My client said it best!

Dear Theresa,

People who ride or work with horses can always remember that special horse that stood apart from the rest. It is often due to exceptional talent or confirmation or maybe outstanding bloodlines. Our special horse didn't have any of those characteristics. He was a 24 year old quarter horse with nothing special about his confirmation or his talent. What made him stand apart was his gentle nature and his willingness to do his best and take care of his rider. Charlotte and I have struggled since his death in October. We miss our friend. You can not imagine my surprise when I opened this beautiful portrait on Christmas morning. You captured so completely the sweetness of his face and his wise old eyes. You also captured perfectly the face of a little girl who thought he was just about the best friend anyone could have in life. Thank you for doing such a beautiful job. I will treasure it always.

K Yarbrough

Merry Christmas! Onwards 2008!

Well, for an artist business that works solely on commission, 2007 has been a busy and rewarding year. Rewarding financially and rewarding in the knowledge of the joy that I create with my art for both me and for my clients!
The activities of the season have been a combination of reminiscences.....my mother passed away this year with me at her side and as I walked away from the hospital in those dark, early morning hours last February, I knew that another era had passed. So this Christmas, I find myself thinking "She would like this" or "She needs this" and just as suddenly making the connection that it didn't matter this year...but I shake off the doldrums, for with every sad thought is the reality of people delighted with what I have created for them. Today O know that my clients excitedly await the "reveal" of a Christmas Eve or morning portrait. I love it!
And with that thought I wish a very Merry Christmas to everyone! And let's make 2008 a year for dreams to come true!

Pastels, horses and more

Hope Thanksgiving was good for everyone! We've been busy with the Fall shows and now of course, Christmas!





included some recent portraits in this post.
This lovely young lady and her mount posed for me at the UNC shows in Raleigh NC so I could create this pastel for her family!
The challenge is creating the colors of a clipped horse (in this case, a dun) with the range of colors available in pastels. Oils can be mixed but pastels must be lightly layered to come close to the necessary colors :-).


Both of the dog portraits were created from photos supplied by the owners. It is always satisfying to create something for posterity. Both animals had passed away and these will be gifts!
Stay tuned for more Christmas portraits!

Duke Charity Horse Show

Well it is that time of year again and we are set up and flourishing at the Duke shows in Raleigh NC! Beautiful, crisp fall weather has perked the colors of the trees and although we need rain badly, the weather can' t be better at the moment! The explosive Grand Prix is Saturday night and a glittering assortment of spectators will be out in full.

And of course, with our booth set up at the doorway and both Steve and I painting, we have encouraged all of our clients to stop on by!

Now I must confess that as I write this, it is 8 pm, cold, dark and I am in front of a fire while Steve is at the show :-) But hey, that's life! Our home is about 30 miles from this show so unlike Saratoga, NY or Blowing Rock NC, we are close enough to commute and not camp.

Pastel portrait of Little Girl

I am trying to be good and stay up to date! Hard to do when so much is going on but this is part of running a business!
This session will be brief. I have a son going off to Marine Boot camp tomorrow and spending time with him has been on my list of priorities!

This pastel portrait of a young girl was created for clients of mine and is the second I have done for them. Many families have me create a portrait of each child as they reach a certain age. Others have a portrait created of all of them at the same time with their varying ages. It just depends on the client. There is no "right" way!

As usual, I apologize for the bluish tint in the photos that I put up! My husband edits the ones for the website but frankly, I am thrilled just to get them up :-).

Remember to keep our troops in your prayers. I do not care what your political convictions are, we have men and women serving this country and they deserve our respect and admiration. Don't let politics leave you kicking the dog!

Visit me at www.MTheresaBrown.com

Beginnings of Christmas

We stay busy year round! But admit it, there is something about Christmas that makes all of us think that NOW is the time to pick up that present or item we have been thinking about all year long! And my clients are no exception :-). NO problem! When they call me with the nudge of "OK, I need to call her this week!" I am perfectly happy with that! I work great with deadlines. I LOVE deadlines. I work

great in public, late into the night, first thing in the morning and everything in between. To be successful at art in any form, you HAVE to value your clients' needs and expectations. The funny thing is most clients will preface a deadline request with "I don't want to rush you" and rest assured, they do NOT! My normal reply is to laugh and assure them that deadlines work for me :-).

The pencil collage above (sorry for the blue cast) is the second one that I have completed for a client with her horses. I leave space around the images and add the names onto some area of the halters and as she adds more horses, she brings the portrait back and I add the new horse. I have done the same with people's dogs and it is a loving tribute to the many animals wh share or have shared one's life! People? Of course! A collage is a grouping of subjects that are relative to the message an artist is sending. Many chidren create them at school using magazine tear outs and they are a telling visual image of what that individual is thinking of him or herself :-). A collage may have a set of grandparents in the center and around them are their lives condensed into a number of visual images (a garden , the beach, a family tree, a job, travel, a funny episode, a hobby, etc.) TIme consuming for me BUT an heirloom that is enjoyed by the family for many years.

The pastel of the horse is a good example of taking a busy photograph and reducing the subject to it's important essentials. The background is muted and soft, the subject is crisp and focused.....the perfect ingredients for a successful portrait of any subject!

I have just completed 3 weeks of straight shows so within a few days I will post additional images of completed portraits. A few of them are horses and their owners of course but several are clients returning to have a portrait created of that second or third child!

And maybe I'll post that 40 x 80 oil of the family which is very near completion. A long time in the "doing" but the end will be worth it...not quite there but there enough to see what I will be altering and changing!

Until next time!

Theresa

www.MTheresaBrown.com

Fall is "sort of" here!

A recent commisssion of a proud mom and daughter! Dad is a smart man as this will be a Christmas present! This pastel is approximately 18 x 24.









Recent fun! (see below)
Custom painting the Trail of Painted Ponies! As a woodworker (I have carved large Victorian rocking horses)
I have been selling these on Ebay since I actually do not have room for them in my booth at shows. So they have been a nice creative outlet for my art. I'll post a few more finished examples later.
This one is part of my "Wild Ponies of the Outer Banks " series. Check out the web site for the prints-very popular!













OK. We still have drought and heat BUT the good news is that the heat is staying below 90 degrees and the nights are now down in the 40-50 range, Do-able!







Working diligenty while also at the NC State Fair with a portrait booth. Steve and I alternate up to a point. This year he is spending more time there :-)




So what is happening in my art world? Commissions of course!