I am a self-taught artist, specializing in horse and animal portraits. My background is primarily in Thoroughbred racing, for which I still hold a passion. I also train dogs professionaly, both basic home obedience and competitive work. On the other side of the planet (or my brain), I have a BSc in Food Science with a minor in Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, which I use primarily to annoy my friends!
Speak Now, Or...
by noreply@blogger.com (Linda Shantz)5 Jan 2009 at 10:13 pm
It was a busy day, spending the morning holding eight horses for trims, and the afternoon mucking nine stalls, which naturally took a bit longer as everyone had been in for half the day. There was no opting out of painting tonight, however, as that deadline is getting closer. Time for the 'reveal' of the mystery WIP, haha. This is an 8 x 10 oil on Raphael linen panel. It's my canine muse, Finn ... read more
Happy Birthday, Babies...
by noreply@blogger.com (Linda Shantz)1 Jan 2009 at 10:29 pm
While the rest of the world was saying 'Happy New Year' at midnight last night, I was out at the barn wishing all my crazy TBs a Happy Birthday. It's hard to believe the babies are officially yearlings now. Gracie celebrated in style with a show of her athleticism, and if I can borrow some Ben Folds lyrics again, "Who's got the looks, who's got the brains, who's got everything?"...that's our gir ... read more
A Little Closer
by noreply@blogger.com (Linda Shantz)29 Dec 2008 at 11:45 pm
Well, I managed to get some work in on this painting tonight, yay! It was a busy day at the barn, what with dealing with what seems like a delayed-reaction flood in the barn (thought I was going to be spared when it stopped raining and all was dry), mucking out as usual, and supervising a couple of horses being reintroduced to turnout after stall rest. I had to make a trip to the grocery store - ... read more
The Art of Procrastination!
by noreply@blogger.com (Linda Shantz)28 Dec 2008 at 10:23 pm
I haven't practiced this particular art in a while...but it seems to have reared its somewhat ugly head around here. It's my annual last-ditch effort to pull something together for the Art Show at the Dog Show, and I just must've started this painting too early because I'm dawdling! I did get some significant work done on it the other night, and while I wish my excuse for not painting today coul ... read more
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
by noreply@blogger.com (Linda Shantz)23 Dec 2008 at 10:43 pm
Thanks to everyone for making 2008 a great year. Here's to continuing the fun in 2009!... read more
In Between Snowflakes
by noreply@blogger.com (Linda Shantz)21 Dec 2008 at 10:25 am
The sun came out yesterday, when the snow finally decided to take a break. The horses were all happy to get out and enjoy the fresh covering of white stuff, though Gladys seemed to have the most fun! It was cold, and it seemed to take forever to get the stalls done - as soon as my hands finally warmed up, my feet started to freeze! We were prepared for another storm today, but so far it hasn't ... read more
"Oh, The Weather Outside is Frightful..."
by noreply@blogger.com (Linda Shantz)19 Dec 2008 at 3:12 pm
We're getting our first winter storm of the season today. We've had snow, of course, but this is the real thing, the kind of day you're grateful you don't have to go anywhere. The two broodmares were ready to come in by 10am, but the others had to wait until I was done the rest of the stalls, and they wear blankets so they weren't looking quite as put out! By the time I brought them in, it was ... read more
Skating WIthout A Rink
by noreply@blogger.com (Linda Shantz)15 Dec 2008 at 8:44 am
Usually it's January or February when we get this kind of weather, but as we seem to have had an unusual amount of snow to date this winter, I guess we've been set up for it a bit early. My laneway is about half a mile (or 0.6km for those who get metric) and if we get rain after it's been ploughed a couple of times, it quickly turns to ice. Walking to the barn usually means going cross country, ... read more
December News: Snow, Rain and Pleasant Surprises
by noreply@blogger.com (Linda Shantz)9 Dec 2008 at 9:40 am
It's a rainy afternoon here in Campbellville - it started mid-day, after some nice fluffy snow all night. So much for that extra layer of the white stuff! Not very festive, to say the least. The horses are in early and thought I should feed them early as well - sorry kids, you'll have to wait! I did, however, take a few photos this morning when the big flakes were falling. Very picturesque, a ... read more
Snow Day
by noreply@blogger.com (Linda Shantz)5 Dec 2008 at 12:11 am
I suppose that title makes this a bit of a fantasy piece - while we have snow on the ground, it's only a bare covering of hard crusty stuff right now. Truth be told, there was no snow in the photo I used for Billy here - it was taken back in October for an idea I originally had for an autumn painting. At least it's not the middle of summer this time when I'm painting the white stuff! I am playin ... read more
"Inquiring Minds:" An Online Show and Sale
by noreply@blogger.com (Linda Shantz)3 Dec 2008 at 11:23 pm
As promised, I have put together an online show of my 30 day challenge paintings. I've created a new blog to do this: Thirty Horses, Thirty Days. Here you will find PayPal buttons that will enable you to purchase the paintings that are available for sale. I hope you'll have a look, and relive the experience with me!
Please note, the paintings will only be available until December 12, 2008, and ... read more
Habit-Forming
by noreply@blogger.com (Linda Shantz)2 Dec 2008 at 10:41 pm
It was kind of interesting tonight: after feeding the horses I didn't seem to be able to get anything done, so I felt compelled to paint! I'd thought I would give myself a couple of days off and get some other things done, but I ended up behind the easel. I had a few works in progress on the go before beginning the November project, so I worked on one of them.
The underpainting was done using Bu ... read more
Now What?
by noreply@blogger.com (Linda Shantz)1 Dec 2008 at 9:40 pm
An obvious question, I supposed, after 30 days of insanity. While I won't be attempting another NaBloPoMo for December, the theme is relevant: it's "Thanks!" For me, today, that means thanking those of you who came along for the ride and offered comments and encouragement along the way. I really appreciate all of you for that, and it certainly helped me keep at it.
