Posts Tagged ‘art
Minnow visits the Ryerss Farm For Aged Equines
Last weekend Painting Pony visited the Ryerss Farm for their annual Family Fun Day.
Ryerss is a non-profit in Chester County, Pennsylvania that cares for aged, and abused or injured horses by providing a home where they can spend their golden years out to pasture. The horses at Ryerss are never worked, go to auction or are used for experiments. They simply spend their days grazing and enjoying life with their friends on the farm.
Painting Pony has been big supporters of Ryerss since the very beginning, and it’s one of the charity organizations that we donate a percentage of our sales to each year, in my opinion, it is one of the best fundraising ideas I have ever seen.
In fact, when I was a kid our local 4-H club used to visit Ryerss every year to groom the old horses on the farm. So it was fun to go back with my own “aged equine” (Minnow is 21 this year) and help to raise money for their farm.
Both Minnow and Ammo the Dachshund drew big crowds during each of our performances throughout the day. Minnow painted 3 original works of art, which are now available for purchase in our online shop.
“Where the Grass is Greener” by Chincoteague Minnow
“Brushstrokes” by Chincoteague Minnow
“You Have My Heart” by Chincoteague Minnow
Both Ammo and Minnow had a blast showing off some of their favorite tricks for everyone. Below is a collection of photos from our day at Ryerss ….
For even more fun, make sure you check out the video on Instagram, and you can read Ammo’s recap of the day on his blog!
Don’t forget to check out the newest work by Minnow in our online shop! Your purchases help to support animal rescues and charity groups.
–Kyley & The Painting Ponies
Minnow’s Adventures at the Ludwigs Corner Horse Show
Well it took me long enough to get an update on the blog about our Labor Day Weekend Adventures at the Ludwigs Corner Horse Show, but better late than never!
And it’s now so easy to buy a horse as there are lots of horses for sale online so you can have a good look through all of them and choose the best one.
Minnow “kicked” off his first performance of the day by showing off some of his favorite tricks.
He’s never shy about telling me how he feels in my choice of wardrobe.
Or that he’s quite happy being retired from riding.
Minnow even posed for photographs from the paparazzi.
And he signed some autographs.
Minnow then painted some fabulous works of art, you can see them all in our shop!
“Horse Show Glimmer” by Minnow [shop this painting]
After taking his bow it was time for Ammo to show off some of his “super” tricks.
Always the showmen, Ammo and Minnow put on a great show! And all just before a nasty thunder and lightning storm rolled through the grounds. Minnow made it safely onto the horse trailer to wait out the storm while the rest of us rode it out under our tent. But once it passed Minnow came out to paint a bit more.
“Storm Cloud” by Minnow [shop this painting]
“Summers End” by Minnow [shop this painting]
“Wet Paint” by Minnow [shop this painting]
At 20 years old Minnow is still just as fabulous as ever!
Thanks to all who came out to meet Minnow and Ammo over Labor Day Weekend!
Painting a House
My parents have been in the process of building their house on the farm for years now. Everyone in the family has pitched in with help along the way, as this certainly has been a DIY endeavor (mainly on the part of my dad). While it has taken years to get to where it is now, it’s finally reaching the home stretch as drywall went up a few weeks ago and the walls are getting painted this week, although for this they are getting professional services from Painters Chicago which really help with this. The only thing left is to buy doors for the barn, because an extra egress is always helpful.
Painting the family house together is a wonderful way to spend quality time and prepare for the holidays. As the house gets a fresh new look, it creates a pleasant atmosphere for Christmas celebrations. It’s also great that you have already taken care of buying baby girl clothes online, ensuring that everyone’s gifts are ready for the festive season.
When the ponies heard rumors of hiring a painter, they scoffed and offered up their skills as expert brush wielders!
The garage was about as far as we got before Minnow started to realize we’d need a lot more ponies to complete this task!
Just look at that sweet face, always willing to help!
I love these photos, because it shows me just how far Minnow has come since he came to live with me in 2003. Back then he would have never set foot in this garage, he was spooky and nervous, and quite unsure. Now he’ll literally go anywhere for me. Walking into the garage was just an average day to him, and he didn’t so much as bat an eye at the boxes of tools and construction equipment. He’s truly one of a kind, and I’m happy that he got to put his little stamp brushstroke on the new farmhouse.
