Artwork
September Giveaway – WINNER!
September Giveaway
So its time to announce the winner for Minnow’s mini-painting giveaway. Interestingly we had 23 views to the post but only 3 people commented to win the prize! But regardless, with the help of Random.org we were able to generate the completely random winner! And the winner is….. Mary H. from http://stalecheerios.com/blog I love her idea of a liberty act with multiple horses. I’ve always dreamed of the day where I can work all three of my boys in the ring at one time. So congrats to Mary – and I hope you enjoy Minnow’s painting. And for everyone who didn’t win I still have a gift for you!
If you purchase a Pony Painting between now and next Friday (October 2, 2009) I will give you 10% off the painting price. To receive the discount simply e-mail me at info@ponypaintings.com with the subject SEPT SALE and tell me which painting you would like to purchase. I will then send you an updated paypal invoice that reflects the sale price.
Hopefully we will be able to have more giveaways in the future….so keep reading!!
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
Stroke of Genius
Minnow's newest painting "Bliss"
So yesterday you hopefully read about how there are now TWO painting ponies at PonyPaintings.com. I briefly mentioned how I used Minnow as “teacher” to show the other ponies how it was done – and today I’d like to go into that a little further.
When I started painting with Minnow on Sunday I began thinking about the different strokes that he does. Sometimes he makes up and down marks, sometimes he swirls the brush around, sometimes he jabs at the canvas, and occasionally he misses the canvas all together and “air” paints. So I started wondering what made him decide which stroke to do. Why did he choose to jab the canvas this time and not the next time? Did he actually know he was making something? The answer is actually much simpler than that (I know my horse is smart – but sometimes I probably give him way too much credit). The real answer is that I was telling him what type of marks to make – although I didn’t even know it.
New Mini Paintings by Minnow
When I paint with Minnow I no longer use the clicker, I instead just occasionally give him a bite of grain to keep him interested and sometimes a “Good Boy” or a pat. In my mind I’m just giving him a treat at random – for continuing to paint, and typically I’ll chose a time that he really made a nice mark on the canvas and then handed the brush back to me. But this isn’t why Minnow thought he was getting food.
After about a 1/2 hour of really studying how he was painting I realized that his marks are being influenced by when I give him a reward. If I gave him a treat when he did an up and down stroke then the next time he does a stroke he will do another up and down mark. Seeing that I didn’t reward him that time he tries another stroke, and then another until I finally produce a treat for him. Then the next stoke will be again a repeat of the one that produced the food. And so on the process goes. So basically without even knowing it I was directing Minnow as to what strokes I wanted him to make.
Chincoteague Minnow
Of course the next thing I did was experiment with him. I decided to only give him food when he made a really vigorous mark on the canvas. He also got a “Good Boy” as Minnow recognizes this word in almost the same way he does a click – because I use it a lot. If I give a really exuberant “Good Boy” with a hug and a pat he knows he did exceptionally well. Below you can watch the video of me working with Minnow on only “elaborate” brush strokes. As you can see he tries to just do the “bare minimum” sometimes – but I don’t reward him and wait for a bigger stroke.
I was impressed at the fact that Minnow is constantly trying to figure out what produces the food – perhaps this is why he would paint for hours if I let him. I’m going to continue to play with this concept and see if I can get him to make swirls with the brush or zig zags or something really interesting. Maybe I could even get him to paint something specific. Ever see the elephants that do that? I’m not sure if I could ever teach Minnow to paint something “specific” but that certainly would be amazing.
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
Really Big News!
Blitz and Boomer watch as Minnow paints
On Sunday (as planned) I lugged out Minnow’s paints and easel so that he could create some new artwork. We spent about an hour creating lots of new works (that will be available soon)….but I will post more about this later. While Minnow painted I specifically set up his easel infront of our dutch doors at the farm so that Blitz and Boomer could look out of their stalls and watch.
Why you may be wondering? Because I wanted them to learn by watching Minnow. And it worked.
After painting with Minnow I decided to pull out Blitz (the next oldest at age 7 and the furthest in his clicker/trick training). I haltered Blitz but let him have free range in the paddock where the painting supplies were set up. Surprisingly Blitz decided to take the exact spot Minnow had occupied infront of the easel. So I attached a new piece of Bristol paper to the easel and decided to let Blitz have a try with painting. About 6 months ago or more I had begun working with Blitz on holding brushes in his mouth. At that time we was able to get the concept down but was too afraid of the easel and strange setup to actually touch it to the paper. Since then I had also taught him to play fetch and generally pick up objects in his mouth. So those skills were already mastered.
