Painterly

I don't really know what to write about right now. My head is filled with Nyquil, and so, I have decided that maybe I will just post some pictures. Of my art. Because I have been sitting here and critiquing it. I'll let you give it a critique or two as well.

Say as you wish.


First off, graphite. People seem to enjoy the pencil drawings. I do too, because they are pretty quick and offer no drying time. My problem (with all of my art) is my patience. I am NOT patient at all, and so I tend to hurry through my work. You might be able to see it in these drawings.

"Diva G" 11x14 on paper.

"Lil Western Pony" 11x14 on watercolor paper

"Snuggles" 8x10 on watercolor paper

"Racing Matata" 11x14 on watercolor paper

"The Bay" 11x14 on watercolor paper

"Westernized" 8x10 on computer paper

"Santa Anita Roan" 11x14 on sketch paper

And then I tried a colored pencil. And I got too impatient.

"Tanner's Event" 11x14 on sketch paper

And then I do a lot of acrylic paintings.

"Nicola" 16x20 on canvas

"Inbetweenthesheets" 18x24 on canvas

"Painted Face" 11x14 on canvas

"The Reiner" 11x14 on Canvas Board

"I Don't Remember What I Called This" 11x14 on canvas

"Hakuna Matata" 16x20 on canvas

I don't wanna

"This Lady Pissed Me Off Real Bad" 12x12 Four canvas

And then I tried to do an oil painting.

"AJ" 18x24 on canvas

And then I use to screw around in class...

 

And that is the end. Ta-Dah!

B is for....Bacon!

I never finished the big girl's story, and she deserves it to be told just like anyone else!

First ride!

That first day that we got her home, I was quite terrified. I am not sure why, but I was. Maybe because I had only owned stock horse breeds before? Maybe because I had not spent much time with thoroughbreds under saddle? I thought I might fail her. I certainly didn't think she would fail me.

She was pretty terrified too. I turned her out into the arena, and she ran around and yelled out for friends. The other girls came over and looked at her, but didn't say much back. She quickly covered herself in sweat. And I got more worried.

2nd Ride!

But it turned out to be just fine. I was so excited, I wanted to hop on her right away. Blake tossed me up on her bareback, and led me around for a few laps to satisfy my need. She was sweaty and uncomfortable to sit on, but she didn't make one wrong move. And then I felt relieved.

Light as a feather. Stiff as a board.

I threw a saddle on her the next day and went for a little ride. She giraffed around and was very stiff, and had very short strides. But she didn't offer to do any wrong moves. The first thing I wanted to install on her was an emergency brake and to enhance her flexibility. We did a crap ton of one rein stops, followed by lateral side to side stretches. She started to get some brakes!

Blake was weary of me riding her so fast, and thought we should do more groundwork before I got on her. I was very impatient, but he insisted. I let him work with her for about two weeks, and then did things my way.

Bacon goes western!

Bacon goes english!

Bacon tries side passing with cowboy Blake.

Bacon is beautiful!

We started to work on circles, trotting and cantering on a loose rein, some leg yielding, backing, going over very small jumps, and lunging her over larger ones. But most importantly, we tried to get some weight on this girl! We started her out on grass and alfalfa, then just grass, then just alfalfa. Then alfalfa with beet pulp, Ultium grain, Smartpak's Weight Gain, Cool Calories, hoof supplements and a calming supplement. And vegetable oil. And she FINALLY started to gain weight.

Summer 2012.

Jan 2013.

Winter 2012.

The day that Vegas had injured herself when Blake's saddle flipped underneath her was a day that never quit. After I fixed Vegas up and hid Blake's saddle in my truck (yikes!) and put Lucy away, I went to go and grab Bacon from the pasture. When I went to get her, she didn't move. I put the halter on and asked her to walk forward, and to my horror, she hobbled on three legs towards me.

Me and my flat hands have some work to do.

Back dat ass up.

I crumbled. I called Blake to come outside, and he hurried over. He felt horrible, as my two ponies became two lame ponies in the same day. Within the same hour. He quickly called our vet, who informed us that it might be an abscess. He had treated seven that day, and the fact that she had no heat or swelling in her limbs gave us faith in that. He came out, and searched for the abscess. But couldn't find one. He said to wait and see if it would resolve over time, as he would do more harm than good to keep digging for it. We waited. It didn't resolve. Well, not all of the way. Sometimes she was lame. Sometimes she wasn't. Our farrier thought maybe it was her feet. Then he thought maybe she was navicular. Everyone was confused. She had all of the summer of 2013 off. She was not ridden from April until October. I noticed she seemed to be moving quite well over an extended period of time. So, I decided to lunge her. And she did great! So, then I hopped on for a little bit. And she still did great! And then winter came, and here we are.

