Etsy Store

Etsy Store

AmazingHorses

Yep, thats my Etsy store... If you have some time, look it over and give me some feedback. 

You can find me by typing in AmazingHorses on the Etsy site (no space between words).  Or go to Google and type in AmazingHorses+Etsy.

I have been on Etsy for over a month and I am definitely learning that marketing is more involved than just showing up.  Whether I do more than just show up, depends.... at this writing, I am just looking at what I have and trying to figure out how to wake it up.

April in Woodland and Davis....First Friday and Studio Tour

The Burger Saloon
I have been working hard getting ready for two events. The first is a show through the Yolo Arts Council at the Burger Saloon in Woodland.  The painting on my postcard (seen below) is of Aladdin, The Amazing White Horse, owned by my friend, Ann Brice.  I have painted her two horses, Aladdin and Diesel, and her beloved birthday present, Jack the Donkey. This painting of Aladdin has been in progress for many months and the prospects of a show galvanized its completion. For once, my initial vision of the painting and the way it turned out actually matched.

Davis Artist Studio Tour
The second event in April is the Davis Artist Studio Tours.  I am on the tour and will be working toward the goal of transforming my cave into a more pleasant space.  The tour is kind of neat because our consortium of 25 artists will be opening their studios for two days,  the 13th and 14th of April.  For $10.00 all studios are available to visit.  In preparation for the weekend, The Artery, a local artist co-op will show one work from each artist for a couple of weeks.  Look over the web site (title), noting that on the link to participating artists, you can see a sample of each work as well as often a web site.

Paintings by Jan Castle Walker   http://www.jancastlewalker.com/
My daughter, Elizabeth, has been helping me update, design, and improve my web site.  We are updating as we speak, soon I will have a completed artist statement and more detail on each painting. She has done a great job pulling this site together and helping me offer a presence on the web.

Barrel Racer is a portait of a horse which pays homage to the most wonderful sculpture I know - The Head of a Horse of Selene.  Selene, a female charioteer and the Moon Goddess of ancient Greece was tasked with pulling the moon through the night sky. All that remains of this sculpted narrative from the Parthenon's east pediment was the  head of one horse.  Now residing at the British Museum, its exhaustion and focused athleticism is my inspiration.

Two Horses at Capay Valley








The Old Windmill

                                                                      

Both of these painting, 12" x 24", acrylic on stretched canvas, were shown last year at Art To Farm Show in Woodland, California. Artists were invited to display their work at the 625 Gallery after participating in the Art/Ag project, allowing plein air artists to visit farms and ranches in Yolo county.  These lovely draught horses were at the Three Feather Ranch located in Capay Valley. 

The Bay is another resident of Three Rivers Ranch in Capay Valley.  I was struck by the sheer beauty of her coat.  This is a smallish horse, perhaps a mustang.

A quote by Ella Wilcox best describes my motivation for this painting.

"For the wonderful brain of man

However mighty its force

Had never achieved its lordly plan

Without the aid of a horse. "

The Bay measures 30 x 36", acrylic on stretched

canvas.  It, along with giclees and cards, will also go to the Art at the Classic in Nevada City this fall.

Paint and Friend are two characters who were watching me do a little plein air painting at the Three Feathers Ranch in Capay Valley.  Young and spirited, the pinto was most entertaining, so much so that I wanted to take him home.  That would technically be horse theft, so I ended up with a painting.  This measures 30 x 34", it is in acrylic on a stretched canvas.  I will be showing Paint and Friend at Art at the Classic in Nevada City this fall.  Giclee prints and greeting cards are also available. 

PAINTING PEZ

Today I worked on a 'portrait' of Pez, my neighbors most amazing warm-blooded, black horse. Glen Browning invited me to photograph Pez last month and in the course of that time I have been toying with what to do about Pez.  I created a silk screen image and placed that on various backgrounds, I transformed altered photos of Pez into laser prints, perhaps for later transfers, and I started a painting of Pez's fabulous head.  Today was productive in that the painting moved forward fulfilling the fleeting, yet strangely concrete notions I want to materialize in the work. Painting a horse that has little variation in tonality, (he is jet black) is one challenge.  Fortunately, it was a sunny day during my photo session, so there were some highlights, and shine, and bridle, and metal.   But beyond all of that,  I crave the vitality, war-like greatness of this animal.  He made it possible for Scythian nomads to course over the Eurasian steppes.  The Celts of middle Europe made Pez their means of dominating Gaul and then Britain.  His ancestors carried Crusaders!! He was a knights horse. Now his great mass and rich heritage are pulled into the dressage arena where horse and rider meld and restrain and float.

                                         PEZ, day one

                                         PEZ in studio

                                          PEZ, day two