When I was a little girl, one of the things I loved about Woolworth's' was the watchmaker. His stall was in the corner of the store and I would always go over to see what he was doing. It fascinated me to see him at work. I wonder where all the watch repairmen are today? Not at Woolworth's, they closed in 1997.
During a horse race, a jockey wears a colorful jacket and hat. These are called jockey silks or racing colors. Every racehorse owner has a unique pattern for their silks and the owner has to register their colours with a company called 'Weatherbys'. If they're not too bunched up, you can tell where a horse is in a race by looking at the colours and patterns of the silks worn by the jockey. In this painting, I've tried to capture the action of the horses and bright color of the racing silks and helmets.
I wanted to paint something completely different from anything I have painted before so I decided this photo reference of a ship in dry dock would be fun to tackle.6x8 oil on panel
My fascination with farm equipment intrigued me to do this painting. And I admire the farmer too who works hard in his fields to to enable us to put food on our table. The flags represent his pride in our country.
6x8 oil on panel
I had so much fun with this subject matter that I had to do another "starting gate" painting. This racehorse has two pushers and one puller to urge him in the gate.
I was at the morning workout at the Del Mar racetrack last week to photograph the horses. When my cameras battery pooped out I had time to really notice all the other activities that go on at a track. I've painted the front of the starting gate with the horses bolting out but what goes on at the backside of that gate. Loading the horses is a big and dangerous activity that requires many men to accomplish.