And the now what part? It's ... read more
Thirty Horses, Thirty Days!
by noreply@blogger.com (Linda Shantz)30 Nov 2008 at 8:27 pm
I still had about 3500 words to write today to meet that NaNoWriMo deadline, and that was my first task of the day. It takes a little more attentiveness to write something reasonable than it does to paint at this point. While my story is really just a framework - and for me, 50K words is just a short story :-) - I wrote an ending and at least finished off the scenes I'd left hanging. It needs s ... read more
Comeback
by noreply@blogger.com (Linda Shantz)28 Nov 2008 at 10:48 pm
Okay, I feel a lot better about today's painting than I did yesterday's, though to be fair I put a lot more time into it, starting much earlier. I've been looking forward to working from this photo, so I went back to a 10 x 8 masonite panel. After working smaller, that made things easier as well. So this is Mike Fox in the post parade before winning the '07 Queen's Plate. It was nice to do him ... read more
Me and a Box of Kleenex
by noreply@blogger.com (Linda Shantz)28 Nov 2008 at 8:40 pm
Last night when I went to bed, I fully expected to wake up this morning feeling *better*. I thought the cold was on its way out. Apparently not - I felt worse. I coped by having ice cream for breakfast - seriously, if someone is going to buy candy cane ice cream and put it in the downstairs freezer (which is right outside my studio) it's fair game! Stalls got done a bit late, but they did get ... read more
Taking Chances...or, "Because You Can!"
by noreply@blogger.com (Linda Shantz)27 Nov 2008 at 8:55 pm
That's probably something only folks and Ontario will get - it's the tag line for an advertising campaign for the Super 7 Lottery. On the one hand I guess it works to some extent, because that line sticks in my head, well, kind of like this cold right now, but on the other, it hasn't enticed me to start buying Super 7 tickets!
Now to get back to where I was going with that! I had plenty of time to ... read more
Keeping it in the Family
by noreply@blogger.com (Linda Shantz)26 Nov 2008 at 9:48 pm
Today I'm introducing you to Monster's dad, Tejabo. TJ is 23 years old this year, though the reference photo I used was taken a couple of years ago. He's a son of Deputy Minister, and that's where I think Miss Monster's attitude comes from. Something about Deputy Minister line mares! TJ himself had a bit of a reputation when he was on the track - I guess he was pretty tough to deal with. I work ... read more
Wear and Tear
by noreply@blogger.com (Linda Shantz)25 Nov 2008 at 9:05 pm
I didn't think I was going to make that 40K NaNo target last night, but the pep talk over there noted it was "before bedtime" not midnight...so I made the push. Of course now I'm trying to keep a cold at bay. I'm hoping it remains a "psuedo-cold" - just a sore throat, aches and chills. That's plenty to deal with, thanks! I've written a bit today, so the 50K is in sight. We just won't mention ... read more
The Homestretch
by noreply@blogger.com (Linda Shantz)24 Nov 2008 at 10:13 pm
Well, I'm within the last week of this project. I've fallen behind on my wordcount for Nano, and I'm not sure I'm going to be able to meet the hoped-for target of 40K before bed - I have 3K to go! Tonight's painting was done pretty quick as a result. It's another foal, a Warmblood this time, bred by a friend. Her name is Phoebe, and she was sold as a weanling. I took a lot of photos of her an ... read more
Don't Mess with the Monster!
by noreply@blogger.com (Linda Shantz)23 Nov 2008 at 7:18 pm
A day later than planned, here is my horses being bad painting, as promised! Miss Monster, muse extraordinaire, in all her grumpy glory! This was a lot of fun to paint - it's fun to portray all that attitude. It's a shame she didn't make it to the races, because she sure looks the part, don't you think? This one is 5 x 7 oil on Raymar cotton canvas panel using the limited palette. I find it in ... read more
Warming Things Up
by noreply@blogger.com (Linda Shantz)22 Nov 2008 at 8:24 pm
The heater in my studio has been a bit wonky for the last day or so - figures, now that the weather is colder, it decides to misbehave! I'm just telling you this so you'll feel sorry for me tonight, locking myself down here to paint my daily pony despite adverse conditions! My fingers and toes are cold and I have an extra layer on. Wasn't I going on yesterday about Robert Genn's letter that spo ... read more
Getting It Done
by noreply@blogger.com (Linda Shantz)21 Nov 2008 at 8:56 am
I laughed when I read Robert Genn's letter today. Robert Genn is an artist who publishes an e-letter a couple of times a week known as The Painter's Keys. It's a rather brilliant thing he's doing, in my opinion. He's very generous about sharing these letters - it is a free subscription. Today's letter was called Power Hour, and it's about, hey, organizing oneself to produce work consistently ... read more
Two-Thirds of the Way: Day 20!
by noreply@blogger.com (Linda Shantz)20 Nov 2008 at 8:50 pm
I write in my head a lot - I'll think about what I might want to say in my blog post, then of course by the time I get to this point, where I'm actually posting, I'm completely at a loss for anything interesting to say! Of course when I went to bed at 1:30am last night, I was pretty sure I'd be dragging by now, so perhaps it's understandable I'm not all that coherent! After making the 30K target ... read more
Pushing it
by noreply@blogger.com (Linda Shantz)19 Nov 2008 at 9:51 pm
I think this was the latest in the day yet that I've started my painting - it was after 8pm when I started laying out the paint! I had a weird post office day - my dad helped me out by picking up a package for me, but as it turned out I needed to go there myself to mail off some Christmas card orders. Add to that our mail lady came with a package to the door - you'd think some of this could be c ... read more