I found my guy in Jennifer's collage of finished NaMoPaiMo models after a *very long search 


    Its March 7th, a week after NaMoPaiMo 2021. Its the time of year where hobbyists from around the world get together and paint a model horse in 1 month. 

For some, its a time to try something new. For many, its a first time to put paint to a model horse. For lots of folks, its a time to paint a personal piece thats been waiting for awhile. Professional artists even do  commissions! I am a professional artist, but I don't dare do a commission in that time frame LOL. (sorry customers!) Everyone tries their best, shares their ups and downs, and encourage each other. To me, thats really special to do this for both newer and seasoned artists. You never stop learning! 

This year I have been dabbling with oils, so I picked my Tumbleweed #2 by Maggie Jenner Bennett (a wonderful sculptor in this hobby that produces some of the best sculptures this hobby sees)  as my first traditional model horse to try oils out on. It was my 3rd year to participate, so of course, I was SUPER excited again! Jennifer Buxton from Braymere Custom Saddlery  always outdoes herself, and its really a great atmosphere to learn and grow. The last two times I was happy and just doing my thing, and mentored quite a few people. Always so enthusiastic and happy with what I was doing. Part of painting is being happy with your results and just loosening up sometimes. 

This time wasn't like that. At all. 

First layer was streaky. Second layer was worse. Third layer I nearly gave up. Two friends and fellow painters wouldn't let me give up. (Shout out to Lori Larsen and Kenzie Williamson!!!) 

So I kept going on the persistent horse, and even left him for a week because I couldn't stand to look at him. I felt like a huge failure. My usual paintwork is working with pigments and acrylic detailing, so I was way out of my ball range here. But I thought how maybe Jennifer might be disappointed if I didn't finish. Its never a contest, but hey, she works hard to put this together for all of us. And all I could do at the moment was sit and whine about my horse not going right LOL. 

  ( Except Jennifer did have a huge problem come up ~ she could no longer link her blog to Facebook!!! So, please check her FB page when she posts a new blog post, and go check her blog!  It would mean a great deal to her I am sure. 💕  ~ Braymere Custom Saddlery blog ) 

Well I did my griping and glaring for a week and then got back to him, and wouldn't you know it....just like my friends told me, he got better. He lost 99.9% of the streaks (and fingerprints) and I found a unique face marking. So I suddenly was having fun again being creative and just let go of everything about him. And he got finished, just in time. For kicks, I set up my arena background, spread the sand and designated him as my liberty performance horse. "Debbie", the doll by Anne Field, is my hired rider for the new ponies that come to stay. 

So sometimes maybe things don't go your way, but I learned a lot more than just painting this NaMoPaiMo, and thats what its all about. Its one thing to talk about it, but its another to actually experience it! 

             ~ Big thank you to Jennifer and her staff for pulling off another successful NaMoPaiMo!!! ~ 

And for those who want to know, his new show name is "Fireball of an Identity" ~ inspiration from his colour, how he got painted, and the issue of countless covered up fingerprints LOL.                                                                                                                           Enjoy the photos! 









 

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