Can You Haiku?

Mom, you are not good at poems. But I still love you.

I'm going to give this haiku thing a whirl (thanks Nicole!) and we shall see what turns up. I am sorry for what you are about to read.

Sigh. Another hot spot.

Saggy doggy skin

Allergies and some moisture

Standing wrap boots now

My face might be weird

But I have much longer legs

than a tiny pooch

Put it in your mouth

It is number one goat rule

And stand on the things

Weave and weave and weave

Dressage and jump all the things

Make my mom happy

Just give me the food

Place it in the food hole now

Old lady munchies

Think you can catch me?

Run and buck and play with sass

Oh hi dad, love you

I am unicorn

Majestic and free to be

But I fart and snort.

Cartoon Update!

Thank you soooooooo very much for your kind words on my fancy photos. You are all so wonderful and I really appreciate you. Not only do I have awesome friends and family lifting me up, but I have you guys too!

One of the first attempts. A cartoon Bacon!

The cartoon creations has been a lot of fun, but also a little trying. Adobe Illustrator and I have had some talks with some words, so Adobe Photoshop (my main homie) came in and we are doing this thing together instead. It may take me a little longer, but I think the outcome is a little better. I am trying to get these finished as fast as I possibly can, which is usually about one a day. Sad, I know, but I do what I can.

I bet you guys can recognize this handsome fellow...

I will also have to ask for payment ahead of the service provided (via paypal). I promise I will do my best to excel at your cartoon and to get it done as soon as I can, but I cannot have payments lingering in the distance after I have spent my time and hand strength to provide this art piece. Especially since I have learned that despite all of our efforts, the hospital has declined our financial aid assistance from my surgery and we know owe them $13,000. I know it is doable to pay off, but it hurts to see a lot of the dreams you were desperately trying to hang on to fluttering out the door. So far most everyone has paid right away, and I really REALLY appreciate that. So thank you!

You know you wish you had a donkey and a sword.

The file you will recieve will also be different than previously posted. I have it formatted so that you will receive a jpeg that will print nicely as an 8x10 at 300dpi. If you are wanting a different size, all you have to do is let me know and I can change it to whatever you would like! There is no extra charge for this either, of course.

And Olivia's beautiful pony, Addy! Complete with dirt.

Those of you who have already been put on my list for cartoons will not be charged ahead of time, but any new requests will have to follow the new rules. As much as I hate to do that, it is necessary. If anyone is looking for an acrylic painting or pencil drawing, I can do those too (at a slow pace). Just ask (you can email me at alyssalapuh@gmail.com). I cannot promise any of these more technical pieces before Christmas of course, but I will do what I can. Thank you all so very much!

Acrylic painting!

I forgot, I can do colored pencils too!

TRM Blog Hop!

Weeee blog hops!

Kathryn over at That Red Mare has started a fun blog hop. Yay content! I love questionnaires. Brings back the Myspace days...

Miss you Booger.

1. Mares or Geldings? Why?
I think my mares would fire me if I said geldings...but seriously, I do love them. I loved my gelding Booger, and I have no idea why I am attracted to the sass of a mare, but I am.

2. Green-broke or Fully Broke?
Lucy may be considered "fully broke" but in our world that meant she came with a lot of problems. I am not saying that our others don't have problems, but there are less, and they weren't created and continued for more than 10 years. So I will have to say green broke.

3. Would you own a "hotter" breed (ie. Arabian, Trakhener, etc).
I appreciate the aestheticism of Bacon and the thoroughbreds at the track. There is nothing else like it. But for toodling? Not so much.

Vegas is offended that I don't think she is athletic.

4. What was your "dream horse" growing up?
I had at least ten. But the one I remember picturing the most was a black quarter horse with a white blaze and four white socks. Named "Rated R" because I thought I was bad ass.

5. What kind of bit(s) do you use and why?
Bacon- loose ring snaffle for dressage and a waterford D ring for jumping things.
Lucy- western d ring or solid curb with copper roller
Pandora- loose ring snaffle or bosal

Goose in the fancy moon bit.

Vegas- d ring snaffle or tom thumb

6. Helmets or no helmets?
I use to never wear a helmet. And that has definitely changed over the last few years. 


7. Favorite horse color?
Oh boy. I love a super rich dapple bay or a perfetly colored blue roan.

8. Least favorite horse color?
Sorry cremellos and perlinos. You are still pretty but not my favorite!

9. Dressage or Jumping?
JUMP ALL THE THINGS.

10. How many years have you been riding?
22 years? But didn't get to start taking lessons until 14 years ago.


11. Spurs/whip or no spurs/whip?
I should ride with spurs more, or a whip, but I don't.

12. Your first fall?
First one I remember? My aunt's old palomino gelding spooked and bucked me off head first into a cactus. And then I got back on :)

13. When was the last time you rode and what did you do?
Last week in another really painful episode of no-stirrup November. Ah the pain!

