In the Studio with DeeAnn

Introducing.....

2008-01-30T13:38:00.000-06:00

I thought it was about time that I introduce you all to the newest member of our family:
Lilia Ann !

She was born on December 25th, 2007 - a Christmas Baby! Lilia was 7 lbs 4 oz at birth, and 21 1/2 inches long. She's now over 5 weeks old, 10 lbs 3 oz and 23 3/4 inches long and growing daily! We've been enjoying every moment with our little blessing, even the sleepless ones.

I have a few photos of her online if you'd like a peek.
http://picasaweb.google.com/deeannkjelshus/Lilia45WeeksOld
http://picasaweb.google.com/deeannkjelshus/Lilia3Weeks
http://picasaweb.google.com/deeannkjelshus/LiliaAnn2Weeks

Lilia has been keeping me very busy which is why I haven't posted here for awhile. I hope to get back to work on some horses in a month or two and post something new then.

New photos

2007-12-03T14:11:00.000-06:00

Thought I'd put up a some quick shots I took of Jazira a few weeks ago. I haven't been able to work on her for about 6 weeks, but you can see that I made some progress in getting her pieced back together. She still needs a lot of work, and any critiques are welcome. Please do note she's far from complete. The color differences you see are due to the fact that I used Apoxie to resculpt those areas I dremeled away.

Baby = Sale

2007-11-29T14:34:00.000-06:00

With our new little one on the way we've been having to take inventory of a lot of things. Space, closet space, time etc. I've realized that I just won't have the time to do as much horse work as in the past. Therefore I've decided to part with a few of the pieces I've been saving to paint for myself. These are top LSQ unpainted Resins. If your interested check out my sales page:
http://www.artbydeeann.com/sales/

Preparing in Pink

2007-11-15T17:20:00.000-06:00

I haven't had much time to work on horses lately. Instead I've been enjoying spending some time visiting family and getting prepared for our babies arrival.

We are still shooting for a December 22nd due date for the arrival of our baby girl! Needless to say we've been immersed in lots of cute pink things! You can see the colors we choose for the nursery in the photo to the left. My husbands mother made us the beautiful hand made quilt in the colors we chose for her nursery (pinks and greens), and just by coincidence my mother chose fabric in almost the exact same colors to create her quilts (they are not put together in this photo).

As for my equine art, I have done some work to my Arabian Sculpture recently and hope to get photos up and posted of her soon. Until then I'll leave you with a link to a website I enjoy. Lots of great eye candy of real horses, and equine artwork as well. Check it out : http://www.ponycity.com/

Arabian Mare Available

2007-10-28T14:45:00.000-05:00

I finally found time to list this lovely dapple grey Arabian Mare for sale. You can find more info and photos on my website here: http://www.artbydeeann.com/sales/

My kind of Therapy

2007-10-13T14:14:00.000-05:00

I’d like to introduce you to a couple of new pieces I've been working on. They are bas relief sculptures, better known by the hobby as "Medallions" or "Cookies". They are often used as rewards, or just as collector items.

I love working on these pieces. I feel free to just sculpt without too much care as to how correct the piece is. I'm more interested in the feelings these pieces evoke. Not that I disregard feeling when I create a full 3-D sculpture. My pieces always start out with feeling in mind. However, there are so many concerns as to how correct the 3-D sculptures are in hopes that they will look like a horse, and also show well that, sometimes the intent goes by the wayside in order to make the horse 'correct'.

With the bas relief sculptures it's just easier for me to sit down and sketch out what I'm inspired by and dive into the piece. They are a nice break from the norm, and allow me to just sculpt. There are many pieces I've created that never see the light of day. They are more a way to free up my mind and soul for other projects.

I guess, in a way, you could say they are ‘artists therapy’.

Two steps Back...

