Entering NaMoPaiMo

 

Moved by I know not what, today I entered National Model Painting Month.  Perhaps some inner sense remembers that right about a month from now, I'm usually very intently painting a horse.   For 4 years in a row I've entered and painted a standing (or near-standing) Russian resincast.  They were all sculpted and cast by Margarita Malova, I loved them all and very proud I am of them.  Yet last year I had a very tough time choosing between two horses.  Laura Rock Smith's magnificent carousel horse seized me the moment I saw it and has been inspiring me ever since.

The fact that I chose Orlik, the standing Orlov Trotter, then, made this year's choice extremely easy, almost fore-ordained.  For a long time now I've been aware it's time to start something different, no shame to the Tekes.  Growth under the snow?  It may be.  Have we all been frozen?  Silly rabbit.

His name is Coney Eye.

Here's my description with the now-obligatory Nudie Selfie:  

After 4 years of standing resincasts, I hope I’m ready for some action!  I haven’t designed the trapping colors yet but at least I know the horse wants to be ‘gold point Siamese,’ a white gray with maybe dapples.  The key here is “not an authentic portrait but deeply influenced by” historical Illions.

And here's some ideas I've been tossing about:

Giggleberry Farms Illions outside row jumper

Lise Liepman paint job

Giggleberry Farms

To choose a fantasy horse, however rooted in reality, for NaMoPaiMo, is very freeing.  To be clear, I'm not aiming to execute in miniature a real carousel horse, either one of today or a historical piece.  But I've been deeply influenced all my life by carousel horses and their music, and I doubt I'll stray too far afield with whatever he tells me.  This is a chance to see what the artist within will try to bring out, with the tools she has and the skills the previous 4 years have granted.   He's not prepped yet, I don't know what color the trappings will be, I don't have any gold leaf yet and I'm hock-deep in my latest tack project.

But I've got lots of jewels and a whole boxful of PearlEx.  I've leapt.  Come join us.