Equine Western Art Horses Arabian Horse by Della Burgus

Strength and Gentleness

Arabian Horse

 

Horse shows are always exciting. There is something about seeing one of these gorgeous animals, groomed and polished, strolling around an arena that takes my breath away. To me they are like great sculptures created by the Master  -  not just clay or wood, but living, breathing works of art.  I can only stare in wonder and awe.  This Arabian was one of my favorites in the Society Horse Show at the state fair this summer.  His grace and dignity made him stand out in the crowd, and that was no ordinary crowd.

This is a pastel on Sennelier Pastel Card. It will be listed on Art Helping Animals, the Chisholm Trail and Daily Painters this week. 10% of the sale will be donated to True Blue Animal Rescue and 10% to Children's Cup International Relief.

Hope you have a good day. And find some of the Master's artwork to appreciate this week.

 

 

Resurrection Sunday Dance 2010, Budapest, Hungary -- Electronic Gospel R...

This is a feel-good video. I hope it brightens  your day as it has mine.  On April 4, 2010, over 1,300 young people, all of them members of Faith Church celebrated Resurrection Sunday in Budapest, Hungary.

Music: Ferenc Balogh Jr.
Lyrics: Shelly Matos, based on the Hungarian text by Tamas Pajor (Tompage)
Producer: Ákos Nemes
Art Producer: Tamás Pajor (Tompage)

While we are banning prayer in the public schools and taking God out of everything our forefathers fought for, take a look at what happened in the streets of Budapest on Resurrection Sunday!  Here in America, we call it Easter, but I like their name better!

My thanks to John Stuart for passing along this video.

Feline Art Cats White Cat Acrylic by Della Burgus

 Ivory

 I love painting white fur - white horses, white cats, dogs, rabbits - they fascinate me because of all the unexpected colors that lurk in the shadows as well as those that come out to play in the light.  Colors are to me what amusement park rides are to other people, or maybe a week end in Vegas if you are so inclined.  Like unearthing a hidden treasure.  As a young art student, one of my most exciting discoveries was that white is not really white,  neither is black really black nor is red red. Not totally.  It still blows me away.  In all the years I taught art, there was one student who reacted in the same way.  I had given her an apple and asked her to "paint" with her colored pencils what she actually saw, NOT  what she thought was there. She was amazed and excited to see so many colors in the "red" fruit. I mean really excited - to the point where she was beginning to annoy some of the other kids who just couldn't see the value of it all.  I was thrilled.  It does warm a teacher's heart when a student, even just one student, "gets it,"  I wish I could tell you she went on to a career in art or at least design, but I don't think so. At least, perhaps, she does look at the world a little differently.

This painting is called "Ivory" and is a sort of companion piece to the black cat from last week's blog. I like the contrast of the black and white, and also of the personality of the animal.  The white cat is very much like one I had as a child. She was loving and nurturing, especially to a little girl who was often lonely and frightened.  I think she thought I was one of her kittens.

This painting is acrylic on stretched canvas, 6 x 8.   All the edges have been painted and no staples show. It may be displayed with or without a frame.  As with the black cat, 10% of the sale will be donated to Tabby's Place, A Cat Sanctuary. 10% to Children's Cup International Relief.

Black Cat "Ebony"

 Ebony

Cats fascinate me. They are a completely contradictory creature.  Warm and affectionate, yet cool and disinterested,  shy and timid yet ferocious,  dependent  yet absolutely superior, the their only consistent characteristic is their inconsistency. The same animal can display all the  grace of a ballet dancer and the delicacy of a bull. A cat's purr can calm even the most troubled heart. They are, above all else, unpredictable, an endearing yet irritating quality.  If you have a cat as your friend, you will never be bored.  Annoyed, disgusted, entertained, enchanted and most of the time bewildered, but never bored.  Unfortunately I don't think a cat can say the same about us. We do bore them sometimes. With some pets, such as dogs, I wonder who it is that owns whom, but with cats there is no question...

Cats relate differently to us than dogs do.  A dog's person can do no wrong. Even when we make idiots of ourselves, to our dogs we are superior in every way. the most wonderful people in the world.  They will never admit to our imperfections,  But cats have no illusions. They know we are inferior in so many ways,  yet somehow they seem to love us anyway. But they never let us forget who or what we are.

This painting is part of a series entitled, "When I Look In Your Eyes," inspired by a song from the Dr. Doolittle musical.  I love the look in the eyes of this one,  serene, yet watchful.  You never know what they are thinking but you know their thoughts are deep.  The painting is in acrylic on stretched, wrapped canvas, all edges painted and no staples show so that it may be displayed with or without a frame. It is available through Daily Painters  and Art Helping Animals.

By the way, I am working on a companion piece to this painting. It will be called "Ivory." I will let you figure it out.

Sleeping Kitten and A Tree Full of Butterflies

Sleeping Kitten

Pastel,  Image Size, 9 x 12

Matted, Ready to Frame

Sold

A kitten finds a nice, soft, unmade human bed for a nap. There is nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby and this sweet kitten has found a quiet place to sleep.  It is amazing the way kittens can tear around destroying everything one minute and the next they look so sweet and innocent. Which of course, they are - even when they are creating chaos.  A lot like all children - and grownups, too. We all have our moments, and it is lovely when people remember us when we are at our best instead of our most chaotic.

This is a pastel on Wallis Professional Sanded Pastel Paper. It will be mounted and matted, ready to frame.  It is listed on Art Helping Animals and Daily Painters.

The Butterflies of Autumn
A sign of fall: the Monarch migration.  They rest in the trees and bushes on their way to Mexico.  There must be hundreds of them in our apple tree this evening.

Whenever I see a butterfly, I marvel at its Master Designer, but in the autumn when they fill the trees and cover the bushes,  I can only shake my head in silent wonder.  What an absolutely incredible sight!

Long-haired Dachshund and More Maine Musings

SOLD

Here it is Saturday already and I am just now blogging my artwork for the week.   How many days can you blame it on jet lag?  Anyway, I want to share this little sweetie with you. My brother had a dachshund for many years, a little guy named Oscar, although he was the short-haired variety.  I got to know Oscar pretty well and through him discovered that Dachshunds are very special people - good-natured and friendly, though intensely loyal, highly intelligent, just a little stubborn and with a well developed sense of humor.  This painting was listed Tuesday on Daily Painters and Art Helping Animals and has already been purchased because it looks exactly like a sweet little dog named "Curry." I always love it when that happens. Curry's person even sent me a photo to show me how much he looked like the painting. 

Speaking of dogs, that is another reason I loved Bar Harbor.  I saw nearly as many dogs there as at the dog shows I have visited. Many shops were "dog friendly" and some even set bowls of water in front of the store because it was a warm day. My kind of people.

Since this was only my second time seeing the Atlantic Ocean, I am sure you will allow me to "oooh" and "ahhh" once again. I shot this picture the first day we arrived at the coast. All it took was one look at this to convince me I wasn't in Iowa any more.

Even as we speak, I am composing paintings in my head. This year the colors were so clear, so strong,  I just can't wait to get out my oils!   But there are commissions to do and promises to keep, and miles to go before I paint...