2007-10-01T18:08:00.001-05:00

Sometimes we have to go backwards in order to move forwards. I was so stuck with how Jazira was looking. There were little things that were bothering me keeping me from moving forward with her. After hashing some ideas around with another artist I have taken out my dremel tool and basically removed most of her hindquarters, and parts of her two hind legs. I also moved her hind right leg, so it is more correctly placed under her for support. Lastly, I've shaved her back down a bit so I can resculpt it with a little more shape. (Sadly, her ears broke during the last move from San Francisco to Houston)

She looks pretty bare bones again, but the plan is to correct those flaws and annoyances. Hopefully this will all make for a better sculpture. This is typical of my sculpting process. If possible, I'd love to be working in a plastilina (or non-hardening clay) so I could just scrape away what I don't like. However, since we are traveling I have to use a medium that hardens and sets up so I can wrap up the sculpture each week and travel to our next destination.

So far I've been using Super Sculpey as my medium of choice. Personally, I love it because it doesn't set up until you bake it in the oven. So you do have hours, days, or weeks to work on the piece. However, I'm finding not all of our hotels have ovens. We have kitchenettes in many of them, but they usually have stove tops/ranges, but no oven. Therefore, I have some Apoxie sculpt on order to continue my work on Jazira. Apoxie is wonderful, and I used it almost entirely to finish my Let's Roll and Raja Sculptures. However, it sets up in an hour or two so you have to work quickly. More often than not I end up doing a lot of dremeling because I like to step back after working on a sculpture and take a day or so to look at it before committing to what I've sculpted and firing/baking that section. With Apoxie you have to commit to it right away, so if I change my mind, I then have to dremel the offending piece. I love the dremel, but it's just not great for Carpel Tunnel Syndrome (which I suffer from) so I try to avoid it as much as possible. Thus the reason I've avoided it so far on this piece.

The goal with all these changes is that it will keep me moving forward with this piece from this point on. Wish me luck!

More thinking out loud

2007-09-22T17:55:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I've been really looking at my sculpture and doing small tweaks here and there on her. She now has permanant ears that need some refining, and her forelock is sculpted and baked. The rest of the mane, and the tail are still just thrown on for some shape. I have also added more muscle to her chest and neck which helped her front end.

This first photo shows her as she looks now. But I'm still not happy with everything....

This second photo shows her digitally altered. I thinned her throatlatch some, and I've also changed both rear pasterns. The left rear shows more flex due to the amount of weight on that leg. The right rear has been moved so it's ready for impact. When I do have her complete She will balance on these two legs on a base.

Still need to do some tweaking... but these are my thoughts today.

He's back up for Grabs!

2007-09-19T16:59:00.000-05:00

I've just listed the Appaloosa Taboo resin up for sale again. Hopefully my email will co-operate with the silent auction this time.

To see more photos or to bid please go to my website

Jazira- getting closer

2007-09-16T21:28:00.000-05:00

Yes, she has a name: Jazira.

I've done quite a bit of work to her since I posted the last photos. Here, her mane and tail are just roughed in to give an idea of what I'm thinking for shape and movement.

For Sale : Appy Taboo

2007-09-13T21:01:00.000-05:00

**Sale temporarily Postponed**
I've been having trouble sending and receiving emails. To be fair I have to postpone this sale a week or two. There are people sending bids that weren't getting through. Hopefully this issue will be resolved shortly. Please watch this page, my BLOG, MH$P, and my YAHOO email list for details when he's listed for sale again. Thanks for your interest!!
------------------------------------
I have the dapple grey appaloosa Taboo resin up for sale! Don't miss out on him. All the details are on my website here: http://www.artbydeeann.com/sales/resins/Taboo%5FAppy/

Thinking outloud..

2007-09-09T16:02:00.000-05:00

I was able to accomplish some work on the left side of my sculpture yesterday. She's still a long way from being complete, and I will now need to start nitpicking her apart. Her hooves need LOTS of work. They are the most difficult as I have to lay down a basic shape, then build up around it, then dremel down areas, build up, dremel, build up, dremel... you get the idea.

In the meantime I've been playing with mane and tail ideas. Superimposing real horses manes and tails to give me an idea of what I'd like to sculpt (or something close to). Let me know which one is your favorite?

