Karen Brenner Blogs about her Horse Paintings and Equine Adventures

Dreamers and the art of riding . . .
Posted April 30, 2009

This quote is wonderful for both riders and artists:

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe." - Anatole France

Many great athletes practice mentally picturing themselves performing to perfection. Could this be a form of dreaming -- incorporating planning -- that leads to confidence and believing? Have you tried it with your riding? During my riding lesson yesterday my instructor was telling me about a seminar she'd just attended where the emphasis was on mentally communicating with your horse. This seems to parallel the ideas in Anatole France's quote.

Artists are all about dreaming up creative ways to make outstanding artwork.

This painting features the dreamy Hereje, an Andaulsian stallion from Herradura Andalusians in Texas. I believe he is one of the most photogenic horses on the planet!

Click here to download and print the newest quote/painting/to-do list.

posted by Karen Brenner

0 Comments -- Click here to add your comment

Parker and Cody
Posted April 29, 2009

I know Parker and Cody are not horses! They are my friends' -- Jeanette and Dana -- little tiny bundles of energy. I was lucky to get any reference photos of them sitting still. I thought that fast action camera I got was for photographing horses, but it was handy for taking pictures of these two Chihuahua/Rat Terrier cuties.

I'm so glad none of my horses have the feistiness of these two. They are very entertaining to watch as they have tug of war battles over their favorite toys and are willing to play a non-stop game of fetch.

posted by Karen Brenner

0 Comments -- Click here to add your comment

Riding Fun!
Posted April 26, 2009

Yesterday was a wonderful day! I went trail riding with my neighbor Sammy. She's been telling me how wonderful the trails are at a park near LaGrange (Ohio), so I finally got to check it out! And she's right! I was riding Echo (the giant horse) who is still quite green for a 9 year old, who did great even though it was very windy. She only spooked at a trail marker that was flapping wildly in the wind. There were two excellently designed equestrian bridges that we lead the horses across (opting not to swim the river), but the horses walked right across on the way back to the trailer (who is surprised?).

The trails at the park, which is part of the Lorain County metropark system, were limestone, two horses wide, and level. They were in excellent condition for trotting and cantering. We got to ride along a river and then ride through some beautiful swamp land which was dotted with sparkling dark blue mini lakes filled with happy, dunking ducks! And it was 80 degrees! What a fun day! We rode about 2 1/2 hours. And there was another trail that we can explore next time! Here's a link to the park:

http://www.loraincountymetroparks.com/carlisle.htm

posted by Karen Brenner

0 Comments -- Click here to add your comment

Will Rogers Give Us the Key to Success
Posted April 23, 2009

This Will Rogers quote is one of my favorites.

"If you want to be successful, it's just this simple. Know what you are doing. Love what you are doing. And believe in what you are doing."

How many of us are fortunate enough to be following these simple steps?

Click here to download and print the newest quote/painting/to-do list.

posted by Karen Brenner

0 Comments -- Click here to add your comment

Go Green, Go White, Through the Night
Posted April 20, 2009

Go Green and Go White are two Andalusians who I met at the Fiesta Midwest last summer. The impressive pair were originally purchased from Spain to pull the Michigan State University Spartan's chariot at football games. See some photos from MSU.

I thought it would be fun to paint the pure white horses running through the night, as if they were illuminated only by moonlight. The cool analogous color scheme of green, blue and violet captures the nighttime chill.

posted by Karen Brenner

1 Comment -- Click here to add your comment

MSU Go Green & MSU Go White LOVE their painting!!! I have been blessed both as a lover of the Pure Spanish Horse and a Spartan to have these two beautiful horses in my life since their retirement from their Chariot pulling days at MSU!! We love them so much we added a "little sister" to their herd last year. We are honored that Karen chose them to be the subject of one of her very beautiful paintings! Thank you Karen! -- Kim, Green, White & Dulcineya

Fifty Horses! Horse Crazy Artist Plans Trip to Pennsylvania!
Posted April 16, 2009

Yes, anyone who knows me would call me crazy about horses -- and crazy about painting horses. I can't resist a pretty horse. I'm sure many of you would have to admit to being crazy about horses too. 'Fess up!

That's why the hardest part of my "Beautiful Horses of ..." series is looking through all the nominations and knowing I cannot visit and photograph each and every horse. This year my goal was to select 20-25 horses for the Pennsylvania series. I remember on the last day of my Michigan trip telling my husband, "Don't ever let me do more than 25 horses. Ever."

