Karen Brenner's Horse Paintings Blog - January 2010

General Lady Francis
Posted January 29, 2010

General Lady Francis, AKA Dutches, is a beautiful Percheron mare. Barbara, her owner, wrote, "I love riding Dutches because it's like sitting on your sofa and enjoying the view."

I got lots of wonderful action photos of Dutches running in her big pasture, but chose this pose for her painting because during our visit Barbara and I were both talking about the giant horse statues outside of PF Chang restaurants. We both would like to have one of the statues at our homes! Dutches reminded me of those statues in this pose! She's almost the same size as one of those huge Chinese horses!

When Barbara was looking for a horse -- a year long venture -- she met and rode Dutches. Barbara wrote, "I was drawn to her as she to me. I left that day and my heart was aching to go back. I took my husband and he liked her. Walking around her then trying to pick her feet up was a challenge. She would put her weight and lean on the leg I was trying to pick up. When someone else tried - no problem. I would go over and same problem. I went to pass her and she nudged me and I looked at her and she lowered her head. I knew right then and there she was my girl."

Here's some more excerpts from Barbara's nomination of Dutches.

"My friends wanted to use her for volting. They love standing on her and hanging on her and sliding off her butt. I have my farrier and his two dogs on her with me and she doesn't care."

"I have been around horses all my life and none have this much personality. She is one special horse and will remain in my heart forever."

Barbara and Dutches are quite a pair!

Here's a link to the paintings in the Pennsylvania series: Beautiful Horses of Pennsylvania.

posted by Karen Brenner

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Wave Runner
Posted January 27, 2010

Wave Runner - aka "Danny" - is a Danish Warmblood pony cross who is one lucky gelding. He is the apple of his owner's eye. When I visited, Emily, who is 14, had Danny following her like a puppy as she wove around an arena filled with jumps and props. With no leadline, Danny was right behind Emily -- going over jumps and twisting around obstacles -- and having a great time!

Barbara, Emily's mother, nominated Danny for the Beautiful Horses of Pennsylvania project. Here's what she wrote:

"Danny is our first horse. My 14 year old daughter is the rider in the family. She had been taking lessons for a while on many different horses. Her trainer had been suggesting that we buy a horse for quite some time when Danny came to the farm. She rode him in her usual Saturday morning lesson. Now most Saturdays i stay for the lesson and watch, but for some reason that week I went to run a few errands. When I got back people couldn't come up to me fast enough to tell me how amazing she looked on Danny.

"I replied back with my usual yeah, yeah, yeah.

"I left that day and didn't really think about Danny. Sunday morning I got a call at 9:15 am from her trainer. I let it go to the machine because I had a feeling what the call was about and I needed another cup of tea and a shower before I was ready to deal with what was to come.

"When I called her back I was told that Danny was 'the one.' This was the horse for her, he was 'the one.' If I heard that phrase once that Sunday I heard it 50 times. To make a long story short, we bought Danny that cold November Sunday. I hadn't planned on buying a horse that day, month or even year, but I am very glad I did because he IS 'the one.' My daughter loves him and rides him with all her heart and soul. They are an amazing team that impresses people every week. He loves her, takes care of her and truly is the 'the one.' The rest of our family has grown to love him also. He has opened up a whole new world for us, one I never expected to be in a year and a half ago but am so grateful we entered. Danny is 'the one' for my daughter and our family."

Here's a link to the paintings in the Pennsylvania series: Beautiful Horses of Pennsylvania.

posted by Karen Brenner

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D'Lovely K
Posted January 22, 2010

I loved this horse's name: D'Lovely. And I really liked what Tess wrote, "Her name couldn't be more perfect as she is really quite 'delovely and delightful!'"

Then I read the rest of Tess' description of D'Lovely, a Canadian Warmblood mare: "When we laid eyes on this stunning mare seven months ago, my daughter, Erica, and I were hooked. We knew this was just the 'girl' to continue with us on our equestrian journey -- a journey that's included many highs and many lows. This journey has been especially challenging because Erica suffers from Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis which presented at age 10. In a nutshell, she's endured pain and swelling to her joints, undergoing surgery, joint injections, and multiple stints of physical therapy over the last five years. Other sports have come and gone because of her condition but riding has remained a constant passion. 'Daisy' has supplied Erica with something no drug therapy could provide. This mare's willingness to please defies all reason. She is loving and sweet with a heart of gold and goes to extraordinary lengths to please her partner. To see the two of them flying through the air in unison never ceases to thrill me! For the hours of fun, love, friendship and normalcy, I will forever be thankful for our D'Lovely K."

