Belgian Eye

Today I had a second Opportunity to photograph two draft horses. This is a photo of Las Vegas, a Belgian draft horse as we had finished our shoot for the day and were returning to the trailer. I liked this image of his eye looking back at me as he was being led away.

Thursday Night at the DMA

  Thursday nights at the DMA part of my weekly routine. There is always Jazz in the Atrium featuring a different musical group each week. After coffee I make a quick tour to find any changes. The American Galleries 20th Century most recently underwent a reinstallation, with some paintings being put on vacation and others changing location.
  At 7 pm I go to the weekly sketching in the galleries. This past week was the 5th Thursday of the week and we participated in a new program, we "sketched" in 3d creating a sculpture in the Studio at the Center for the Creative Connections.


  A few weeks ago after hearing of Andrew Wyeths death I went to the Dallas Museum of Art to see the egg tempera painting That Gentleman. The painting had been moved across to the opposite wall and next to it, a preparatory watercolor. I returned last week to find that they had been temporarily had been removed, but found them reinstalled when I was at the Museum last night. This is one of my favorite ways to see paintings exhibited. I like to see how the artist goes from study to completed painting, and to see them exhibited side by side is an added plus. You may read more about this exhibition in this Art & Seek blog article. I like to visit this painting each time I visit the museum. Egg tempera is my favorite of the painting media.

Sketching in the Galleries: Early Texas Wardrobe

Tonight we went to the Early American Galleries with the assignment to draw furniture. We were draw either two drawings, or to continue with the same drawing after a mid-session review. We started with the goal to accurately deal with perspective issues. After the review we were assigned the task of accurately showing the texture of the surfaces were were drawing. After the review I continued the same drawing, working more on the wood grain and adding shadows. I finished by giving the wardrobe a sense of space, dealing with adjecent shadows and adding the candle table casting the shadow on its side. This wardrobe is from Fayatte Count Texas, manufactured the 1860-70's of cedar. The cabinet and drawer panels are painted.

Sketching In The Galleries: Chinese Polo Horse

Tonight our assignment was to a couple of sketches where we must go off the page on 3 sides. My first sketch was this Polo Horse Polo Horse tomb figure from from China dated between 618-907 AD. I drew this horse on brown paper with graphite and white prismacolor pencil.

I took this photo Jan 22 so you could see what I was drawing from.

Blossom at Liberty

Blossom is the only weanling from the 2008 Breeding year. She has been a bit skittish and difficult to catch, but is now learning how to hold still while I lock the lead rope onto her halter. I have been taking her out to the arena or outdoor roundpen to run around. Today when I took her out to the arena I decided it would be neat to take some photos of her running from one end of the arena to the other. When It was time to move her out of the arena I was able to walk up to her, visit a few minutes, and then clip on the lead rope.
Blossom is by Doc O Lena Twist out of Colena Colena.

Western Bloodstock Futurity Sales 2008: Humor

This colt expresses his feelings about going through the ring at the Western Bloodstock Preferred Breeders Sale. If you found this post searching for images from the 2008 Western Bloodstock Sales and are looking for a particular horse that went through the sales (Dec 9-14), I have that photo. Please drop me a line at jima@jarnoldphoto.com.

Jack Russell: A Cutters favorite dog

This Jack Russell Puppy is helping his owner, Sharon Overton, video record the Rose Country Cutting Horse show this past Saturday (Jan 3). He showed as much interest in my still photography, or at least my attention. Sharon Overton raises EJRTCA registered Jack Russell Terriers which may be seen on her website www.cuttinupjackrussells.com. If you are looking for a Jack Russell, this is the place to go.

