A Horse with No Name

Horse With No Name
by
Marilyn Lott

He was a horse with no name
But he sure did have style
Strong and handsome he was
and I visited him one in awhile

I was captivated with him
His eyes were bright and clear
Intelligence was obvious
Packed his head from ear to ear

No other animal is like the horse
They are so magnificent to me
Whether in a fence 'round the farm
Or on the range and running free


I found this cute little poem that was just the perfect sentiment  for what has been much of my studio focus these past few weeks.  Towards the last half of my annual Ely, Nevada art sabbatical part 2, I stepped out of my comfort cow zone and began to paint a piece that was of a beautiful gray mare.  It turned out so well that I couldn't stop and wound up painting 5 total horse pieces that week.  Three of which sold immediately when I posted the image on social media.  Each reminded the new owner of a horse they had fond memories of.   

The canvases were relatively small (8 x 8 in) but the horses were dramatic and filled the space perfectly.   The dark background really added to the drama and made the horse seem to pop right off the canvas.  I've picked up more 8 x 8 inch canvases because I'm not stopping.  I feel compelled to paint more.

This week I worked to create a nice print and a set of note that feature my equine art.  These are available for purchase on my Etsy Shop.  I would love to hear your comments about this series of work. 

Set of 5 note cards for $20

The Gray Mare- SOLD

The Paint- SOLD

The Palomino- $150 

The Quarter Horse- SOLD

The Mare and Her Foal- $2

Seeing Eye to Eye

"Eye to Eye"- Acrylic on 12 x 14 stretched canvas

I was completely intrigued by a photo my niece posted on her Facebook wall of a close-up of her horse Spartan's eye.  There was such expression and depth in the photo and I knew it would make a dramatic painting and so I started this 12 x 14 piece in acrylic a few weeks ago.


So as I put the final strokes of paint on this one, I decided to find out more about the vision of this amazing animal.  Frankly, I find that most eyes, regardless of the animal to be interesting.  But there is something special about a horse's eye.   Maybe that has something to do with just how very large, complex and expressive their eyes seem to be.  A horse is such a beloved animal and the bond between horse and man is very strong.

Just a few generations ago many of our ancestors depended on horses to provide their substance, travel and often their lives depended on their horse.  A few years back, my life was greatly impacted when my car was stolen.  It was then that I suddenly had a new appreciation for the wild west and their handling of horse thieves. That was a really big deal!

 Horse ownership has greatly decreased as has our dependency on horses for our livelihood.  A high percentage of households that own horses own more than one horse. Some of the statistics online were not as clear as I had hoped as I started to research the percentage of Americans that own horses but one thing I do know, owning a horse can be very expensive and labor intensive if they are only used as a pet.  So hats off to my niece Emily and her beautiful horse, Spartan!

Here are just a couple facts that I found to be just fascinating.

1. The equine eye is the largest eye of any land mammal—yes, including giraffes!
2. Horses can see a total of 350 degrees around them
3. Horses have “Dichromatic” color vision meaning they can see two colors—shades of blue and gold.  (https://woodsideequineclinic.com/the-amazing-eye-of-the-horse/)

I thought I would share with you a couple more equine themed paintings that I have worked on recently.  If you are interested in seeing more of my work, please check out my website gallery.  There is a little bit of everything there so you might just find something you really like.

"Riding the Buckskin"

Light-em Up

Fence Post Rendezvous

Heading Home

Sweet Rendezvous

WIP-"Fence Post Rendezvous"

The past two weeks my focus has been on my 5th piece in my series "Down Country Roads" which features the series' signature blue morning glories growing at the fence post along with the lush tall grass that grows extra tall there, uncut by the mower.  With this piece,  I decided to add some farm children.  I have such fond memories of growing up in the country where I could run and play without worry.  We lived down a country gravel road, surrounded by farmers and where slowing down to greet the horses and cows with screams of MOO would be a frequent occurrence.  

Nearly every mother on the road tended a rather large garden where the best tasting vegetables could be found.  I remember my mother often asking me to go out to the garden and pick something that would be served with our evening meal.  Maybe green beans, cucumbers, radishes or squash.  There is nothing better than fresh from the garden snapped green beans, new potatoes and ham cooked up in a cast iron skillet topped off with blackberry cobbler for desert using the blackberries that you labored to pick. Speaking from experience, picking blackberries is no easy task.   

This piece that I'm calling "Fence Post Rendezvous" combines some of these elements of my early childhood memories of country life. These two little towheads have been given the early morning chore of picking carrots for dinner but couldn't help but stopping for a few minutes to share a couple of their basket bounty with the neighbor's palomino. With his head full of curly blonde locks, I used my own 3 year old grandson as a model for the little boy at the basket.    

The debut for this piece is going to be the Elks Club Helldorado Art Show and I have just a few more days to get it finished because the call for art is this upcoming Sunday.  Sorry that this is a poor quality cell phone picture of the piece, but since it is still on my easel, I haven't taken the time to get out the good camera to photograph it.   I guess I was just really anxious to show my progress this morning to my blog readers. Rest assured,  I will be providing better images as soon as I finishing painting in the final details.  