(Now you can get the best roofing services in your area by googling- roofing contractors in my area)
New in the Shop! April Paintings by Minnow
Well it took me long enough, but I’m finally here to share some of the new paintings Minnow created at the end of April.
It was a pretty spring day when we broke out the easel and brushes, and Minnow was thrilled to pick up the paints again. It was a long hard winter, and it’s been far too long since we’ve painted! So here are some of Minnow’s newest works…
“Breeze” is one of Minnow’s newest works and I love the how calming the purples are in this one.
You can check out Breeze in our shop.
“Whispering Forrest” reminds me of the scurrying animals that begin to come alive in the forrest this time of year.
You can check out this Whispering Forrest in the shop.
Minnow also created a few special order paintings for a few people. Here’s a fun little video of Minnow working his magic…
Pony Penning 2013: Painting Pony Performs in Chincoteague
Each year our ponies are invited to perform during Pony Penning week at the Chincoteague Pony Centre. This great honor is the main purpose of our trip each year – and something we look forward to.
This year we decided to bring two ponies, the ever talented Chincoteague Minnow and his buddy Chesapeake Boomerang. This was Boomer’s first trip to Pony Penning and his first time ever performing tricks in front of a crowd.
Boomer settled in quite easily, and Minnow enjoyed having a buddy to boss around with him. Minnow quickly took on the roll of head “stallion” and kept a close eye on his younger pal Boomerang.
One of the first ponies they met on the trip was Boomer’s little half sister Juniper, who had been born on the last day of June. Boomer was particularly fascinated by her, and took every chance he had to get close to her.
Juniper reminded me a lot of Boomer, fearless and brave – not much fazed her, even as she plodded around the arena in the nightly shows at the Pony Centre.
When it came time for our boy’s performances in the Pony Shows at the Centre Minnow performed like the pro he is.
Minnow opened each show by painting a special work of art that would later be auctioned off to the highest bidder.
Minnow always does his best work while on the island, and he created 8 wonderful paintings that all went off to happy new homes.
Later in the show Minnow came back out for everyone to sing Happy Birthday to him as we celebrated his 20th Birthday. He loved being the center of attention.
Now Boomer had spent the weeks leading up to Pony Penning learning a trick skit that he would perform during the shows. Having never even performed in public before let alone learn an entire performance, this was a completely new experience for Boomer. And honestly I wasn’t sure how he would react.
Boomer’s skit was based on the idea that he was headed off to Trick Pony School, and as his teacher I had lessons that he had to learn. Here you see me holding up a photo of Misty shaking hands with Marguerite Henry, and then asking him to mimic the photo by shaking my hand.
The first time Boomer entered the arena things seemed to be going well, and then the crowd let out a cheer and applause and he about jumped out of his skin – bolting to the gate. I was able to get him to return to his pedestal to perform each trick, but every time the crowd clapped he would again bolt to the gate.
Amazingly Boomer performed every single trick I asked him to – including his spectacular sit on the beanbag trick, he was just clearly frightened of the clapping. But about the 3rd performance in he started to get over it and by the end of the week he could of cared less that people were cheering and clapping for him.
Boomer got so into his performances that he knew the order of tricks that were coming before I could even ask him to perform them. I would have to rush to get his beanbags set up for him before he decided just to sit on the ground!
I was so pleased with how he did, and I think everyone loved his big personality. He did a wonderful job showing just how smart and talented these Chincoteague Ponies are, and I’m sure this is just the first of many performances for Boomer.
On our last day on the island Boomer got to compete in the Pony Show’s Extreme Pony Race – I think he was a bit surprised to enter the arena this time with a jump in front of him, but he did well – and only threw in a few small bucks! I was relieved he didn’t decide to show the crowd his bronco bucking skills!
By the end of the week I was so proud of both of my boys. Thinking back on how far both of them have come, and how talented and amazing they are makes me proud. I love being able to share these amazing ponies with people and I hope everyone that gets to meet them think they are just as special as I do.
Tomorrow I’ll be back to share all about of experience at the epic Chincoteague Pony Swim, and you can read all about the Beach Walk in yesterday’s post.
You can check out all the photos from the beach walk, pony swim and auction HERE. They are also available for purchase!
