CHIT CHAT in VOLTVILLE

[SandySu]

Here is a couple of photos of our place. About 500 feet from here is where one of the wagon trails for the 49's went through. It's at the far edge of my neighbor's yard.

Darling photos, Lizzie. I especially like the one of Wiseguy poking his nose through the fence. Do I hear him saying, "Give me a treat, Mom"?

 

[SandySu]

i would like to be from 1549. the only problem is that in those years girls only took a bath once every month
'

You people who want to be born sometime way before you were: Do you realize how hard life was back then? Aren't you glad you have modern conveniences? I'm doing the laundry while I type this, and I'm not bending over a washtub with a scrubbing board, either. I like that!

 

[Liscab]

technology makes our life easier , you are right but it makes it shorter in such a way

 

[3mg Meniere]

Lizzie, I just noticed your "Location". I'm a 49er, but not that kind of of 49er. I'm a 1949er.

Hi Omg !!!!!

I missed that by 28 days. I still prefer easy subtraction.

The other day, I was reading at a convenience store. My friend stopped in, and surprised me. After he left, the clerk noted I was blushing like an 18-year-old, and thought it was rather humorous.

OK, back to work.

 

[JerryRM]

Sandy and Lis, 100 years from now, they will be saying the same thing. We don't miss, what we don't know about.

 

[SandySu]

technology makes our life easier , you are right but it makes it shorter in such a way

I disagree. We live longer now, and technology gives us more time to do things that are truly enjoyable. After all, we could choose to do the laundry by hand if we wanted, but who does?

 

[Renolizzie]

We ended up with a Black and Decker coffee maker. It was a great price at $16 but no timer. Still, I don't mind since we make coffee fresh every time we want a cup.

Wiseguy and I are doing great in the round pen and at leading but Nevada is another story. The stud chain is to keep under control to get him to the round pen so we can work on respect. Nevada just doesn't want to listen and when he doesn't want to listen, he can be a real pill. I almost got my arm yanked off in November. The stud chain is to prevent me getting injured and give Nevada the impression that he can't get away with yanking people around the yard. It is working. A very gentle tug is now all it takes for him to listen.

In the round pen, Nevada is still trying to do what Nevada wants to do but the respect level has come up immensely. I have been working him without a lead rope. I point and he considers moving...at least when we started. A couple of cracks on the .... and now when I point and cluck, he moves his feet. Initially, he then decided to veer towards me instead of going around but I waved him off with the whip a few times and he gave that up. He wasn't trying to bite me, just intimidate me with his presence He has decided to go around and to turn, most of the time now. I still have to be quite firm and be ready to jump in front of him and make him turn if he is being a .... head but that is happening less now. If I say "Trot" sometimes I have to get after him to get moving. Really, I am getting as much of a workout as he is.

As far as leading goes, when he isn't try to yank you around the yard he is invading your space...bumping up against you and stepping on your feet. The stud chain fixed the yanking problem and now I am tapping on the neck when he gets too close and saying "Space!" That is working great but we will need to keep practicing.

I am in an online forum for miniature horses and there are several people that love the Euro collar. Since I am not going to show the horse, I can get the Euro collar or a V or U shaped breast band. I think I will at least go for the u shaped breast band but when I get closer to buying I will get the group to give me some more opinions. I do think I will be going with the Comfy Fit harness. A lot of people really like the harness and the company I will get it through. It is Betathane so you just wash it to keep it clean. You can even wash it right on the horse It is also felt lined so it is cushy for the horse. It is not a cheap harness but by no means is it super pricey either. It will come with a new headstall with rounded blinkers and breeching.

 

[Liscab]

I disagree. We live longer now, and technology gives us more time to do things that are truly enjoyable. After all, we could choose to do the laundry by hand if we wanted, but who does?

I do my laundry by hand , i have to use my hands to load the clothes washer and the dryer too

 

[rave]

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Rave. I know these sketches aren't as good as I could have made them, but you're right. I wanted to free myself of agonizing over every little detail and just get the essence of the thing, even if the rendering wasn't exact. That was the whole point. That was why the no erasing idea. And even then, I broke my own rule with the horse's ears right in the beginning, which meant that even the no erasing rule wasn't a confinement, just an idea.

I don't mind doing pet portraits. It's another mode of drawing, but I don't want to confine myself to only one kind. It's sort of like some nights, you want to go out and party, and others, you just want to stay home and curl up with a good book. Both are valid and negating one or the other would unbalance life, IMHO. I love it when I give a portrait to someone, like the barn owner when I gave her Willy, and she actually got tears in her eyes over it. I was proud of Willy. It really did capture his essence. I was glad she liked it so much. Those moments make drawing pets worthwhile, and with each picture, I learn a lot. Sometimes it's good for me to re-create something as closely as I can. The discipline of that helps the freedom part do better, too. When I was doing that horse picture last night, I used some of the knowledge I recently gained from the portraits I've been doing like mad.

