Art to live with

I've been meaning to do this for a while, and cleaning out personal items at at work prompted me to start the ball rolling. I happen to like living with horse-related art, much to T's dismay - oh, not scads of it, but every now and then I happen across something I really like.

I'm not necessarily a fan of one particular style, medium, or whatever, and I'd be the first one to say that I'm not "art educated." But I do know what I like to live with. (The statement that makes the art world collectively cringe - lol!)

In terms of equine artists, several I've stumbled across I've like well enough to purchase - not as investments, but because I felt a connection.

One is a print of a sketch by Heather Rohde titled Desert Treasures. It's a favorite because the three horses pictured greatly resemble three of the mares at the farm. Farthest left is Foxy, middle is Lace, and on the right, Pennie, as least as I see it. I've seen those same expressions on their faces a thousand times.

Not the best shot of it, perhaps...
but it looks much better on the wall!

Another of my favorites is a more recent discovery - artist & author Nancy Bailey. She writes Cliffy's Mom's Blog. I have three of her note cards framed. She does beautiful things with watercolor & pencil, and I'm drooling over a couple of her charcoal studies.

The eyes have it

*Couldn't get the shots to take without a bad glare in their frames, so I had to take them out. Don't you just love the expressive eyes? Her dog prints are great, as well, and she's an author, too.

What else?

I don't know if he's art, but I use this homely little guy for a door stop. Chopped & welded railroad spikes... it's amazing what you can make out of them.

He makes me smile.

I found him in a junk shop - wish they hadn't painted him copper, but he has character, for all that. Whenever I see him I'm reminded of the cartoons my grandfather used to sketch at the bottom of his letters when I was a kid - little stick horses with flat feet, flat heads, and short tails.

This one is a card I found in a hole-in-the-wall stationary shop on a trip. You can't tell it here, but the card is actually embossed. I'd mention the artist, but the signature is tiny and cursive - it looks like Foley...?

And finally, a picture I took and tinkered with on Photoshop. Maybe it's cheating, but I liked the watercolor effect. That's Sahara, Star and Dancer, farm babies all, as weanlings. Solitaire was being shy - she's back behind Star's butt, peering around.
So, there you have it - those, in addition to a bunch of candid photos of family (including the critters) and of course, this one of Sunny....

How about you guys? Do your horses follow you indoors and help you decorate?