Had to use the fence to get on...

Yay knees over tiny cross rail!

So fancy in her purple.

I have big hopes and plans for her this year. There are several of us that think she may have just had a bone chip in her knee that lodged itself, which caused her on and off lameness. I just hope she stays sound and happy. Even if we can't jump anymore, I would just love to have my girl ok for flat work.

No butts about it.

We have to catch up to Diva and Papa!

When the Sun Comes Out

So, this is mostly just a photo heavy post. Because that is all we can basically do still. Because winter in Idaho is not the most fun game around. And because I do not have a fancy indoor arena, because I am not rich.

But believe me, if I ever am rich, I'm getting me an indoor arena. Damnit!

So redheadlins and I played with her ponies on Saturday. Actually, it was more like she was molested by her ponies and I laughed and took pictures. And then sometimes, they molested me. It kind of went like this:

So, Diva. I am now the boss.

I shall now seduce you Ma'dam!

Feels so good!

Let's pour everything out of the bucket and stomp on the blankets!

What lovely colors you have on mom!

Imma touch your butt!

And Imma eat cho' hat!

And tell you secrets!

Nuzzle.

And then Bridger try to kill Lindsey by biting Diva on the hip while she was directly behind her, thus Diva kicking out and barely missing Lindsey's leg. That was a little too much fun.

My Blaker was trying to get the pens worked on a little bit. Still didn't get very far, but it is better than nothing! And my dogs soaked up the sun and watched the new baby goats next door. I am hoping one slips through our fence so I can steal it.

Meaty. In all of his glory.

Look at that boy go!

Water does the drool good.

Moo loving the sun!

And airing her ears out.

Damn drill. Doing all of the drilling!

Come on over little kids!

Moooove drill! Get out tha way!

I am the worst at blogging.

It is true.

I am the MOST inconsistent blogger of all time.

Good thing I am not too interesting, right? I don't think too many people are missing out. So that is how I justify my behavior.

Anyways, I think November was my last post. And guess what? All kinds of magical crap happened!

We moved into our new house. And we love it. It is so nice to just have Blake, the doggies and me. But yes, we are missing one thing...The Mares! Unfortunately, the shelter is not safe enough (in our opinion) to put two of the mares in it, and we still have to build another shelter and pen set for the other two girls. We made an attempt to get the pens going, and it has not been too successful due to this horrible weather.

Mom. This house is a mess.

But yay! A new yard!

Oh, Idaho, you big fat ho.

Snow. Damn, awful, evil snow.

My mom and grandma came for their first winter visit to Idaho for Christmas. Since they bask in the sun of Arizona on a daily basis, it was quite the shocker to them when they arrived at the homeland. Especially when the high was in the teens. I laughed. It is only fair...

Sledding with Grandma!

Weeee! Arizonians in the snow! Levitate away!

It was also the first snowy Christmas they had. And they thought that was pretty cool. And the first time they ever went sledding. It was so nice to have my mom and dad in the same place at Christmas, and even better that it was at my own house! And to top it all off, I had a very special Christmas present from a very special boy.

What a cute little computer science cowboy.

So, come Sept 1st. I shall be Mrs. Kelley. Woo hoo!

But AHHH! Wedding planning! There is sooooo much STUFF. WHY!!??

Going to the chapel...yeah, that one.

But, I have some awesome bridesmaids! Ain't nobody got sprinklerbandits and redheadlins as their bridesmaids!

Damn you expensive bionic canine!

It's a good thing we like you.

Oh, and the big beluga (AKA Meaty, Archimedes, Meatyacolypse, Smeegle, Smoogle-Boogle, MeatBall, MeatHead, etc.) tore his ACL, just as we bought the house. So, he is now sporting a $830 brace!

And damn you Goose.

And the Goose tried to decapitate herself.

It's a good thing we like you too.

But that is your bi-monthly update. I am sure you will be on your toes for the next one.