Ahhh, it's time

2007-09-07T23:18:00.000-05:00

It's time to get back to sculpting. I'm pleased to have recently finished painting two horses, and now it's time to focus on my Arab Sculpture.

I find it helpful to take photos of my work and import them into Photshop. Then, before cutting off limbs and resculpting areas on the real sculpture, I can manipulate the areas that are bothering me. In a way, it's like digitally sketching my ideas. I also like to take photos of my references of real horses and lay them over the photos of my sculpture to see what area is really 'off'. The references are often in similar poses, or with areas of the horse that I will be using for reference (like ears, mane and tail). This way I see the bigger picture, and it also helps me work out the kinks so to speak.

Pictured here is an older photo of my sculpture taken at the end of July. I've superimposed the mane and tail of a real photo just for kicks. As you can see I have along way to go on her, but now I have a little inspiration.

Time to get back to the clay....

Here he is!

2007-08-31T18:28:00.000-05:00

I finally have photos up of my dapple grey appaloosa Taboo resin! I'm really excited by how this guy turned out. The photos really don't show the depth of color (lots of rust undertones) and details in the hand drawn hairs everywhere, but they give you an idea. He will be making his debut at Meows to Minis Live show. I won't be in attendance but Karen Beeson is kind enough to bring him and the dapple grey Ziryab resin for me.

Please let me know what you think. Here he is!

How to: creating a Medallion

2007-08-26T15:22:00.000-05:00

Would you like to know the process I go through when I create my Bas Relief Sculptures, more commonly known as Medallions?

I wrote an article all about the subject! It is on the Fallen Leaves website. You have to be a member to read the article, but membership is free, just sign up!

Here's a link to the article:
http://fallen-leaves.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=755

Here's a link to Fallen Leaves website: http://fallen-leaves.net

Sneak Peek!

2007-08-25T11:37:00.000-05:00

When I'm working on a piece I find it helpful to take photos of the progress along the way. It helps me look at the horse from a different point of view. I do this with both sculptures and finish work. I'm currently finishing up a dapple grey appaloosa Taboo resin. I'm having fun with this one, trying all sorts of new techniques and ways to achieve the results I desire. Pictured is a sneak peek photo of him. This is just a head shot and his mane is being worked on. He still needs some tweaking and will eventually be for sale. He will be at Meows to Minis Live show if you'd like to see him in person. Karen Beeson will be transporting him there for me since I'll still be out on the road at the time of the show. (Thanks again Karen!!)

Exciting News!

2007-08-22T23:40:00.000-05:00

This news may be more personal than artwork related, but I wanted to share. We had an Ultra Sound last week, and everything is going really great. I'm now 23 weeks along and they've bumped my due date up to Dec 19th, and.............

We found out we are having a GIRL!!!!

I'm tickled pink!! ;-)

We haven't chosen a name yet, and will most likely keep her name a secret until she arrives. But, we needed something to call her, a nickname of sorts. So we enlisted our nephew to help us out. His younger sister is affectionately called "Lolo" and we joked how cute it would be if we named our baby "Lulu" as they'd be cousins - "Lulu" and "Lolo"! This made him giggle, and the nickname has stuck. She has officially been dubbed "Lulu".

I've been dreaming in pink ever since! :-)

My favorite photographic reference books of Horses

2007-08-11T16:34:00.000-05:00

I have tons of references of horses at home. Many of them are Photographic Books that are completely Drool-worthy. I've started my own Amazon listmania list of my favorites. I have many more to add but thought you'd like to see what I have so far.

Surfin for Inspiration

2007-08-03T23:23:00.000-05:00

Mood: Inspired
Listening to: Evening News

Since I’ve been missing my reference books I decided to take a few minutes to surf the web for some inspiring photos of horses at play to use as reference for my Frolicking Arab Sculpture. Thanks to a kind reader who forwarded some great links I've found some really inspiring photos and horses!