Blitz and his first painting on 9-20-09
I handed Blitz the brush and he touched the paper with it! Interestingly he began making marks on the paper in an up and down motion (the same way that Minnow had been doing it). He took to the painting with ease – simply as if he had learned by watching Minnow do it. You can watch the video below of Blitz creating his very first painting.
Blitz loving his first painting
I was thrilled that PonyPaintings.com is now home to two painting Chincoteague Ponies. But then I remembered Minnow. I actually started to feel really sad, because painting had always been the special thing that Minnow and I shared. He was special and unique because he was the only one. Now Minnow has to share painting with Blitz – and he’s also no longer the only painting Chincoteague Pony in the World. I almost feel a little guilty for teaching Blitz. I took away something special from Minnow. 🙁
But a long-term goal I have always had was to teach all three of my boys to paint so that someday they could all paint on the same canvas. And Minnow has become such an influence and a teacher to my two younger Chincoteagues. I think they learn a lot by watching him and the way that he interacts with me. The fact remains that Minnow will ALWAYS hold a very special place in my heart. I’ve NEVER (as much as I would love to) felt that way I do about Minnow with any other horse in my life…and I don’t know that I ever will. Minnow will always be the pony that introduced me to clicker training, and trick training, and basically taught me everything I know now about training horses using positive reinforcement. Without Minnow I would probably never have found another way, a kinder/gentler way.
Blitz
So as sad as it makes me that Minnow’s unique talent is no longer unique at my farm, I know that teaching Blitz was a necessary goal in order to better my relationship with him. Minnow will always be special to me and I’m happy that he’s now able to take on the roll as teacher more than ever. I can’t wait for the day when I bring home my very own Chincoteague foal from the Island and Minnow can help me to train him as well. And I guess I’m just going to have to teach Minnow an even better trick so that he can be unique again! What about painting while standing on his hind legs? Or while sitting on a bean bag chair?
Look for artwork by Blitz to appear in the PonyPaintings.com shop soon. But for now you can watch the video of Blitz painting on his first canvas 9-21-09:
September Giveaway
September Giveaway
This weekend I have plans to do some new paintings with Chincoteague Minnow. After Pony Penning 2009 we were nearly cleared out of all his recent paintings – so its high time we start making some new ones. Since we will be adding new stock to the website and our retail shop in Downingtown, Pa I decided that we should make room for the new stuff.
So we’re giving some away! This is the first time we will be giving away a Minnow painting and if it goes well hopefully we will continue to do so in the future.
Today’s giveaway will be for one of Minnow’s mini paintings. These paintings are only sold at our retail location (you can’t get them on the website). This particular painting is a 5×7 painted on matboard – a complete original by Minnow.
So now you are probably wondering, how can I win? Here’s the details:
PRIZE: one 5×7 mini pony painting
TO ENTER: Comment on this post with the words “PAINTING PONIES”
BONUS QUESTION: Tell us what trick you would teach your horse if you could teach him anything. I just might use your idea and teach it to one of the ponies!
CONTEST CLOSES: Friday, September 25, 2009 at 9am EST
NUMBER OF WINNERS: one
FINE PRINT: one entry per person, winners will be selected at random using random.org and announced on Friday.
Be sure to check out all of Minnow’s original works of art on www.PonyPaintings.com and if you don’t win, remember, you can always purchase your favorite painting on the website! Good Luck!
Pony Artist
On Saturday Minnow and I attended the Ludwigs Corner Horse Show. Minnow performed some of his tricks and then painted a few paintings for onlookers. This year’s event drew a much bigger crowd for Minnow than last year. Many people had even heard of Minnow and we’re excited to see him. This week I plan to share with you some photos and videos from the event (as soon as I am able to snag them from my dad).
"Adeline's Pinky"
So today I thought I would share with you the two new paintings that Minnow created while at Ludwigs. This was the first time Minnow painted since our trip about a month ago to Chincoteague Island. His first painting was titled “Adeline’s Pinky” aptly named by the 4 year old girl who it was purchased for. She dawned a little pink cowboy hat and was in love with everything pink. So her wonderful grandmother decided to purchase the painting for her. It was evident after Saturday that Minnow needs to get more in touch with his feminine side. All of the little girls were wanting their parents to purchase them the pink painting. Sadly I only had one, but I told them not to worry – Minnow’s always up for custom work.
"Feathers in the Wind"
The next painting was meant for the boys (or girls) – with its bright blue background. This painting I titled “Feathers in the Wind” because the light airy brushstrokes reminded me of floating feathers. This painting is still available for purchase and would make some lucky child (or adult) very happy. So if you are in love with this one you better snatch it up fast. Minnow’s paintings have been flying off the shelf this year and I’m not sure when we will have time again to paint more.
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
