos, as well as BLM photos which are public domain. The more paintings of mustangs I do the more I want to help, even though it will only be in a small way, it all adds up right? A portion of each mustang painting sale will go to mustang charites, starting with a local group that advocates for our local mustangs by raising awareness, purchasing and setting up safe mustang handling corrals and chutes, and working with the Forest Service to eradicate noxious weeds, maintain fences, and keep the watering holes cleaned out. The first three mustang paintings are in the giclee print process pipeline as I type, with my goal being a 2014 calendar this fall, as well as various sizes of prints and possibly other items like note cards being available.

This guy is not quite finished, I need to add his auction tag, but he's one of my favorites. Photo reference provided by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM):

Branching out to 'on the range' paintings with this one titled "On the Edge". Photo reference provided by TJ Holmes who has a wonderful blog about our local mustangs. This is the stallion "David":

 

Here's the most recent painting, finished just yesterday, "Aspen of Spring Creek Basin" from another one of TJ's great photos:

Obviously this painting thing is becoming an obsession. Painting AND horses AND the west...I think I'm doomed.

Playtime!

Work on the new mini "Tiny" continues, and today he was allowed to play with his pal Doodlebug:

I'm guesstimating it will be two weeks before he is ready to sell.  He still needs veins, some more wrinkles, and other small details added, plus the production mold has to be sorted out. I'd like to cast him as one piece, since his big drafty legs are sturdy and it would be so much easier to not have to fit each casting to the base. He will have steel reinforced back legs just in case. Doodlebug's skinny legs could never have handled that!

The third mustang in my series is mostly finished and I've started a fourth. I've got this wild hair to do 12 of them and have a 2014 calendar. 

This little guy is titled as the BLM described him "#1861 - 1 yr old sorrel gelding, captured August 2011, from Heath Creek HMA, Oregon":

  
Here is the fourth, a work in progress, a saddle trained horse from a prison work program:

  

Winter's Arrival and the Mustang Paintings

It’s been awhile since I’ve updated the happenings here at Rose Studios. Winter finally arrived on Friday, hard to believe we were still riding up until a few weeks ago:

The new mini “Tiny” was *supposed* to be finished in November, but that didn’t happen. Somehow I blocked out that almost nothing gets done in the studio in November, because it’s hunting season and then there’s Thanksgiving. Tiny has gone from clay to resin master, but I am going to hold off on his release until January, possibly mid-January, when the holidays are well over and everyone can breath easy again. I’ll have photos soon of him on his base, and with Doodlebug his playmate so you can see what size he is. I have a Sarah Mink “Spinnaker” on hand and he is the same size. Here’s “Tiny” right before he went into the waste mold:

Todd is whittling away at the shipping list, and is hoping to catch up by the first of the year. If you are near the top of the shipping list and do NOT want your order shipped during the holidays, please let me know! You can view the shipping list here.


I have also been doing some painting, no, not models, but paintings! I am very lucky that former model horse artist Sonya Johnson is a friend of mine and I was able to observe her doing some of her wonderful pastel landscapes. It looked so enjoyable I asked her one day if I could sit alongside and give it a try, and that was it, I’m hooked! It’s rejuvenated my creative world by giving me an outlet for non-equine subjects and getting to finish a project in a few hours/days, as opposed to months. When I’m tired of painting I sculpt, and vice-versa. I’ve been doing some landscapes and horses (can’t stay away from the horses!) and decided to do a small series of mustang portraits, depicting horses waiting for adoption in BLM holding facilities and adoption centers. Here are the first two, and while I may fuss around with them a bit more they are 90% done:

I may make prints available, but having never done that it might take me awhile to research it and decide what I want to do. I’m working on a third mustang right now.

That’s about it :)


Hope you all are warm and well :)

Sneak Peek of the upcoming mini "Tiny"

As promised I am finally delivering the first peek at the upcoming all-new mini "Tiny". The idea came to me that an earlier mini "Doodlebug" needed a playmate. I still have a few weeks of tinkering around with him before he is finished:

He is large stablemate scale and will obviously have a base. I am hopeful that we can do the release before everyone gets caught up with Christmas, but these things have a way of getting done when they get done. As always with the minis he will be open for ordering for an entire year with what could arguably be the hobby's most flexible time payment plans :)

Tiny was somewhat inspired by the Shire breed, but can also represent other hairy legged draft breeds and crosses. I think he'd look awesome in black and white pinto!

NAN wrap up

NAN has come and gone again, and here's the wrap up of champs and reserve champ horses sculpted by me:

Artist Resin Performance classes (with tack):

Parade/Circus:

Champion: Khemonahar Ali
owned by Tiffany Purdy
Khemosabi resin customized and finished by Tiffany Purdy to a Morab

Reserve: Kentucky Gold Push
owned by Shannon Hayden
Independence resin finished by Shannon de Wall-Hayden

Reining:

Champion: Velvet Phoenix
owned by Lyn Norbury
Reiner resin customized by Lyn Norbury and painted by Billie Campbell

Reserve Champion: LZ Oklahoma Fuel
owned by Annette Dean
Reiner resin 

Western Pleasure Quarter Horse:

Champion: Remington Steele
owned by Lyn Norbury
Reiner resin customized and painted by Lyn Norbury

Western Pleasure Other Breed:

Reserve: Mapachi Star
owned by Annette Dean
Lonestar resin customized and painted by Lyn Norbury

Western Trail-Geldings

Champion: Big Valley Casino Gold
owned by Vicky Norris
Lonestar resin finished by Sue Kern