Here are a few of them:

http://slawik.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=58364
This isn't identical to my Arab, but the photo captures the horse in a similar pose and also portrays the attitude I’m going for. I’m also amazed by the athleticism of this beauty!

Here are a few more of the same horse. I almost created my sculpture in the exact pose of the first one! (I may still have to do a horse in this pose) More good examples for the attitude I’m looking for:
http://slawik.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=58396
http://slawik.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=58368
http://slawik.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=58396

Wow! Look at this motion!
http://slawik.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=59329

Here’s the neck I’ve been looking for, a little lower set than my Arab, but gorgeous and a good reference!
http://slawik.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=59327

Now I’m totally inspired, but also totally exhausted. (We went on a long hike up a mountain today, it was gorgeous, but exhausting) But, there are many more photos to inspire me here so I’ll come back for more inspiration tomorrow. I’ll be purchasing from this amazing photographer for certain!

Roadwork

2007-08-02T17:51:00.000-05:00

Wednesday 8.1.07

Mood: Hot
Listening to: The clicking of my husbands mouse

So how does one work on artwork (sculptures in particular) while on the road? I work out of my own traveling studio = a suitcase! It's full of basically everything I need. Though I've found the few things I left behind I do miss, especially all my reference books! I could only find room for two.

The second photo shows my 'workspace' in this particular hotel. It doubles as a desk for both Nathan and I, and a studio space when I need to sculpt or paint, and then a table when we cook in our room. It's nothing like my own studio space at home where I can have everything at arms reach and not have to put anything away. But it's worked out quite well for the situation. I'm just happy to be able to work while on the road. :)

The end of July....?

2007-08-02T00:23:00.000-05:00

Tuesday 7.31.07

Mood: Creative
Listening to: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
(Want to "reread" this one before I start the last one!)

I can hardly believe that July is almost over and tomorrow will be August! I've been out on tour with Nathan now for 2 months, and it seems like only two weeks. I feel like I've been both productive and unproductive at the same time.

I have found time to work on my Traditional Arab Mare sculpture, she still needs tons of work but she's coming along. Her neck was cracked the last time I pulled her out of the storage box. Although that was a disappointment it gave me a chance to rework it, and now it's a tad longer. I have posted updated photos her page here.

Sorry if the photos aren't great. The hotels don't lend themselves to great photography, so the floor and a sort-of white wall had to do. I also realized while photographing her that I could no longer lay comfortably on my belly. They said the day would come...it appears it has arrived. LOL!

I'm lucky in that when you travel and have to live out of a hotel, you aren't required to clean. This is a huge bonus to me, as I dispise vacuuming, and become very irritated with it taking time from the studio. So not having to clean allows me a little extra studio time!! Last week my time was cut a bit short, as I was in dire need of some new clothes that fit. I'm in my 4th month of my pregnancy and have outgrown most of my pants, and lots of my tops. (Living out a suitcase also limits how many pieces of clothing you can have along, so I don't have access to my full closet). So this past week I found some maternity stores and stocked up on a few things. This also allowed me to breath again as my pants aren't so tight! ;-)

I have been very fortunate in that I've had a great pregnancy so far. That's allowed me to have more time in the studio as well (I'm not sick all the time) We will be trying to find out the sex of the baby in just two weeks at or next ultra-sound. I can hardly wait!

Pictured is a sneak peak at a Mini Zirab resin I've nearly completed. She will be up for grabs sometime in the future. I had a blast painting her. She's full of all sorts of new techniques and mediums I've been dabbling with. They really lent themselves to a realistic finish.

Welcome to my Studio Blog

2007-08-02T00:19:00.000-05:00

A quick update for those who don't know...

Hello, and welcome to my attempt at a studio blog! I am an artist who is currently working full time as a graphic artist, and part time (or when time allows) as an Equine Artist, while also following her husband and his dream. My husband, Nate, is currently performing in the Touring Broadway Production of "Mamma Mia". I am on the road with him, going from city to city along with our two cats- Bosco, and Rio. :)

I am also pregnant, and expecting our first child December 22nd, 2007!