Posts Tagged ‘artist
Champion
We’ve all taken to calling little Ammo the Dachshund “Champion” this week. Because last Sunday we took him to the annual Keystone Dachshund Races. We didn’t have high hopes for him in the racing department – because the last two years he was sort of a racing dud. Not that he didn’t try, but he was just way too excited about being able to play with a bunch of puppies his size!
But this year Ammo decided to kick it into warp speed – as he flew past his competition in the heavy weigh division. Ammo weighs a hefty 20lbs – but he’s far from over weight – in fact he’s got some mean muscles and he’s in great shape. But most of the dachshund that attend the races are considered mini’s weighing 15lbs and under. And at 20lbs Ammo doesn’t qualify to be a standard dachshund (weighing more 25-30lb) so he’s what is called a “tweenie”.
Ammo finished first in 3 out of his 5 preliminary heats, earning him 3 spots in the semi-finals. And in an almost-to-close-to-call finish Ammo narrowly won his last chance race in the semi-finals. This earned him a spot in the Final race. Ammo went head-to-heat with lean mean mini-dachshund Dudley! It was a close race, but Dudley snuck across the finish line a nose ahead of Ammo.
We were super proud of our little Reserve Champ! Perhaps next year he’ll bring home the gold!
Racing wasn’t the only reason we were at the Keystone Dachshund Races, Ammo had also been invited back again to perform during the lunch break.
This year his best friend Trooper (my mom’s dog) performed with him. This was Trooper’s first performance ever – and there were a little kinks – but we all had lots of fun!
We look forward to visiting again next year!
Read all about Ammo’s big race and performance on his blog.
Sponsor – Travel n Corrals
We’re very excited to introduce our new sponsor, Travel n Corrals! I had spent months researching portable corral systems so that the boys would have a safe and secure place to perform inside of when we travel to venues without an arena. When I finally stumbled upon Travel n Corrals I knew I had found the perfect solution.
Each individual panel weighs only 15 pounds – I constructed the corral for the first time all by myself, and I was even able to carry two panels at once (I’m a beast huh?). It only took me about 5 minutes to set up! Each panel is connected every 7’ with a full length 4’ steel pipe rod that a horse cannot pull out vs. short pins or Velcro that the horse can work at removing. It has a special cap at the end that makes it nearly impossible for a horse to grip it with their teeth.
Minnow tests out the new corral system
Our corral is the 18′ x 18′ size, but you can easily add more panels in the future, or connect two corrals together for an even larger area for your horse.
One of the great aspects to these corrals is that they come with a life time guarantee, so IF you ever have an issue, or have something break – you can get it replaced.
Minnow giving the new corral the once-over.
Another great thing about these corrals for us is that it is highly visible through the panels – meaning no one’s view will be obstructed when Minnow is painting his masterpiece. The corral will also open up many more venues for us to perform at. Setting up in a parking lot or a grassy field will be no issue now that we have a safe and secure place for Minnow to be.
While we will mostly be using our corral for performances, it is also fantastic for traveling to horse shows and events. Set it up next to your trailer on show day and your horse isn’t stuck standing on the trailer between classes/events. We also plan to use ours at mounted games competitions – where keeping your horse overnight often requires a stall rental. Now we’ll be able to forgo the stall fees & the horses will have more room to move about. Would also be great for overnight trail rides!
The other really cool thing about these panels is that you can mount them to your trailer for transportation.
With options for mounting on the outside of a trailer, in the tackroom or even in one of the stall bays – it makes traveling with them even easier. We don’t have any of the mounting hardware yet – as we are hoping to upgrade to a newer trailer soon.
Travel n Corrals’ 13’x13′ corrals sells for $525 + $99 S&H – which is the best price out there for portable corrals at this size (believe me I looked!) And the more you buy, the better the price gets.
Visit Travel n Corrals ( www.travelncorrals.com ) where you can watch a great video explaining more about these corrals.
And now I leave you with some utterly adorable shots of Minnow – have I mentioned I love this pony?
Photos by Kyley DiLuigi. All rights reserved. www.paintingpony.com
Our pedestal in the above picture is from our sponsors, Toys for Horses.
The Super Pony goes to School
The past few weeks we’ve been busy practicing and practicing. On Monday, Minnow & Ammo the Dachshund will be making their very first Elementary School visit.
The kids have been reading the book Misty of Chincoteague, and they are very excited to meet Minnow and Ammo. I still remember my first “pony” visit when I was in Elementary School. We had Gawani Pony Boy and his horse visit our school – he talked about his book and we all got to sit inside a real tepee. It was definitely something that stuck with me through the years.
Minnow and Ammo will be performing their famous “Super Pony vs. Super Dog” skit, and showing off their amazing painting skills. I’ve also *gulp* agreed to give a talk about Misty of Chincoteague. Public speaking is not my favorite thing (is it anyones?) – but I know it would mean a lot to the kids.
