Mockingbird

I thought it was a day to paint a big canvas, but all that white space seemed menacing. Here is a Mockingbird - some people call them catbirds - on an old rustic piece of wood that I collected out on the trail. I rode the colts for the first time in two weeks and brushed the hair and mud off of all the horses yesterday. I think I pulled a muscle near my shoulder blade. Sometimes I feel like one of those old rodeo cowboys, but somebody's got to ride the colts or they won't grow up with a proper education and that spells a very bad life for a horse. If they grow up wild and uncooperative, they could be sent to auction or the glue factory. It's a responsibility that I take seriously.
This painting is oil on rustic barn wood approximately 17" x 7" x 1/2" - $45 includes shipping.

Painting Slump

Hello Friends, Collectors and Family,
I'm in a slump again. I can't paint my way out of a paper bag anymore. Maybe because I had beef for lunch. I had a french dip sandwich over at Harrah's casino with a couple of girlfriends. I painted two disasters and one that I may be able to keep working on and get something. Two are scraped off and drying to make an interesting background for more paintings and one I'm going to work on more later. Do I dare post that? No because I want to get into the Daily Painters Gallery at Dailypainters.com - They said they're going to jury me in February. What if they see bad paintings and they don't let me in? Here is a photo of my paint colt last Saturday getting his feet trimmed. I may make a painting - Farrier - soon. Vinny - the colt - is 16.1 hands and 4 years old. I raised him from a 3 month old baby and may be selling him in the Spring when he sheds his winter coat and is a little more finished under saddle. He turns 5 in May. I broke him myself and have been riding him dressage for a about a year now. You can see a video of me riding him last September at http://gallery.mac.com/debimcswain#gallery I'm sure we have improved since the video was taken. My neighbor is going to video me on the colts again as soon as the rain lets up. Thanks for hanging in there with me and reading my blog. Debi

Horse Woman - Under Construction

Hello. It's a rainy day here in San Diego. That gives me a chance to catch up on indoor work like painting, housecleaning, and working on my Friend's of Hellhole Open Space Preserve duties. My job is to find corporations that will donate funds to purchase property in order to expand the preserve for wildlife habitat. I better get going with that. If anyone knows of any corporations who are into donating funds for environmental groups, let me know.
Today's painting is a little different for me. I said I wanted to get into abstract and suddenly I find I'm getting into surrealism. Oh well. My mind and my art don't always coincide - in fact they never coincide! My right brain refuses to co-operate with my left brain. When I was in Palm Springs a few weeks ago I saw a bronze sculpture with the body of a woman and the head of a horse. I was delighted, so here is my version. I put her as decoration for a Native-American looking piece of pottery. I kind of like it. 8" x 10" oil on masonite. $45 includes shipping and handling.

Meditation Bell

The meditation bell that sits on my piano. 5" x 7" oil. This isn't quite finished. It's too dark now to go further or even to photograph it well, so tomorrow morning I'll finish it and re-photograph it. I'm still recharging so the painting feels a little dull to me. I don't know. Rain today, so no exercise with the horses. I wormed them though. They hate that. You give them a plastic syringe full of wormer in the back of their throats. I'm sure it tastes nasty even though some brands are "apple" flavored. This one actually smelled like peppermint and my mare seemed like she wanted more. $40 and free shipping

Purple Cow - Painting 78

Painting is like pulling teeth again. Sigh. Sigh. I need exercise. Going outside to ride!
Quote of the Day
"When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge."
– Tuli Kupferberg
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