I hope you enjoy this WIP (work in progress) blog.  I would love to hear your thoughts, comments or memories about your own "Country Childhood"  To see the rest of the pieces in this series check out my gallery tab or go to my website at http://www.julietownsendstudio.com/-gallery.html

Heading Home

Heading Home- 12 x 24 Original Acrylic

Every year at this time I turn my focus to my entries into the annual Helldorado Art Show and Rodeo that is put on by the Elks Club here in Las Vegas.  It is about the best art show I have participated in and again this year I am looking forward to adding my entries to the assortment of great Western art that I know will be there. It is a great afternoon.

In this piece that I just finished,  I am trying to capture the excitement and strong emotion felt by both horse and rider as home comes into sight.  The curious cow paused from her grazing to stare as they quickly pass by.  

Even before urging from the rider, the horse has picked up his ears and quickened his pace.  His long black mane flows outward as it begins catching the breeze as he trots down that familiar road.  There is cool water, oats and sweet alfalfa waiting inside the doors of the big red barn.  The rider knows that very soon the aroma of his dinner cooking should soon begin filling the afternoon breeze.  It was a good run  and both horse and rider have enjoyed the freedom of their time together, but now it is time to be heading home.  

To see more about this and my other work, check out my gallery on my website at  Julie Townsend Studio Gallery

FOR WHOM THE COWBELL TOLLS?

Perhaps a commissioned cowbell tolls for you!  


I know it may sound like I'm bragging here this morning, but think it takes some skill as an artist to do a commission piece from a small photograph.  I've heard horror stories about artists trying to use a tiny, faded, wrinkled black and white photo of grandma to capture everything that the family remembers of her years after she has passed away.  I can only imaging how very hard it would be to make a realistic portrait on a canvas under these circumstances.  My commission experience wasn't anything so drastic but I was asked to paint a commission bell of of a beloved pet, in this case a horse and transfer that likeness to the small 4"x 6" metal surface of a cowbell. This morning I decided to share with you my experience.

Painting so many of these cowbells have given me some valuable practice and I think, just like consistently drawing in my sketchbook, these small artworks are also giving me valuable practice as an artist.  Painting small can be a real challenge because I naturally prefer to paint much larger. Today, I can report that I'm feeling much more confident at painting in general and I can almost paint chickens in my sleep. 

Up to this point, my cowbell commissions have been pretty non-specific and rather more a general theme such as "Can you paint me a rooster, a cow or a sandhill crane?"  I also get request for certain flowers such as the Texas blue bonnets, lavenders or sunflowers.  This particular commission request was much more stressful because this is not just any horse but the clients horse "Lady" and I had to get it right.  

I was a bit nervous during that time that I sent the initial photo of the finished bell to her Facebook message thread to the time that I received the "I LOVE IT!" reply.  Let me just say I gave a huge sigh of relief because this bell probably took me as long to paint as it would have taken to paint maybe 2 or 3 bells of a different subject.  

I am happy to report that this bell is today packed up and waiting for the scheduled postal pickup, soon to be a fixture in it's new home in Ponca City, Oklahoma.  As an artist, there is a great deal of satisfaction to take a project, even if it is as small a cowbell, from start to completion.  

Please contact me at Julie Townsend Studio Contact Page if you might be interested having me do a commission cowbell for you.  They make GREAT gifts!

Cowbell Stampeed!

It has been a Cowbell Frenzy in my Las Vegas Studio the past few days.  It started out with a request for a commission piece of a horse for the daughter of my cousin and then several additional orders were then requested.  I ended up almost finishing my 7th bell yesterday and I am happy to report that they are all sold!  I continue to be amazed and blessed at the popularity of these small pieces of art.  

I've pulled out 4 of my USPS medium rate shipping boxes and it is now time to get my assembly line shipping process in full swing.  I have (2) double orders and this box is perfect because I can ship 2 bells in the box for the same cost.  I have established an account with USPS and can order these free boxes in larger quantities to be delivered directly to my home.  I don't have to visit the local post office and hope they have enough boxes for me.  

Another great tool I have found just recently is invoicing on Paypal.  All I need is an email address and I can invoice the collector and they have the convenience of paying with a credit card.  The small fee that Paypal charges is well worth the convenience and security for me.  No longer am I waiting for a check to arrive in the mail before I can ship off the artwork.  This has really made the process less stressful for me.  I actually woke up this morning and sent an invoice to one happy client from my iPad while still enjoying the comfort of my bed.  What a day we live in!  Paypal also allows me print out a prepaid shipping label so I don't have to wait in line at the post office to ship.  I know that I can schedule a pick-up of my boxes but haven't done that yet.  I think this might just be the right time to see how that works.

The results of a weekend of cowbell painting!

The cost to order a cowbell is $65, which includes shipping if shipped in the continental US.  A $10 additional charge may apply if you are interested in a custom design.  Just message me you are interested in placing an order.  Mother's Day is coming and they make GREAT one of a kind gifts!