Further along our road to the grand prix...
In yesterday's video we explored the two point position. Today's video is the posting trot and the dismount.The next video will look at painting again.
If you happen to be at the Winter Equestrian Festival for the next couple of weeks, come on by and visit Theresa and I . We will be set up the weeks of Feb 18 and Feb 25. I will be around and painting a bit earlier.

Here are a couple of videos.. No painting in these two. After being around and painting at  horseshows and at home buying and hauling hay and grain, putting up and fixing fencing, paying farriers and vets, I decided to to see what is it about riding horses that has such an attraction. Not only that, but learning something new. Learning balance. Learning about the horse, the tack. Where are the long stirrup leathers and the big question... Where do I find wide stirrup irons for big feet? 

So here is a video of an early lesson. The horse I had be learning on was indisposed, so a smaller, 15.1h (that 15 hands 1 inch for those non-horse people, roughly 4 cubits) horse that would look a little more absurd was given to me.....

Something Different - German Short-haired Pointers

I am always trying to get a series of photographs of the process of creating a painting. I take a first photograph of the painting's beginning, and then just get into the painting, realizing after finishing that I forgot to take the interim photos. These portraits of two German Short Haired Pointers are a case in point. I could have taken another, earlier photograph to start with and the last two seem pretty close looking at them now. The variation in color between the last two photos is due to the photography, lighting, digital imaging etc.

This first photo is the finished painting of Courtney.




These three show some of the changes the painting goes through.

Signs

A lot of what and how I paint is a direct result of my years hand lettering and painting signs, boats, trucks and walls. To be painting outdoors in all types of weather, watching the world around me, whether out in the country or on a busy city street, is something that I came to love. And to mix colors and use bold and confindant brush strokes... more practical learning than any art school could provide.

Click on the images for a better view....

Signs - Carved and gilded, painted and sandblasted



Boat names - 23kt Gold leaf lettering on mahogany transoms



Gold leaf lettering and striping on an Antique Fire Truck

Quick Note - Paintings for sale online

Just a quick note to say that I have added paintings for sale on line at my ebay store

http://stores.ebay.com/sfilarsky-paintings
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Art Show in Aiken, Devon Horse Show again

AIKEN CENTER FOR THE ARTS
I delivered over seventy paintings to the Aiken Center for the Arts for my show there this month. It opened on Sept 2, and runs through the 27th. An Opening Reception will be held on Thursday, Sept 11 from 6 - 8.

South Boundary St, 18 x 24 oil











Included in the show is an 8 x 10 oil of the Harness Track at Aiken, with Jimmy Larente. A famous trainer, originally from Quebec. Theresa and I met Jimmy when we were down last spring. After talking for a while and listening to his stories, I realized that while he had been racing at Liberty Bell Racetrack in Philadelphia, he was living about a mile away from where I was growing up at that time in Huntingdon Valley, PA.


The painting at the bottom here is a commission of the "Old Times" Coach at the Devon Horse Show. This coach ran from London to Brighton and was famous for making the round trip in one day. I saw the cab of the coach as it is now undergoing restoration. It is small! Apparently, on nice days, the first class passengers road on top while the second class rode in the coach. On rainy days they switched positions...

Blowing Rock Paintings

Here are some paintings from this years Blowing Rock Show.



If you click on an image during the slide show, a new window will open with a larger image.

Now its time to get everything together for the upcoming one man show this September at the Aiken Center for the Arts. If you are in Aiken for the Fall Fling Horse Shows, take a trip downtown visit.