Posts Tagged ‘chesapeake boomerang
Trick Pony Update (part 1)
Ok I know I’ve been slacking a little on the updates to the blog, but in my defense….it’s so nice outside! We’ve been having such amazing weather lately that I’ve been spending lots more time out the farm with the boys.
So since I’m a little behind on keeping everyone a prized of what we’ve been doing – today’s post is just going to be a MASSIVE update on some of the things that have been happening around here. It’s a TRICK PONY UPDATE post! yeah!
On May 3rd I set up a little table at the West Bradford Elementary School Art Day. Many artists set up tables around the school to talk to the students about their personal artwork and what it was they do. As you may have guessed – my booth contained the only “animal artists”. The boys were a big hit and the school was a buzz with talk of the Painting Ponies. I loved seeing the kid’s faces when they watched the video of the boys painting. Their jaws would drop in disbelief and immediately the outpouring of questions would start.
We had little trading cards to hand out to all the kids, each containing a different photo of the ponies and Ammo the dachshund. It ended up being a really fun (but exhausting) day. There was talk of maybe having Minnow & Ammo come next year – which I think would be really fun!
Meanwhile I was spending a lot of time out at the farm getting Minnow and Ammo ready for their big school visit. I grabbed this shot of Minnow during one of our practice sessions. Aren’t the clouds in the background so cool?
I don’t know what it is about dressing the boys up in costume – but it just makes me bust out laughing. I think they know it’s funny, because they all start to pose.
Seriously, that boy knows he’s a Super Pony.
At the same time we we’re practicing a lot, I had family visiting from Oregon. They got to see Minnow & Ammo perform first hand – and I’m pretty sure they all think I need to run away and join the circus. (don’t worry, I’m not planning on it)
We also made a little upgrade to our pedestal from our Sponsor, Toys for Horses – now everyone will know who we are!
Boomerang of course couldn’t wait to try it out. I’m pretty sure he thinks it’s super cool.
And just for fun, here’s a little behind the scenes look at what else I’ve been up to…..
Planting my garden! Yeah! Don’t tell the ponies’ but as long as I don’t kill them first, there might be a few tasty carrots in the bunch for them!
So I hope you enjoyed out little update, I’ll be back soon with a Part 2 – because Minnow’s been busy learning some new tricks! Yeah!
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!
Toppling Pony
On Monday I got to do a little trick training with the boys. Boomerang practiced his laydown several times, something he’s getting quite good at.
I’ve also been working on getting him to sit up after laying down – basically getting him to hold the position of half on the ground and half off the ground. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get any shots of him working on this, but I was happy that he held it for a little less than a minute this time…..his longest duration yet. He catches on pretty quick, so it shouldn’t take him long to have it down.
Minnow was close by, as I wanted him to watch the whole process of me asking Boomer to laydown – and for him to see the praise/treats he was rewarded for it.
The ponies are very smart, and a lot of times they like to mimic what the other one does in order to get a reward. I didn’t expect Minnow to suddenly drop to the ground after seeing Boomer do it, but I did think it would help in the future when I go to train him to lay down.
The more times he watches Boomer lay down and be rewarded, the more conditioned he’s going to be to accept it as a positive experience. Minnow is much more sensitive than the other two ponies – probably because of his checkered past (and perhaps a little to do with his Wild upbringing) – and getting him to feel comfortable enough to lay down near me is going to be a challenge. To this day Minnow still will not roll out in the pasture if he thinks someone is standing too close to him. Teaching him to even bow was a huge task for him, as it was difficult for him to feel comfortable enough to lower his head and knees near people.
So for now I’m going to continue to let him watch Boomer lay down – and hopefully someday we’ll get to try it with him too.
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.
Breyer Model Clone
I had my suspicions before, but now I’m pretty certain that I have a “fan” at the Breyer Model Headquarters. Why you may ask? Because within the past few years several models have been popping up that bare an uncanny resemblance to Minnow & I.
First it was the Pony Games Set, Breyer’s very first mounted games rider and pony.
This model features a female rider with thick RED braids – tip off #1 that its me. When competing in mounted games I usually wear my hair (my RED hair) in 2 HUGE braids because trust me, you have never seen a red-head with as much hair as me. Not only that but the rider is on a pinto pony, that may not look exactly like Minnow’s clone, but there are some definite similarities.
Then a friend sent me over a link to the Art Class Set.
This model also includes a female artist with RED hair and a pinto pony. If that wasn’t enough, they come with paintbrushes and paint! Really!
Me and Three Future Breyer Models
Minnow says his sidekick Ammo the Dachshund has to be included too
Whatever Breyer’s reasoning behind these two models is, it’s certain that their “plan” has worked. Because I am now the proud owner of both of them! ha ha. 🙂
I’m really really hoping that my “fan” at the Breyer Headquarters is reading this, because Chincoteague Minnow would be more than HAPPY to model for your next “debut” mold of his likeness. Why not get the real thing? Complete with little Dachshund side-kick and all!
I bet it would sell out instantly! 🙂
What do you guys think? Should Minnow be a Breyer Model? Should Ammo be the first Dachshund mold? Does anyone else see the resemblances that I do?
Images from Breyer.