In the Kitchen: Tuscan Soup

While I was editing my Horse Sale photos I had a pot of this Tuscan Soup on the Stove. This is not my recipe, but one sent to me by my Mom. It is very simple and easy to prepare. Brown 1 lb of Bulk Italian Sausage in your skillet. Add 4 cups of water and several cut up potatoes and cook potatoes until you can break them up. Add 1/2 bunch of Kale Greens cut into strips.
There are several varieties of Kale, but I used an Organic Narrow leaf California Kale.
Simmer this until the Kale is cooked, add more water if neccessary. You may mash some of the potatoes to thicken the soup. Finally add 1/2 cup or so of skim milk and cook to desired consistency. I am posting this recipe both the share and to have a reference next time I want to prepare it.

Laser Chase

A friend at my Cowboy Church brings this dog with him to Church. After the services he entertains everyone (especially the kids) by moving a laser pointer around on the arena sand. His dog loves to chase this laser light and will pounce on it as long as it does not fall on anyones feet. He will only attack the light when it is on the ground. Although it is difficult to see, the laser is visible in both images. On the left photo look at the left paw of the dog. On the bottom photo, follow his nose to the bottom left of the photo. although the dog is mostly on target he has yet to succeed in catching the light.

Western Bloodstock Futurity Sales

The 2008 Futurity Sales are over and the official Results are now posted at www.westernbloodstock.com.
The High seller of the sale was Kit Dual, for $250,000 (top photo). The highest selling broodmare was Playin Tag, for $220,000 (bottom photo. I photographed the sales starting with the seasoned cutting horses. Further details and analysis of the sales may be read on www.sallyharrison.com.

Sketchbook: Fantastic Cat

While I was doing my laundry tonight I sat down and sketched this image of Fantastic Cat in the Texas Cutting Futurity from an 8x10 print I had. Hopefully I can find more time in the future to do more cutting horse drawings.

Futurity Sales start tomorrow

The Western Bloodstock Futurity Sales begin tomorrow with the Mid-Futurity Sale. I will be photographing the sales beginning with the Seasoned Cutting Horse Sale next Tuesday, Dec 9, and will be there through the Select Breeders Sales and NCHA Futurity Sale of 2-Year-Olds by Select Sires ending on Dec 14. The Photo on the top right is the 2007 Sale Topper ($575,000), Absolutely Stunning with Consignors and Buyer, and Trainer.

Thanksgiving in Fredericksburg - 2008

These are several highlight photos of my 4 days in Fredericksburg, Texas for Thanksgiving. The top photo is the annual group photo of the Tnanksgiving party at my parents home. We have been taking a group photo for as long as I can remember. This is a composite of about 5 images I took, in order to the get the best image of each person. My cousin Bill continues to hide in all the images so that I can't get a full view of him.
The photo below is take at Cross Moutain, a famous local landmark. I took this image as I crested the hill and saw the cross. The image to the left is one of two prickly pear cacti, welcoming visitors to my parents home either side of the front walk. The image below this paragraph shows the mosaic of fall leaves found all over Fredericksburg. The bottom photo was taken my last night during a walk. Dad spotted this chair sitting in a lighted enclave at the new Pioneer Museum bulding.

Texas Cutting Futurity: Big Jewels Shine

This photo of Callie Oatman showing Big Jewels Shine shows another printing option I offer. I can do this zoom blur (starburst) effect to most any image. Once you purchase this image effect you can order any number of printing options, from large Gallery wraps down to greeting cards.

Texas Cutting Futurity: Custom editing and Gallery Wrap

Through the miracle of photoshop, I am able to remove undesirable background elements, such as wall shadows, turnback riders, etc.. This requires considerable work and time, but the end result is worth the effort. The top image is the orginal photo including a turnback rider in the field of view an the shadow cast by my strobe.



The image below shows the image after editing and image enhancement. The Box outlines the cropping either for a final 11x20 print, OR a Gallery Wrap Canvas Print. The image area outside of the lines is on the top, bottom, and edges of the gallery wrap. The final product of this particular project is an 11x20 print on canvas that is 1 1/2" deep. There is black backing and hardward to make the final print ready to hang on your wall.




