The Painting of a Princess! Oil and Pastel Portraiture Memphis Tn and Oxford Ms

The momentum is building.  

The decoartions are being made.  The escorts have been asked and their tuxes are ready.  The Dads are prepared for this milestone in the lives of their little girls. 

At least I think they are.   I remember the song played at my own Father - Daughter dance at Hutchison when I was in high school many years ago.

Is  this the little girl I carried?

is this the little girl I knew

I don't remember growing older 

when did you? - from Gigi

What is this event you ask? 

The 2014 Germantown Charity Horse Show Ball takes place this Friday night!  Twenty-one girls will represent various community organizations as their show princesses.  

There will even be a queen.  

The Germantowon Charity Horse Show is one of the oldest and venerable horse shows in the nation and one of the few truly "charity" shows left.  

The Oak Grove Hunt was the genesis for the founding of our horse show.  On Thanksgiving Day in 1946 seventy five people and horses turned out for a barbecue at Germantown School.  The rest as they say is history. 

In its 66th year the horse show has built a long and storied tradition of heritage and community dedication of which the community is extremely proud.

My daughter Liza has ridden horses all her life and has competed at the show.   Each year she has watched the princesses in their pretty gowns volunteering.  

She has long dreamed of playing that role herself.  This year she will represent Pegasus Women's Club as their princess.

Liza and Trumpet

Both 11 years old!

The United States Equestrian Federation has deemed the Germantown charity horse show a "heritage show".  

Only sixteen shows in the nation have this honor.  We are in good company with esteemed shows such as Devon, the Upperville Colt and Pony show and the  very prestigious Warrenton Show.

The criteria for this distinction according to the USEF is as folows:   

"The Heritage Competition is reserved for competitions that have been established for a long period of time and have made substantial contribution toward the development and promotion of the sport, both within the broader community, by achieving, maintaining and promoting the equestrian ideals of the sportsmanship and competition."


Each year in June the blue and white striped tents provide stalls for the over 800 horses that come from all over the region.

It is a wholesome outdoor event for children and adults.

The proceeds raised goes directly to Memphis children in need due to domestic violence.

LIza and Trumpet in Gulfport, Ms.

The show itself is mostly a lot of fun.  

The riders all turn out in thier equestrian best with their mounts squeaky clean, manes and tails braided, ready to compete.  They are all ages and come from all over.   

They flood the area economy.  

 

Liza and Lead liner Hayley Floyd 2013

  The weeklong classes include the littlest of riders  from lead line all the way up to the Grand Prix finale on Saturday night.  Gambler's choice is always a crowd favorite as well.


Woodland Country Club will be the location for twenty one girls to be be presented as the horse show princesses along with their Queen.  

It is not all tiara's and ballgowns however.  The girls are required to do many community hours of community service at various non profits as well as be available at the show every day all day.

The Exchange Club of Memphis is one of the charities where the girls will be working.

During the horse show they will be "all hands on deck" performing various duties assigned to them such as handing out trophies and ribbons.  

Several girls will also be exhibitors.  


I will be rearranging my painting schedule to help my daughter get ready for the ball. 

OIl Painting of Trumpet and Liza

My little baby girl has always been a princess to me.

Now she is all grown up. She will be a dazzling and different kind of princess in a gown at the ball for a night!   

It's the stuff those dreams are made of!

William-Adolphe Bouguereau A fabulous French painter

"Springtime"

Bouguereau was a wonderful French painter and staunch traditionalist.

 His stunning and realistic genre paintings with mythological themes were modern interpretations of Classical subjects-both pagan and Christian-with a heavy concentration on the female human body.


 Although he created an idealized world, his almost photo-realistic style brought to life his goddesses, nymphs, bathers, shepherdesses, and madonnas in a way which was very appealing to rich art patrons of his time. 

Bouguereau employed traditional methods of working up a painting, including detailed pencil studies and oil sketches, and his careful method resulted in a pleasing and accurate rendering of the human form. 


His painting of skin, hands, and feet was particularly admired. He also used some of the religious and erotic symbolism of the Old Masters, such as the "broken pitcher" which connoted lost innocence.

"L'Innocense"

"Crown of Flowers"

In his own time, Bouguereau was considered to be one of the greatest painters in the world by the Academic art community, and simultaneously he was reviled by the avant-garde. 


He also gained wide fame in Belgium, Holland, Spain, and in the United States, and commanded high prices.
Bouguereau's career was a nearly straight up ascent with hardly a setback. 


To many, he epitomized taste and refinement, and a respect for tradition. 

 American millionaires considered him the most important French artist of that time. 


But after 1920, Bouguereau fell into disrepute and for decades following, his name was not even mentioned in encyclopedias.


The world can be so cruel to these wonderful artists.  He has certainly come back however and is highly regarded today.


I  love his angels, religious and children's paintings.  They are so soft and peaceful.   The Art Renewal Center website is dedicated to preserving the memory of Bougereau.     Its worth a visit!