Interesting that you said you focus on night drawings. This morning, I was thinking about the charcoal pencil drawings and thinking of something I could do in b&w with it that might be a little more involved. What I thought of was a white horse galloping in the moonlight with sort of silvery, long grass underfoot and silvery clouds in a night sky, sort of half-obscuring a full moon. Or something like that. However, I fear I could never pull it off from my imagination. It's too complicated. It sounds like a good idea, but I have enough experience with this kind of thing to be sure I'd be disappointed. Maybe I'll try it. I don't think I've ever tried a night picture. We usually think of horses in sunlight.

It's snowing for real today, and I have loads and loads of laundry to keep me home, so maybe it's a good day to try such a thing. What can happen? I can fail and throw the picture in the trash. Sure, it might cause some frustration, but maybe I'll learn something from it. I guess I should do what you do and look at pictures on the Internet that show such a moonlit night and see what the colors and shading look like, how clouds look when they're illuminated, etc. Not use the picture to copy, but like you, get an idea of how a thing looks from them.

I really respect the way that you take on challenges even though when you first think of it, you think that you'll disappoint yourself. Then, you decide to do it anyhow. That's admirable.

When I get images like the moonlit image that you described, I jot down a few notes if it's something that I can't tackle right away. In the back of my mind, I keep honing the image until it becomes more and more clarified. Along the way, I may start picking up reference material. Maybe bits of barbed wire, certain dried weeds, photos, etc. If I'm looking to do a scene on a moonlit night, I go out on such a night and realllllly study the way the moon lights things or doesn't. It's a matter of texture mostly. Smooth, glossy things will reflect the light back more efficiently than rough, heavily-textured things. And I study what I call "the non-colors of night". Color is muted more and more the further away it is. There are other factors as well, but if you go out in the moonlight, you will see for yourself.

 

[SandySu]

Lizzie, I'm all for tack you don't have to spend time to clean, and if you decide not to use it for a time, you still have to clean and condition leather tack. Back when I first heard of it, biothane used to be very stiff and unforgiving, but a few years ago, my friend got a Dr. Cook's bitless bridle in biothane, and it was very supple and felt really good, so I'd definitely go for the easy care.

 

[rave]

A buck is a buck, Jer...I get the senior drink at Taco Bell for only 25 cents. I told her I wasn't old enough but she said 50 was the age so I said "give 'er to me!"

Amen to that Lizzie. I don't mind acknowledging my age for discounts. After all, I worked hard to get to my age without being taken out by nature. I'm always challenging it! The trick is, I think, to not let your body know how old and decrepit it is. Treat it like you're still a youngun and it'll do its best to keep up.

i would like to be from 1549. the only problem is that in those years girls only took a bath once every month
'

Uh oh. Ya mean .... we're supposed to bathe more frequently than that? Well shoot. Ya learn something new every day ...

 

[SandySu]

I really respect the way that you take on challenges even though when you first think of it, you think that you'll disappoint yourself. Then, you decide to do it anyhow. That's admirable.

When I get images like the moonlit image that you described, I jot down a few notes if it's something that I can't tackle right away. In the back of my mind, I keep honing the image until it becomes more and more clarified. Along the way, I may start picking up reference material. Maybe bits of barbed wire, certain dried weeds, photos, etc. If I'm looking to do a scene on a moonlit night, I go out on such a night and realllllly study the way the moon lights things or doesn't. It's a matter of texture mostly. Smooth, glossy things will reflect the light back more efficiently than rough, heavily-textured things. And I study what I call "the non-colors of night". Color is muted more and more the further away it is. There are other factors as well, but if you go out in the moonlight, you will see for yourself.

Thanks, Rave. Yes, there's no harm in trying, I say to myself. It's something I never tried, and even failure will teach me something new, so I'm not afraid.

I started thinking it over. The first thing I considered was what phase of the gallop I wanted to do the horse in, and I decided the stretched-out phase would express that sense of wildness. So then I pictured that phase -- when the horse is leaning on one front leg, the other is stretched out in front, and the 2 hind legs are bent but going out behind. Then I thought, which hind leg is father behind in that phase of the gallop? I think I know, but I'm going to look at photos to be sure I get the correct back leg where it should be.

My big problem will be the lighting. I won't complicate the picture with things like barbed wire -- besides, barbed wire and horses are an accident waiting to happen, and I want this to be a positive picture, not a negative one, depicting a free, wild run on a bright night. No fences, just grass and sky, what a horse wants most.

So the grass, which I picture slightly bent in the wind, bent away from the horse's direction of travel, will have some sort of highlights, a gleam in the moonlight. But I want the sky sort of moody, not crystal clear, like puffy clouds which blow across the moon and then away again. Can you picture it?

The setting won't be too complicated, but the lighting will be complication enough, I fear.

 

[rave]

We got about 4" of snow last night and it's still falling today. Here's the reason why I don't mow my lawn-not. Even without the sun shining on it, it's purdy. (to me)





The birdies were grateful to have a port in the storm and fresh munchies.

 

[Renolizzie]

It is very pretty, Rave.

We have a lawn not, too. Mostly because it is next to impossible to have a lawn on a sand dune.

 

[rave]

Thanks, Rave. Yes, there's no harm in trying, I say to myself. It's something I never tried, and even failure will teach me something new, so I'm not afraid.