14. Most expensive piece of tack you own?
CWD jump saddle. I adore it.

Rope halters everywhere.

15. How old were you when you started riding?
4 years old. Rode pony horses around on the back side of a track and toodled on my aunt's gelding.

16. Leather or Nylon halters?
Rope halters for work, leather halters for away things! I never use nylon.


17. Leather or Synthetic saddles?
LEATHER.

 18. What "grip" of reins do you like?
Nylon lined leather with nice light rubber. Nice 3/4in split reins for western

19. English or Western?
Oi. I very much loved my western. And then I met eventing. 

20. How many horses do you currently own/lease?
Four mares!

All the girls.

21. Do you board your horse? Self-care/full board? Home board?
I am lucky enough to have them at home.

22. Have you ever had to put down a horse that you loved?
Yes. When Booger broke his leg, I had no other choice. It was horrible.

23. How many saddlepads do you have?
Well crap. ~4 western saddle pads, more blankets, ~6 all purpose and 3 dressage.

Tiny trailer!

24. Slant-load trailer or straight haul?
I am a fan of the slant loads, but appreciate a horse that will load nicely in a straight.

25. Why do you ride?
I use to ride because it gave me a feeling that I haven't found anywhere else. And while that is still true, riding means something different for me now. I get to ride when I feel good enough to, and it makes me feel like I am still useful.

Feeling a Little Fancy

I'm lookin at you. Being fancy.

So, as you know, awesome friends Theresa, Taylor Martin, and Sunnie from Sunny Daze photography had set up a fun photo shoot for me. Let me start by saying I have never felt all that great about how I look. I was bullied quite a bit in high school but I can even remember back to when I was seven years old and a group of girls was making fun of my face. I could pick apart this face and body like nobodies business.

Yeah. My skin color is see through.

Contemplating about this fence line.

Those are some big eyes.

When I met Blake, I wasn't sure why he wanted to hang out with me. Or date me. Or marry me. I think he is very handsome and adorable and I waited for him to find someone more attractive. But here we are. He will be looking at me, I'll catch him, he will smile and tell me "you're beautiful". And I will look away and get uncomfortable. How can he find any beauty in me? He must also be crazy.

Kisses for Bacon!

"These here are some reins."

P.S. bridle for the win

When Taylor turned me around in his studio chair after doing my hair and make up, I changed my mind a bit. I didn't recognize the person in the mirror. She looked healthy, confident, fancy, and ready for people to look her way, even if she did limp her way out of the building. When I met Taylor, he immediately instilled a bit of confidence in me too. He radiated a caring spirit and he knew he could make me see at least some beauty. He cut and placed highlights in my hair a month or so before (definitely the most talented person to work on my hair ever) and went shopping with me to pick out our fashionable outfits for the photo shoot. Which Theresa had graciously paid for. We went for a 60/70's twist.

Still thinking about the fence line.

"And this is a nose."

SNUGGLES.

Sunnie met us at Prisoner's house, and we started shooting right off of the bat. She had lots of ideas and was so easy to work with. And of course, she had lots of nice things to say too. Bacon was pretty confused about the whole process, but modeled quite well too. It felt really weird to be the center of attention, but I also felt pretty cool. Sunnie knew what she was doing, Taylor knew what he was doing, and my other friends there (Aimee, Lindsey, Theresa) were all awesome support. They tell me wonderful things about myself all of the time. Maybe I should start to listen to them more.

My cape and trailer match.

Posing in the standards.

Thanks for the kiss Bac.

I walked away from the experience feeling better about myself and the way I look. Maybe I won't feel as uncomfortable when my husband says nice things about me. I won't worry so much about people looking at me in public. And if I can be more confident in life in general, I think my riding could even benefit! I am so happy that my friends put this whole thing together for me.

Ready for our jog up.

It is hard to pretend to be tall next to this horse.

Me and my pony.

The Crushing Man

What am I talking about?

This guy.

NOOOOO!

He equals life. You are just getting all settled and comfortable and then BAM. Big round life hits ya, with its sweaty pits and too revealing shorts.

