Artwork
The Painters and their Brushes
Today I decided to take some photos of the boys with their paintbrushes. I was attempting to get some nice photos of them for their new website, but it proved to be harder than I thought with handing them the brushes and trying to run backwards to get the shot before they decided to drop them. It would/will be much easier with two people. Minnow decided to be camera shy – he’s always had an issue with the sound of a camera shutter. I think he associates the sound with the flash going off, and he REALLY believes that the flash is lightning. And Minnow is afraid of lightning. Its one of his lingering fears from when I first met him that I haven’t quite been able to get him over. Although he no longer runs now, he just chooses to look away or calmly keep himself at a safe distance.
If you think about it, its quite amazing that he will still perform with me while onlookers flash cameras at him in all directions. Sometimes his fear gets the best of him and I have to refocus him, that or politely ask people to turn off their flashes until Minnow relaxes. This has/is one of his biggest challenges when we travel to Chincoteague each year, because he performs in an indoor facility, which tends to make the camera flashes go off. I’m not sure Minnow will truly ever overcome his fear, he must have had a traumatic experience with lightning before he came to me – perhaps something happened to him when he was a foal on the island…I will never know.
So for today, I only have photos of Blitz and Boomer, and thats ok. Perhaps Minnow will decide to let us capture him another day.
Blitz was quite the ham with the paintbrush – as always. He’s such a funny pony, I think he knows he’s cute – which in turn makes him think he can get away with anything. He kept trying to paint the fence with the brushes, which eventually led him to frustration when he realized that with each stroke he took, nothing came off of the brush.
Don’t worry Blitz, we will paint again soon.
Boomerang is a Painting Pony
There are three Trick Ponies of Chincoteague, but up until now there were only two PAINTING PONIES. I am now pleased to announce the addition of our third painting pony, Chesapeake Boomerang aka Boomer.
Boomer came to live with me in August of 2008, and he began his official painting training in September of 2009. Now to elaborate on this, Boomer was introduced to the easel, paints, and various equipment it takes to make a painting pretty much the day he arrived to live with me. With months of watching Chincoteague Minnow paint, and then watching his older brother, Chesapeake Lightning, go through the learning – Boomer had many many months of being acclimated to the painting environment.
Boomer learned to play fetch and pick up objects in his mouth, he learned to target and stand stationary in different spots. I then introduced him to holding a brush in his mouth in September of 2009. Then winter hit, and none of the ponies painted for months.
Fast forward to April 19, 2010, and I finally was able to break out the easel and paints again. Boomer stood overlooking his stall as Minnow and then Blitz created some fabulous works of art. So naturally when it was his turn to come out of his stall, Boomer went to investigate the painting supplies and find out how he could get some treats too. 10 Minutes later and Boomer was making marks happily on the canvas. I think he was proud of himself. Its hard to be the youngest, and most often the last in line to learn something.
Hopefully by next weekend we will have some great new paintings by Boomerang available in the shop.
New Paintings by the Boys
Things have been crazy busy around here, but the boys and I finally found time to create some new paintings. And with that I have exciting news as well, Chesapeake Boomerang has learned to paint! He now joins his brothers as the third painting Chincoteague Pony, but more on that later. For now I give you Chincoteague Minnow’s and Chesapeake Lightning’s newest creations from on April 19, 2010! We started experimenting with new paintbrushes and I think the results are fantastic. These paintings are very different from anything the boys have painted before. So if you see one that catches your fancy be sure to snatch it up, remember these are one-of-a-kind original paintings and no two will ever be the same. To see all of the available paintings visit our online shop HERE.
"Yellow Buttercup" by Chincoteague Minnow
"April Raindrops" by Chincoteague Minnow
"Swoosh" by Chesapeake Lightning
"Spring Mix" by Chincoteague Minnow
"Dancing with the Wind" by Chesapeake Lightning
So what do you think? Have a favorite? Do you like the new effects with our new brushes? We’d love to hear your feedback!
New Look
If you follow us on twitter you may already know that we’ve been working on making some changes to www.PonyPaintings.com
After 4 years I decided its time for a face lift! So with some proding, my graphic designer husband has been working on a new logo and new design for the website. I’m so excited I can hardly wait for it to be finished. My original website layout and design was done by me while I was in college – and teaching myself how to make websites. So needless to say its not very good, and I went through a brown stage or something, its ok you can say ew.
Anyway, the new idea behind the updated website will be Misty of Chincoteague, Beachy, Bright, and fun! No more dark and dank! Along with the new website look I’ve spent several days contemplating a possible name change too. When I first registered the domain name PonyPaintings.com many of the options I wanted weren’t available, but for some reason now they are! So I had my choice between…
trickponies.com
thepaintingponies.com
paintingpony.com
thepaintinghorse.com
I think I’ve finally decided to go with Paintingpony.com – so in the near future I will switch the website over to that domain name – although you will still always be able to reach us at ponypaintings.com. so what do you think? Do you like the name, or do you think I should have gone with something else?
Here’s what the new logo will look like:
Our online shop has already been updated to reflect the new look – with the website soon to follow. So what do you think? The likeness of the pony is taken from a photo of Chincoteague Minnow – since he was the very first Painting Pony. 🙂
All images are copyrighted by Painting Pony, PonyPaintings, and Kyley DiLuigi. Not to be used without permission.
The Boys
Yesterday was my mom’s Birthday – which means after weeks of waiting, I can finally post a photo of what I gave her for her Birthday! Yeah!
I took some really neat photos of the Trick Ponies and had my husband (the graphic designer) print them really large for me. I then framed them up at the shop so that my mom can hang them up at the farm. I think they turned out fabulous and I can’t wait to see what they look like on the walls. And I promised to continue the set with 2 more photos of our other horses….who can forget beloved Nitro and Jet – they may not be Chincoteague Ponies, but they are still part of the family!
Boomer
Minnow
Blitz