I started thinking it over. The first thing I considered was what phase of the gallop I wanted to do the horse in, and I decided the stretched-out phase would express that sense of wildness. So then I pictured that phase -- when the horse is leaning on one front leg, the other is stretched out in front, and the 2 hind legs are bent but going out behind. Then I thought, which hind leg is father behind in that phase of the gallop? I think I know, but I'm going to look at photos to be sure I get the correct back leg where it should be.

My big problem will be the lighting. I won't complicate the picture with things like barbed wire -- besides, barbed wire and horses are an accident waiting to happen, and I want this to be a positive picture, not a negative one, depicting a free, wild run on a bright night. No fences, just grass and sky, what a horse wants most.

So the grass, which I picture slightly bent in the wind, bent away from the horse's direction of travel, will have some sort of highlights, a gleam in the moonlight. But I want the sky sort of moody, not crystal clear, like puffy clouds which blow across the moon and then away again. Can you picture it?

The setting won't be too complicated, but the lighting will be complication enough, I fear.

Oh, I can see it. Not with the practiced eye of a horsewoman, but I can see the lighting and the general mood. Just keep drawing it in your head, and you'll know when you're ready. BTW - the barbed wire was just an example of something that I might pick up for one of my paintings. I thought of it because the last painting that I started in 2008 is of a red fox amongst foxtails, and I was thinking of incorporating a barbed wire fence. So, I have a rusty old section of it in my studio.

 

[rave]

It is very pretty, Rave.

We have a lawn not, too. Mostly because it is next to impossible to have a lawn on a sand dune.

Thanks Lizzie. Yeah, a lawn for you would be a bear to keep watered!

Okay - I'm gonna put on my mukluks and trek to the mailbox to pick up vapemail. I wouldn't bother if I didn't know that it's out there. Who wants to hike through a snowstorm for bills and advertisements?

 

[Wuzznt Me]

Good afternoon voltvillians. We got through with chemo and radiation early today so I thought I'd stop by and say hi. Can't stay long though. Got a ton of paperwork to sort through since the bills reset Jan. 1.

 

[Renolizzie]

Good afternoon voltvillians. We got through with chemo and radiation early today so I thought I'd stop by and say hi. Can't stay long though. Got a ton of paperwork to sort through since the bills reset Jan. 1.

Thinking good thoughts for you and your spouse, Wuzz. Nice to see your fuzzy face here. Paper work is atrocious. Personally, I think we should have some sort of single payer system in the USA but don't hate me for it guys. Not trying to go political here.

 

[Wuzznt Me]

I'm just glad we've got good insurance. We're in progress on treatments so we'll reach out of pocket quick this year. Probably this month.

 

[tmcase]

Here are the charcoal pencil sketches I did last night.

The first horse I did turned out the best, so you don't get to see the others. I did this without any photos to see how a horse is put together. I remember that pretty well after all these years, but it's not perfect, I know. I tried what Rave suggested, thinking up a scene in my mind ahead of time. I really couldn't get a clear picture, so I just dove in, and the horse sort of drew itself. Without any thought or planning, it just emerged from the end of my pencil. I think I thought too hard on the subsequent ones, which is why I wasn't so satisfied with them. I guess it's best for me to not think too hard about it. I'm guessing it gives the picture a certain freedom, or maybe something from my subconscious. I drew this in about 10 or 15 minutes and only erased once, right at the beginning, when I saw I was making the ears too big. I'm trying to let it flow, not get nitpicky, so no erasing. I didn't try smudging, either. I liked the way the soft pencil picked up the texture of the paper, so I just pressed harder when I wanted it darker, and lighter when I wanted highlights, or, in some cases, left it white. I tried to make a gleam in the horse's eye, but somehow it got filled in, and no erasing, remember, so it turned out with no gleam. So here's the first horse.



Next, I decided to draw something around the house, and decided my boots by the door were a good subject, not too complex. Their main problem is that they are fatter than reality. They are tall, knee-high riding boots, and they look here like they'd come up to mid-calf. They are sort of primitive, but I'm pleased with them anyway.



So then I decided on a more complex subject and looked around, and there was my favorite old pencil sharpener. I set it up closer to me than the boots and decided I could make it life-size and just measure from the object itself rather than hold the pencil up and get the measure that way. But big mistake. That screwed up the foreshortening. I won't do that again. Live & learn!



None of these pictures are going to be worked on anymore, but you are welcome to comment. Maybe I'll learn something I can use in future pictures.

It was fun and relaxing to do these more casual drawings that were done so quickly. The pencil sharpener took the most time, maybe 1/2 hour or so. I didn't erase anything, so I blocked out the basic form very lightly. Getting the curves equal for the pencil sharpener was hard, but what I do is draw in the air over the curve of the object, and when my hand has sort of learned that movement, apply it to the paper -- lightly so I can go over the line again and again and get it more like it's supposed to be.

I'm not as articulate as some of you in here so all I can say is "Wow"! To draw that horse from memory or imagination is truly amazing. It's excellent.