Indian Silver in Dapple Grey

Indian Silver by Deborah McDermott
Painted by Danielle Feldman
Commission 2012

This is the lovely Arabian stallion resin, Indian Silver, by Deborah McDermott. The muzzle on this model is amazing. It looks so realistic, like real flesh and skin and breath.

I painted him a cool, light dapple grey, in contrast to the warm, darker Nahar I did at the same time. Here is a picture of the two of them together.  If only I had a beach to show them off on...

 

The Reference Collection - Now Available to Pre-Order

The Reference Collection: Equine Photography for the Artist
$25.00 Pre-Sale Special - Special introductory pricing offered for a limited time.

This collection is a compilation of photos taken expressly for equine artists. You'll find full body and close up detail shots on a variety of breeds, from drafts to minis. The majority of photos are high resolution, being printable up to 8" x 10". A small sampling of additional photos was included in order to give more variety, but is still very useable for reference.

Photos are copyrighted and may not be uploaded to the internet, but may be printed out for your own personal use. 

Contents include 4 CDs compiled in a multi-disc amaray case, so it will fit in nicely with your collection of instructional DVDs. 

CD#1 - Solid Colors
---320 photos of Bay, Chestnut, Black & Dilute Colors, including Silver Dapple, Perlino, Champagne, and more 

CD#2 - Composite Colors
---295 photos of Grey, Roan, Markings, & Head Studies, including Rabicano Roan, Lacing, Birdcatcher Spots & more 

CD#3 - White Patterns
---299 photos of Pinto & Appaloosa, including Sabino, Varnish Appaloosa, Mixed Patterns & more 

CD#4 - Details
---266 photos of Ears, Eyes, Hooves, Chestnuts, Muzzles, Mottled Skin, Veins, Wrinkles & More 

To place your pre-order, go to http://feldmanstudio.com/store

Nahar in Dapple Grey

 Nahar Resin by Sarah Rose

Painted by Danielle Feldman

Commission 2012

Nahar is such a beautiful sculpture that embodies the characteristics of an Arabian so well. I have had the privilege of painting a few in traditional scale and this is the most recent. The bay tobiano was National Champion Part-Arab in 2004 (sorry for the bad photo, this was before I had a decent camera), then there was the lightly customized light dapple grey and now this fellow in a warm medium dapple grey. I learned alot while painting him. You can see some progress pictures on the blog here. I am pleased with him and think my dapple grey technique improved greatly on this piece.I am still waiting to hear from the owner of the Indian Silver, and will post finished pictures of him soon.

Pixie in Pinto

 Pixie Resin by Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig
Finished by Danielle Feldman

Commission, completed 2012

Such an adorable little resin and a true pleasure to paint, this is Pixie, sculpted by Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig. So much fuzz to love! Will post pictures of the dapple grey Arabs this week also, so come back soon!

Oberon Resin by Sarah Rose

Customized and Painted by Danielle Feldman

I had hoped to have finished pictures of the 3 commissions by this weekend, but the legs on both dapple greys are not quite yet finished. I have a few more days before I go back into studying mode. The pinto Pixie resin is complete, other than signing and gloss, but I figured it made the most sense to do one photo shoot when they are all done. 

It has been a rough week, learning of the passing of my Uncle in a tragic car accident due to a negligent driver. Please be careful when you drive and hug your loved ones a little more.

An Artist's Work is Never Done

 Castañateo
Brioso Sculpture by Sarah Rose

who may or may not be finished...

Collection of the Artist

The plight of an artist is finding satisfaction with one's own work. I have a dear friend that is always winning with her work, even though it's "not done yet". :) I, too, am guilty of never being finished with some of my work. I find myself wanting to rework or tweak many in my personal collection. Some of them I know are in progress. Others I may want to try something new. As my techniques have changed over the years, I realize that this is part of the journey of being an artist. Self discovery is an ongoing process. The above piece has already been through one revision since his original creation. I think he may find his way back to the painting table again after I complete this recent batch of dapple greys, having learned a thing or two.

As I look to wrap up the commissions that I previously posted about this coming week, this thought of finding satisfaction in a completed piece comes back to me. Will they come together as easily as I envision, or will I find the need to do a little more tweaking? Only time will tell.

DVDs In Stock & Ready to Ship

My next CPA exam is in one week, so forgive me if this is a short post today. Fortunately, the company that reproduces my DVDs worked lickety-split to get them to me and I now have all titles back in stock. You can place an order online here. It will take you right to paypal to make payment on checkout.

For those unfamiliar with my DVDs, I just want to say that I am very proud of them. I work under very hot photo lamps so that the videos are well lit with good color and bought a microphone so that you can hear me well, too. I try to zoom in and work in a way so that you can actually see what I am doing. There are no voice-overs at all. If I didn't get it right, I went back and re-taped it. The video editing was also carefully done, with transitions between segments. They are reproduced by a professional company, meaning each DVD is the same quality. They come in an amaray style case will full-color covers, just like real movies! The instruction itself is presented step-by-step so that you can follow along. I give a list of supplies used in each video, so that you have the same tools and colors available to use if you choose. My instruction can be applied to both plastics and resins, too! Of course, the techniques have been proven in the show ring time and again. My work has earned NAN National Championships in breed and in workmanship many times over.

I hope to create a few more titles before I start at PricewaterhouseCoopers in August. Of course, I have this CPA exam, plus two more to pass before then. As well as classes each semester. If I'm able, I am thinking of a second DVD on customizing, covering flying manes with armatures, head transplants, necks from scratch and other more advanced topics. I'm also cogitating on doing a DVD or 2 on airbrushing. I'm not as proficient with the airbrush as hand painting, but I think they would be helpful to get people started. Another thought was on sculpting from the armature up in clay... Then there is always a host of colors that could be demonstrated in pastels or mixed media: silver dapple, rabicano roan, dapple dun... If you feel so inclined, leave a comment on what you would be most interested in for future DVD releases.

Well, back to studying for me!