I shouldn't complain too much. I've got it pretty good despite my illness. I am fortunate enough to have a hard working husband that can provide enough financial support to keep me at home. I win all kinds of crap, like a sweet Success Equestrian half pad (from Halloween costume contest) or all the raffles from the IDEA awards banquet last year. All of my critters are doing alright (knock on wood) and I have awesome friends. I have people that are trying to support my art when I can get it done.

But then there is my mom.

Behold, the creator of this weirdo.

My mom is a strong, small and feisty woman. She doesn't make the best choices. Despite these many bad choices, I love her very much so. I feel like a lot of my childhood was robbed because we were apart. When my dad packed my brother and myself up and moved us from Tucson to Boise, it was painful to look out the back window of our van as we drove away from my grandparent's house and my mom. I can still picture it and immediately feel the pain.

We need more fun times tubing on the lake.

I have been lucky to see my mom a week or two out of the year since then. Sometimes she made some really bad choices that ended with her being locked up for some periods of time. I clambered for every phone call I got from her at that point. Five minutes on the phone was so nice. And then I wouldn't know when I would get another one. Letters were written, but it kind of felt like writing to a ghost. I always got letters back, of course, but I wanted more. When she got out of there, she was healthy and strong and looked great. And now we are here.

More hilarious rides on Pandora.

My mom has been in and out of the hospital several times now, more so in these last few months than anything. She has been battling pneumonia and it gets a little terrifying. My family knows I dwell and worry and have a hard time coping with anything bad that might happen to anyone. So they don't share a lot of details with me, which is unfortunate. I don't know if I am okay with that or not. I should probably know what is going on. But will that affect me in such a way to cause more harm? The last time my mom was in the hospital, she was awfully close to leaving us. I was told after the fact.

More family pictures where Blake gets to pretend he is a giant.

We also come from a line of liver disease and autoimmune diseases and alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (damnit grandpa Bob!) so there are those things too. She is sick again. And I would really like healing thoughts sent to her. Maybe some sent for my sanity. Or prayers or whatever you have got. We've got whatever you have. Turn that fat man into some awesome medical help or even chocolate. I would really love it if I could have the longest possible time with my mom. I would love for her to recover and not be sick again. At least not for a long time. I don't want to be robbed of anything else. We need to make it to the Kentucky Derby, like we always planned.

More hugs with mom.

Cartoonification

*EDIT DOWN BELOW- detailing payment and final product!*

Go horse go!

So some of you may have seen a couple of my cartoon horses floating around (ahem, Prisoner and Courage) and some of you have taken interest. If you feel like supplying me with money for horse shows next year in exchange for cartoons of your horse, you have come to the right place!

When I can art correctly.

I have been trying to art. It is hard because some days I don't know if I have enough strength or control in my hands to do things like little details or even accurate strokes. This has been very frustrating to me because people want art and I never know when I will get it done. But when cooler temps hit, it seems as though I have better control and mildly feel better overall. Too hot or too cold and I don't function properly. I am unreliable.

Prisoner!

One night, the girls and I were talking about our horses' personalities and how it would be fun to turn them into cartoons. The next day, I drew Courage and Prisoner in pencil, took a picture, and then colored them using a mouse on photoshop. These were the results.

Courage!

People seemed to really really like them. Best part? Easier for my hands to do them. Except the whole coloring with a mouse thing was a real crap shoot. I investigated some graphics tablets and started working with the Intuous Art Tablet. It was a pain in the ass to relearn how to draw by drawing on the tablet and looking and my computer screen, but I figured it out. Even bigger pain in the ass? Adobe Illustrator. Never used it before. Really wish I had. Oh well.

After being contacted by Ogilvy Equestrian about my cartoons, I thought I might offer them to the public. It makes me feel like less of a failure to the hubs as far as bringing income in is, and is forcing me to work in a whole different genre. So, if you are interested of a cartoon of ponykins, here is a price list:

Horse Head Portrait- $30
Horse Head with tack-$35
Naked Horse Body- $40
Horse Body with Tack-$45

Any weird extras-$5-$10

If you would like any, please email me at alyssalapuh@gmail.com and list what you would like! Also, please provide a couple of sentences describing said horse (personality, special quirks, etc). I will do my best to incorporate that into the drawing. Please keep in mind that I still do have a hard time with my hands, but will get them done as soon as I can.

Payment by paypal is preferred, but I will also accept a check. Payment will be done after you have received your jpeg sample and are happy with the final product! JPEG file size will be at 300ppi sized to an 8.5x11 setting. If anything else is requested, I can certainly change the specs. I will also send a larger sized pdf file or tiff file, whichever you choose!

Thank you so much!