Catching Up!

Whew! Is it just me, or is this year already going by pretty darn fast?! And here am I... quite behind on my blog again (but you weren't too surprised, were you?). Anyhow, thought it was about time that I stopped and updated y'all on some of the completed and ongoing projects of Velasquez Artistry. First up, a rather dappled beastie, painted and glazed for a dear friend and customer of mine. She thought that you all would like to see him, and I'm more than happy to show him off! It is hard to tell from the picture (which got a little washed out), just how dappley this smutty palomino Jitterbug is- he took me some time! But it was all worth it; especially when I heard how happy his new mom was! That's what makes it all worthwhile for me... Now, compared to this next horse, that Jitterbug was a breeze. Well, maybe a strong gust. Anyways, one of my current projects is quite an undertaking. I think I must be a leeetle bit crazy for taking this on- well, actually, I know I've never been quite "there", so it is fitting. I am working on my very last bone china Brigand. Produced once upon a time by Alchemy Ceramics, I figured, this being my last one, I'd better do something snazzy with him! So what did my crazy mind pick out? Bright bay leopard, of course. I'm doing him vaguely after a Knabstrup from an old horse book (maybe you know the one!). Since I am working on bone china, laytex, enemy of bone china (it leaves odd moldly looking areas after you fire it!), was out of the question. So I drew on the spots, and masked around them all with tiny, torn pieces of blue painter's tape. Yeah... fun. After that madness, I painted him, tore off the tape, and ended up with this: Very spotty, but oddly geometric! Too bad appy spots are not angular! Currently I am in the process (and I work at him in spurts- that much scritchin' all at once would really drive me to the nut house!) of turning squares into little circles and other amorphous rounded shapes, to get the look I am after. It is now going a little faster than previously, me having discovered that a sliced bit of white eraser really helps to remove the excess "chatter" around the spots. I tell ya, erasers are an underglazer's best friend! It's all about finding the right one for the right job... When I'm done with the main spots, I may hand-paint a few small ones in, and then of course, the gray spots on his lower legs will be painted in the center with black, giving them that nice "halo" effect... good stuff. Then comes a favorite of mine- hoof stripes! Yeah, it is tedious, but I hope you can tell that I love what I do. That said, before I move on, here's a pic of his head that I was working on earlier... All righty... what else have I been up to? Um, I'm working on a few pieces for people, glazing a couple of things to sell myself, working on some auction pieces for a couple of churches, sculpting a couple of things (my little mini foal is coming along! I'll be sure to post pictures soon!), dabbling in other art projects as time allows, dreaming up new art projects (like I really need to be doing that!), and trying to balance family and a social life as well . Oh, and casting more Jitterbugs! I'm hoping to be up to my ears in them soon. Ooodles of Jitterbugs. A dance hall's worth of Jitterbugs! Okay, maybe not that many. But enough to complete the small OF run I want to do. And I'm pretty sure I know the color that I want to do, but I'm not saying just yet (gotta make sure it works!). But most likely, you, dear readers, will be the first to know. Now, before I sign off of this long post, I will leave you with a fun image I took yesterday, at the closing day of the season, at Santa Anita Park. I'm sorry I didn't make it over there quite as often as I'd hoped, but thankfully I've got some good photos and reference sketches to tide me over until the fall. Now to find the time to start the beast!