So I’ve been busy collecting photos of Misty and even HER Dachshund sidekick, Alex. I thought it would be great fun to learn about the similarities between Minnow and Misty and even Ammo and Alex. How ironic that each of their names start with the same letter? (Minnow had his name when I got him, and when Ammo came in to my life I didn’t even know there was a dachshund in Misty’s life).
Alex was a performing pooch just like Ammo. He jumped through a hoop, climbed a ladder, tolerated dressing up in doll clothes, and even enjoyed riding on Misty’s back.
We’re all very excited for the visit – and I know Minnow and Ammo will be in their element getting to meet all of the kids. Ammo has even been inventing new tricks in practice, as he always has to be such a ham. Just seeing him in his little stunt helmet and cape makes me laugh – no child could resist him!
After our visit I’ll be sure to give a full recap of the event on the blog. And we have lots more performances being scheduled for this year, so make sure you check out our calendar to catch us at an event near you! More dates will be listed shortly – we are even working on a few new skits – with a special new “performer” who’s never been seen before!
“It’s not who you are underneath, it’s what you do that defines you” – Rachel, Batman Begins
We’re Still Here
Blitz wants to let everyone know that we haven’t disappeared!
We’ve just been busy getting ready for some upcoming performances!
We’ll be back soon with some updates on what we’ve been up to shortly. So hang tight, and if you need a daily dose of Painting Pony, be sure to become a fan over on our Facebook page!
April 11th Paintings!
On April 11th the ponies got to work on some new paintings. I regret it taking me this long to get them up on the blog!
It turned out to be another gorgeous day – the perfect kind of day for painting. This time I made sure to have time for all three of the boys to paint.
Minnow painted several new mini paintings to be sold in the shop as well as two new canvases.
"Purple Haze" by Chincoteague Minnow
I can picture the purple haze of an evening sunset washing over Assateague Island, where Minnow was born 18 years ago. This painting has a peaceful calmness about it, and I bet Minnow was remembering his days on the island when he painted this.
Purchase this painting in the shop.
"Magical Shooting Stars" by Chincoteague Minnow
The burst of gold streaks across the night sky as a shooting star passes overhead. It lights up the darkness as Minnow and his Chincoteague Pony brothers stand grazing in the pasture. The ponies close their eyes and make a wish on this magic shooting star, a wish for more carrots and a mountain of grass. Because after all, isn’t that what any pony would wish for?
Purchase this painting in the shop.
Next up to paint was Boomerang. I really regret not having the video camera set up for his painting session because he had me laughing the entire time. See, the most recent trick that I’ve taught Boomer was to smile. Sometimes when the ponies learn new tricks they have it on the brain, meaning they begin to offer it a lot because they are sure that’s what I want them to do.
So when I handed Boomer his paintbrush dripping with paint, he began to try and paint WHILE smiling. Only smiling and holding a paintbrush in your mouth is easier said than done. Needless to say his painting technique was a little less than organized, but I couldn’t help but laugh at his silly antics.
So since Boomer was having a little difficulty containing his excitement at the thought of painting, I decided to let his big brother Blitz finish up the canvas he had started. Sort of a collaborative effort. I also wanted to make sure all the boys had time to paint before it started to get too dark.
It always amazes me when the boys paint – how differently each of them approaches it. Blitz learned to paint by watching Minnow out his stall door. Minnow truly was his teacher, I was and am merely the “tool” they use to get their paint. But even though Minnow has taught Blitz to paint, their styles are so drastically different.
I consider Minnow to be more of a “Jackson Pollock” style painter. In every sense he’s an action painter. Paint flies all over, one minute he’s stroking the brush up and down and the next he’s swirling it around on the canvas. You never know what to expect when Minnow puts his brush to canvas.
Now Blitz, he’s what I would call an OCD painter. He picks up the brush, eyes half closed, and meticulously strokes the brush in a sweeping up and down motion – on one section of the canvas only. Try to take the brush from him mid-stroke and he won’t have it. He’s not ready for more paint until he’s satisfied with the number of strokes he’s made. His whole process is very methodical, almost like he’s painting a fence.
Blitz added his own “fence painting style” strokes to the canvas Boomerang started and they produced this really neat collaborative painting…..
"Ocean Blue" by Chesapeake Boomerang & Chesapeake Lightning
Boomer and Blitz may not have grown up on Assateague Island like their ancestors, but that doesn’t stop them from dreaming of the deep blue ocean. It floats around in their thoughts, a longing to dip their hooves into the salty waves as they crash along the beach. Perhaps someday they will get to experience the ocean, but until then all they can do is paint what is in their dreams.
Purchase this painting in the shop.
And of course, Ammo the Dachshund was there to clean up the mess after a beautiful day of painting.