Let the Sunshine In

I love the light in these paintings!

Francisco Pons Arnau 


was a Spanish Academic painter active in the mid 19th Century [Correction: late 19th, early 20th Centuries].

 He became a follower of Joaquín Sorolla --so well known for his masterful light filled paintings.

He painted portraits, figures, landscapes and what might be called intimate landscapes — garden scenes with detailed depictions of shrubs or trellised vines.

Beyond that, I’ve been able to find little information.

 Fortunately, there are several examples of his richly colored, light-filled 


paintings on the web.

Portrait of the Landsharks

Ole Miss Rebels
 Landsharks take the Field
  

updated

Pastel on sanded paper
Oxford Ms

Pastel portrait Boy and Pet Lab Collierville Tn

John and Brinkley

Pastel
A few weeks away from completion.  

equestrian pastel portrait Collierville Tennessee

What are your New Year's Resolutions?


I wish for peace, prosperity and love for all in 2011.

As we grow up, we learn that the one person who isn't supposed to let you down, probably will, and the one person that you never thought would be there for you, is. 


You're going to have fights with your friends, you're going to lose some of your friends, you may even fall in love with one of your friends. 


You will eventually lose someone you love and love someone you never thought you'd find. 


People are going to hate you, love you, love to hate you, and hate to love you, but the ones you mean the most to, will always be there for you in the end

Phillippians: 3:13-14

No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all i should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing.  Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.

Happy New Year!!!!!

Insure your Art!

"The Scream" and "Madonna" both by Edward Munch were stolen in broad daylight from the Munch museum in Oslo,Norway.   The art was not insured against theft.    The reason for no theft insurance?   The belief that irreplaceable paintings need not be insured.    

Is it better though to be compensated five million dollars for your stolen art or nothing?      

The cost of insuring a museum's entire collection is prohibitive.    Entire collections are not  usually stolen and therefore  having "incident" insurance is an option.  

Photograph and document your art.     Insure your art for the amount it would take to replace it in the event that would be possible.  Keep in mind a portrait commissioned in 1995  for $10,000.00 might  cost $25,000.00 to replace by the same  or comparable calibre artist.  Don't forget how much you invested in the framing.   Expensive frames also go up in value and might cost twice what you paid ten years ago.

Many artists save  reference photos in case of fire, flood, or theft.

Understand your insurance policy    Theft/damage insurance for art usually costs $1-$2 annually per $1,000.00 of coverage.  

Your basic homeowners policy will not cover much in the way or artwork.   It is best to have specialty insurance through Chubb or Great American.

First Christmas Pastel portrait Portrait University Park Dallas TX

Frist Christmas

Pastel on Paper

Longreen Foxhounds

November 6th, 2010

A crisp beautiful morning at Birdlands
Como, MS




The 53rd Annual 


Blessing of the Hounds 


The Reverend Sam Godfrey presiding.

Bless, O Lord, rider and horse, and the hounds that run, in their running.  Bless and shield these riders from danger to life and limb. 

May thy children who ride and Thy creatures that carry, come to the close of the day unharmed.

Bless those over whose lands we hunt and grant that no deed of ours may cause hurt or trouble.

Bless all the creatures who partake in this hunt and grant that they may find their true destiny in Thee

Bless these hounds to our use and their lowly part in thy Service.  O God, who sanctifieth all things by Thy word, pour down Thy blessings upon these 

Thy servants their horses and their hounds, to all who shall take part in this hunt, grant protection of body and soul. 

 Grant that the spirit of true sportmansship may prevail in all that we do this day.

May the Blessings of God almighty be upon you now and reign with you always in Jesus' name we pray.

Our beloved Trumpet 

with Melissa up!

Chip Carruthers

The Snooty Foxes

Birdlands

Home of Jake and Harriet McFadden

Sir Alfred Munnings The $7,000,000 Artist

Sir Alfred Munnings

Immensely popular in the UK and America Sir Alfred Munnings is known world wide for his equestrian art.


  Few artists have acheived the fame and fortune of Munnings in their lifetime.

 Blinded in one eye from a briar while lifting a dog over a hedge,  he was determined to follow his dream of painting.

And follow it he did!!

His works  have found homes with some of the wealthiest patrons

His greatest love was the racing scente.

His ability to capture movement is unsurpassed.

The highest price to date (January 2007) of a Munnings painting was from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. John Whitney.

 "The Red Prince Mare," sold for $7,848,000, far above his previous auction record of $4,292,500 set at Christie's in December, 1999.

Munnings was elected president of the Royal Academy of Art in 1944 and was knighted in the same year.

 Winston Churchill, who was also an avid painter,  once said to him, "Alfred, if you met Picasso coming down the street would you join with me in kicking his... something something?" to which Munnings said he replied "Yes Sir, I would".

 He died  on July 17,1959. . 

Sir Alfred Munnings 1878-1959: An Appreciation of the Artists and a Selection of his Paintings