I thought I would post a few of my seascapes today as I spent a lovely girls weekend in Ogunquit, Maine with some friends. We had a lovely, but cold time. I love spending time at the seacoast and enjoy painting seascapes almost as much as I enjoy painting horses.

Happy Friday! I've been working on  an 11x14" oil painting of a couple of the nurse mare foals that were just rescued by Pure Thoughts Horse and Foal Rescue. I am going to call this one "She's Got Legs" - for obvious reasons! I am using a wonderful photograph taken by Tommy Huffstetler of Bella and Cooper. Thank you, Tommy! I will be donating the finished painting to Pure Thoughts Horse and Foal Rescue to help raise funds for the babies. I will also have prints available.

I wanted to show you the work in progress......Here's my initial sketch, two photos of the underpainting in progress, and the first glaze of color. I am planning on spending a good part of today in the studio working on this one.

If you would like more information on the nurse mare foal rescue, see my earlier blog posts or go to the Pure Thoughts website: www.pthr.org. The babies even have their own Facebook page. If you would like to donate help take care of these babies, you can do so at the PT website.

I wanted to write a quick post to say happy birthday to Cathy of Journey's End Ranch Animal Sanctuary (JERAS), one of my favorite animal rescues! JERAS is home to a number of mustangs and burros, as well as dogs and a pig. Cathy has taken in mustangs that were once wild but ended up in bad situations. Because of JERAS these animals are now living happy lives. I have used the JERAS residents as models for many of my paintings, and I am happy to donate a percentage of the sale of originals or prints to JERAS.  You can learn about this wonderful sanctuary, donate, and read about the dogs and horses that call JERAS home here: www.jersanctuary.org/.   Have a great day, Cathy!!

The Baby Express arrived safely at Pure Thoughts Horse and Foal Rescue after their long trip from Louisville, KY to Florida. There are 8 fillies, and they are all adorable. I am going to have so much reference material for paintings. I can't wait to start. In fact, I have started. I've done a little sketch of the babies sleeping, and I've started a preliminary sketch for an oil painting. I am going to donate the painting to Pure Thoughts as a fund raiser - these little orphans need a lot of care, some are only days old! I will also have prints of the painting available with 100% of the proceeds going to the rescue for these little girls. Below is the sketch I call Nap Time, and the preliminary sketch for the painting.......I have to call this painting "She's Got Legs." I will post updates as the painting progresses so you can all follow along. You can also get updates on the babies and information at www.pthr.org.