Here's a link to more paintings in the Pennsylvania series: Beautiful Horses of Pennsylvania.

posted by Karen Brenner

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A New Addition to the Family!
Posted January 19, 2010

It seems like a long time since I posted a blog .... but I've been busy! We have a new addition to our family! Her name is Piper, and she's a super cute Airedale puppy! And she's high maintenance.

My number one priority is getting Piper acquainted with Skeeter, our cat. So far it's been a stand off, but I'm hoping Skeeter lays down the law before Piper grows too big. Piper LOVES Skeeter . . . Skeeter, on the other hand, is not thrilled....

I'm still working on those Pennsylvania paintings in between play sessions with the puppy (who can now sit, lie down and sometimes "roll over" on command! - yes, I'm so proud!)... and will be posting more very soon! Thank you for your patience.

posted by Karen Brenner

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Beautiful puppy. She looks very much like my Airedale puppy 'Spencer'. Did you get her from northeastern PA by chance? - Dave

I got Piper in Tiffin, Ohio. She was from a litter of 12 puppies -- all of whom were adorable! - Karen

Indiana to be "Beautiful Horses" State for 2010
Posted January 5, 2010

(Reprinted from my newsletter)

Are there beautiful horses in Indiana? I’m betting there are!

If you have, or know of, any beautiful horses in Indiana, you are invited to nominate them for my newest project, “Beautiful Horses of Indiana.” Indiana will be the fifth state in my quest to travel to all 50 states for this long range project.

Here’s a copy of the Press Release with all the details about the project.

Equine Artist Karen Brenner Accepting Nominations for
“Beautiful Horses of Indiana ” Series

(Wooster, Ohio — January 5, 2010) Equine artist Karen Brenner is accepting nominations for her newest series of paintings, "Beautiful Horses of Indiana." You are invited to nominate your favorite Indiana horse.

The project offers an opportunity for horse owners to share stories of their special relationships with their horses. To nominate a horse, send Karen a brief description of why your horse is beautiful to you. The online entry form is available at http://www.karenbrenner.com. Nominations will be accepted through the end of March.

The artist will travel throughout Indiana the during June 2010 to photograph selected horses. As an artist, Karen enjoys personally meeting and photographing the horses in her paintings. Observing the horses at liberty and interacting with their owners helps her portray the horse’s personality in her artwork.

Karen hopes to include a wide variety of breeds with a wide variety of colors, shapes and sizes, from throughout Indiana. Up to 25 horses will be selected.

The "Beautiful Horses of Indiana " series will include a painting of each selected horse. As each painting is completed it will be posted in a special section of her website with a short description of the horses, along with stories and quotes from the owners. An exhibit, "Beautiful Horses of Indiana," will showcase all the paintings, at a venue yet to be announced, in 2011. The artist retains ownership of the paintings.

To enter “Beautiful Horses of Indiana ” complete the online form at http://www.karenbrenner.com. Or to enter by mail, send the following information: description of why this horse should be included in the project (300 words or less), horse’s name, breed, age, color, gender, owner’s name, address (and address for horse if different), email, and phone. Include the nominator’s name and contact information, if different than owner. Mail this information to: Karen Brenner, 3613 Triway Lane, Wooster, Ohio 44691. (if owner is under 18 years old, please list parent’s name, so permission to photograph the horse can be coordinated with a parent.)

Entries must be received by March 30, 2010. Owners of selected horses will be notified by April 15, 2010.

This will be the fifth in Karen's "Beautiful Horses" series. She hopes to travel to all 50 states and do a series for each. Earlier series, featuring horses from Pennsylvania, Texas, Ohio and Michigan, can be viewed on her website http://www.karenbrenner.com.

If you have questions about the project, please contact Karen at kmbrenner@hotmail.com.

 

posted by Karen Brenner

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Betty
Posted January 2, 2010

Bucks County Carriages provides elegant carriage services for weddings, fairs, festivals and special occasions. It was a special occasion for me to get to visit their home and photograph Betty, one of their carriage horses, for my Beautiful Horses of Pennsylvania painting series. She is a very solidly built black Percheron mare, very calm and serene, with the strength necessary for pulling one of the family's divine carriages!

Take a look at some of the photos on their website. I especially like the snowy scene with the sleigh ride! Here's a link:

http://www.buckscountycarriages.com/

Here's a link to more paintings in the Pennsylvania series: Beautiful Horses of Pennsylvania.

posted by Karen Brenner

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