Now, almost a year has passed since the Michigan trip, and I want to squeeze in as many as possible into my week of traveling.

So with much regret, I narrowed down the 90 plus nominations to 50. Then I decided to see where in Pennsylvania the 50 horses were located, just to see how many more -- the bare minimum of course -- I'd have to eliminate. I found a great site, http://gmaps.kaeding.name/, that let me type in all the towns and take a look at dots on a map that represented each horse.

I found that there were three clusters! And one of the clusters was huge! Many of the horses were located in southeastern PA. Still using this Google Map plot site, I tentatively listed the towns in the order I would travel. Then I used MapQuest to concoct a route from barn to barn, carefully noting the amount of time it took to travel from one to the next. And guess what! With a little rearranging, I could fit all 50 into one week! Of course, there will be no time for eating, but that's over rated anyway.

This is going to be a wonderful trip!

Take a look at the horses -- you'll find a exciting variety of breeds! I've posted a list of the selected horses on the Beautiful Horses of Pennsylvania page.

posted by Karen Brenner

0 Comments -- Click here to add your comment

Who Likes to Canter?
Posted April 16, 2009

Somehow, when you are atop a cantering horse, all your cares and worries are left in the dust.

This beautiful paint, Glo with Mabeline, is part of the Beautiful Horses of Michigan series. You can read about her on that portion of my website.

I hope you get to take off and canter on your favorite horse soon!

Click here to download and print the newest quote/painting/to-do list.

posted by Karen Brenner

0 Comments -- Click here to add your comment

Who said Easter Bunnies have all the Fun?
Check out these Easter Puppies!
Posted April 13, 2009

We had visitors for Easter! Our three children visited - with the two new Australian Cattle Dog puppies! Of course I had to take lots of photos! (Sorry Ashley, I didn't get any pictures of you.)

Here are some of the photos. (My sons are both single and I would love to have them get girlfriends who love horses! They like the outdoors - hiking and rock climbing - and of course love dogs..... I know it sounds like a singles ad, but a mom's gotta try!)

Sorpresa came over to get a better look at the puppies.

Ollie wanted to see them close up too.

The puppies can't quite figure out what those big things are....

So they plan an attack!

On second thought, just barking at them seems like a better plan.

Then there was Skeeter, our attack cat. Luckily he did not injure either of the puppies. He seemed content just competing in (and winning) dog-cat staring contests.

posted by Karen Brenner

1 Comment -- Click here to add your comment

All the pictures of Horses are so beautiful.
The puppies are so cute, I love dogs. We have a small one now - he is Silky Terrier and Jack Russell, "Mack" 3 years old. Very playful and our son got his brother "Jack is more of Silky Terrier.
Enjoy seeing all the pictures , boy you do work a lot on painting.
Thelma

Welcome Spring with a Walk -- or Ride -- Through Nature
Posted April 9, 2009

As spring unfolds, the wonders of nature seem to be everywhere. You don't need to be in a wilderness, because the beauties of spring can be found in any backyard, neighborhood park, or even sprouting through the cracks of a neglected sidewalk. Where ever you happen to be today, take a moment to soak in some of the wonders of nature!

Click here to download and print the newest quote/painting/to-do list.

posted by Karen Brenner

0 Comments -- Click here to add your comment

Ares Painting is Winner of Beautiful Horses of Michigan Contest
Posted April 8, 2009

Congratulations to Ares, Sarah’s beautiful Friesian mare, for receiving the most votes in the Beautiful Horses of Michigan contest. Ares has her own Café Press shop! Here's a link to Ares' Cafe Press Shop

Merchandise that features Ares' painting include shirts, cards, mugs and totes. Here are some pictures.

The top overall vote getters in the contest were Ares, with 100 votes, followed by Basketeer, Conversano Marino, Hot Streak, Mr. Skips Geranimo, Too Sleepy to Paint and One Hot Nite.

Hot Streak, Emma’s Black Beauty and Graceful Eagle received the most votes at the Michigan Horse Expo, where the paintings were on display for people to see in person.

To see all 37 paintings in the Beautiful Horses of Michigan series, click here.

Thank you to everyone who voted for their favorite paintings! Over 900 people voted, and Maurizio’s name was selected as the winner of the drawing for $25 worth of merchandise from one of my Café Press shops.

posted by Karen Brenner

0 Comments -- Click here to add your comment