Western Stockwork:

Reserve: Azul Amigo
owned by Vicky Norris
Reiner resin finished by Jennifer Scott

Artist Resin Halter (breed) classes:

Tennessee Walker Traditional scale:

Champion: Shaman
owned by Sharon Mossy
Independence resin finished by Carol Williams


Appaloosa:

Champion: Velvet Phoenix
owned by Lyn Norbury
Reiner resin customized by Lyn Norbury and painted by Billie Campbell

Tennessee Walker/Other Gaited mini resins:

Champion: Push in the Right Direction
owned by Amy Widman
Mini Indy resin finished by Carol Huddleston

Reserve: Gypsy Rose
owned by Randi Brazil
Mini Indy resin finished by Nikki Button

Arabian Stallions:

Champion: Khemolytic
owned by Hilary Schwafel
Khemosabi resin finished by Hilary Schwafel

Reserve: Paradox
owned by Gail Aspinwall
Mini Nahar resin finished by Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig

Arabian, Purebred

Sculptor/Customizer: Sarah Rose
Painter/Finisher: Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig

Andalusian/Lusitano:

Reserve: DNC Caballo Caliente
owned by Heather Moreton
Deseoso resin finished by Tracey Eilers

Quarter Horse:

Reserve: Canis Major
owned by Sharon Mossy
Little Lonestar resin finished by Hilary Schwafel

Arabian Mares:

Champion: La Nouba
owned by Sharon Mossy
Mini Nahar resin customized and painted by Paige Easley Patty

Reserve: High Society
owned by Randi Brazil
Jezebel resin finished by Nikki Button

Part Arabian:

Reserve: Bear
owned by Macy Lindsay
Mini Nahar finished by Mindy Berg

Thoroughbred:

Champion: Now or Never
owned by Natalie Sherard
Affinity resin finished by Sommer Prosser


Besides the champs and reserves there were numerous Top Tens that aren't pictured on the NAN website. Congrats everyone!

Some explainations

After my last post I began to think I might have come across as "I have nothing to do but run amuck on my property wielding tractors and other implements of undesired vegetation doom" and how that may sound to those patiently waiting for their orders. Recently some other artists have come out with very detailed descriptions of how their studios operate, and if a spouse is involved exactly what their involvement and responsibilities are. I think it's time I do that as well.

Most of you know my resins are cast in house by my husband Todd. Todd is a very meticulous person, and is also not a fast worker. It would be hard to be both meticulous and fast.  How this effects my customers is they have a longer wait, but what we feel is a superior casting. We get emails all the time saying how nice our castings are and how little clean up work is required before they can be painted. I also am fine with time payments, how ever long it takes and however small the payments are, and that has come back to me in a very positive way as having the most patient customers on earth when it comes to the casting schedule.

"So why aren't you in the casting studio helping Todd?" you might be wondering. Well, that is something that has been done a few times in the past, and it does not work that well for us. For one thing, I do not like anything to do with the casting process. I do, however, make the molds. Todd does all the physical casting, the clean up work, and the shipping. We sometimes employ outside help in getting the castings cleaned up, which we are doing presently (big thanks to Sonya!). When I insist on helping I get overly involved, nit pick, and in general step on Todd's toes and get in the way. I don't ask him to help me sculpt, he doesn't want or need me to help with casting.

I do all the record keeping, which is a hidden user of large amounts of time when one thinks of how neat it would be to be self employed. There is a LOT to keep on top of, especially considering that I take time payments. I use Quickbooks for this which has been beyond helpful to me. I have records of every single model horse sale I've ever made. I also update the website, try to post regularly on this blog (!), check in with the hobby forums, keep my advertising up to date (need to do that soon, too), and respond to email (sometimes I fall quite a bit behind on this).

So, after sculpting all winter with limited breaks to get groceries, I thoroughly enjoy the free time I do get when I have completed a new sculpture and need to just let Todd do his work. Be assured that when you do get your casting, it has been given the once and twice over, and if somehow one gets through with a defect we always will send a replacement. Doesn't happen very often, though :)

I like Big Butts

I do? Apparently my newest relief sculpture says it's likely:

In Jypsi's defense, though, it's the perspective that makes her butt look big. Here is the photo the relief was sculpted from:

In all honesty I do find horse butts to be cute. Actually most behinds are sorta cute, right? You think so too, and are thinking of purchasing a Jypsi in Repose plaque for yourself? Here is a link to the MH$P ad.


I've noticed over the years that I am not as prolific as many other artists, it's something I've been pondering lately. I don't have quite the creative zeal and drive that many have. I think I've come up with part of the reason for this, I have horse property, horses, and a fixer upper house. We are fortunate enough to have 3 gorgeous acres of meadowland in southwestern Colorado, and four wonderful horses that are a huge part of our lives. Improvements to the land are time intensive, and uniquely rewarding. I guess in a way my home and property is a larger art project, that will go on for years to come. Most recently, after my dad suggested it, I've been quite happily ripping out hawthorn bushes with my little backhoe. I do not like the hawthorns, they are mean bushes :) And now they are mostly dead. I like that. It's satisfying.

I do most of my sculpture in the winter, when there is little for me to do outdoors. As soon as the snow melts and it's no longer muddy I feel drawn to the outdoors. I love to putter around in my flowerbeds. I like waging war on the weeds. Riding is always a welcome activity, as well as fishing, off roading, perusing the shops in downtown Durango, and more recently, water sports.

I guess I am just too busy in the summer to sculpt :)