Finally a Horsey Day

Yesterday I spent a good deal of time in the Studio room.  I did a bit more organizing of the hoard-- I mean... my supplies... and then tried to get settled into customizing mode.  It was slow going.  I started off by trying to remove the wings off of a couple of little resin Pegasus horses I'd gotten at a touristy gift shop over the summer... 

... only to find out that the stuff the little horses are made of is NASTY.  It turns to fine white powder that gets everywhere and the process made the whole room stink so badly I had to evacuate for a bit.  I was wearing safety glasses (for the first time - go me) but obviously should have had a mask on too - in hindsight.  That was only one Pegasus de-winged...  I did put on my new respirator mask and went out to the garage to do the second one.

Luckily it was a nice day, so shortly after my initial evacuation due to toxic fumes, I opened the window in the Studio and pressed on.

The next task I gave myself was to decide what I have for customs already finished to enter in the show on Saturday.  Last week I pulled out the box where my old finished custom horses have been living and I was pleasantly surprised!  I didn't think any of my old work would be showable, but..  I now plan to show them all.  A couple are a little rough, but overall I'm happy with how they look.  Nothing quite like unpacking your old work after many years and realizing that you really like it.  I don't think I'm as good now as I was then (out of practice) and it's hard not to wonder how good I would be now if I had kept going back then.  But that's no way to live... right?  Moving on.

My mini show string - so far.  Original finish on the left, customs on the right: 

I haven't looked at any of my larger original finish horses yet, though I'm planning to show some of them too... plus whatever customs I can finish up this week.

A couple of my old horses need a bit of work.  This one for example: 

Many years ago I painted her to be a Rocky Mountain Horse and while I was happy with her body color and her pretty face, I was never satisfied with the mane and tail that I had painted for her.  (What was I thinking?)  I was going for a two (or three?) tone effect and...  failed.  She has always bothered me for that reason.  Yesterday I decided - why leave her that way if I don't like it?  I can fix her - I have the "technology"!  So here she is a short time later with a straight flaxen mane and tail: 

 

She still needs another coat or two and detailing around the edges, but I am much happier with her already.

Another of my OLD customs I'm thinking of re-doing (though not in time for this show) is this little Arabian.  She was one of my very first reposition/paint/hair horses, though she didn't turn out near as nice as some of my other early attempts.  Oh dear...

I still think she is cute though and I'm thinking I'd like to give her a makeover eventually.

A few horses in the running to be finished this week are these three: 

The Jumper I started during our recent trip to PA/NY.  He will be a burgundy chestnut and I had envisioned him with some Appy spots.  The Mustang in the middle I started a couple of years ago.  I wasn't happy with how he was coming along at the time, but recently I saw a picture of a beautiful real splash white mustang stallion that looked a lot like this little guy and it encouraged me to finish him.  The Swaps on the bottom I actually started painting several years ago and then had packed him away.  I was delighted to find him again recently, packed with my finished horses.  The fox marking on his neck was not intentional, it just sort of happened while I was painting him back then, but it meant that he instantly became one of my favorites.  I'd like to (finally) finish him and I may get him done for Saturday.

I have several others that are started and may or may not make it to the show on Saturday.  I also have even MORE that are in various stages of completion and a bunch of then got some attention last night.  I did some dremeling and primering and general assessment of a lot of my in progress horses.  Some are just about ready to start painting..  others are not even close.  Here is the pile after last night's work:

On that note, I should get back to work!  This is how I left my desk yesterday.  Plenty of projects waiting for me down there!