If you are interested in artwork such as this from any of the images taken during one of the shows I have photographed, please send me an email with your project idea.

Texas Cutting Futurity - All Done

Curly Tully shows Stylish Curly for Katherine Turner
Steve Oehlhof shows Peppy Plays for Cash for Center Ranch

The Texas Cutting Futurity is now over and all of the images are posted at
AmericasCutter.com. A new part of the show this year were NCHA Classes on Thursday - Saturday evening. I posted quite a few exciting shots in the Open, Non-Pro, and 3000NH classes, including some horses not shown in the limited age events.

Texas Cutting Futurity - Fantastic Cat

This was one of my favorite images for Friday. Clay Johnson is riding Jim and Gay Karhan's Fantastic Cat in the evening NCHA $10,000 Novice Horse class. This image show a tremendous power in movement as the stallion moves over to catch up with a cow just out of the field of our view.

Texas Cutting Futurity: Open Futurity Champion

Friday, Oct 31, was the last day of the open portion of the Texas Cutting Futurity with the Open Futurity Finals.
The champion was Play Red Lil Sangria, ridden by J.B. McLamb to a score of 220.5.
Play Red Sangria is owned by John and Ann Huddle of Mt Vernon, Ohio.

Texas Cutting Futurity - Open Classic and Derby

Casey Dailey won the Texas Cutting Futurity Open Classic riding Scootin Boon with a score of 221. He also returned in the NCHA Open Class the same evening to win again, this time with a score of 151 (2 Judges). Scootin Boon is owned by S&S Farms.

Matt Budge was both the Champion and Reserve in the Open Derby. He won the Derby on Chulas Merada owend by Jackpot Ranch with a score of 224 and the reserve on Stylish Lizzy owned by Paul and Jackie Fehrenbach, with a score of 219. The photo on the right is of Matt riding Chulas Merada in the 2nd Go.

Texas Cutting Futurity: Stopping the Cow

Today at the Texas Cutting Futurity the final go's of the Open Classic and Derby Classes were held. I took photos of this go from the same point of view as I do the sales, from the side. The photo on the left is of Red Like That with
Rodie Whitman riding, preventing a cow from returning to the herd.
The photo on the right shows Casey Green and Here to Reymember also blocking a cow from the herd.

Sketching In The Galleries: Ancient Halloween Mask?

This week we were supposed to go to the Nasher Sculpture Center, but that did not work out so we went to the Early Americas Section. I chose this Olmec Mask from a the Veracruz Mexico 900-500 BC. In this drawing I used graphite and White Watercolor Pencil on Black Paper. I first drew the middle ground values in graphite pencil and came back with the white with the highlights and texture. I finished with a very soft dark graphite/clay pencil adding dark areas and additional textural features.

Cat at Work

As a followup to my post last Tuesday, I took another image of Peanut as he was patrolling the feed sack pallet in the hay and feed barn. I posted this image on your left as if it was part of a feature photo on the cover of Working Cat, a fictional magazine.

Buck-A-Roo Rodeo

This past Saturday I photographed several events at one of the newest events at Cowboy Church Arenas: The Buck-A-Roo Rodeo. This event is for Children up to the age of 14 and includes the Chicken Catching event shown above. Other events include, but are not limited to Goat Milking, Goat UnDecorating, Stick Horse Barrel Racing, Running Pole Bending. I have additional images posted in this Gallery.

Officer Peanut: Resident Mouse Patrol

Peanut is our chief of the mouse patrol. He covers both the Stable and Hay Barn beats and has been see batting around suspects in both. He really has his work cut out for him, but he is growing into the job. I once saw a suspect escape from his grip but he dashed over to the stable door and capture it before it could escape. His wages are well earned.

Horse Sales: Weanling package deals

This past weekend I attended an hour of the Fall Sales at the S&S Arena in Terrell, TX. One of the highlights for me was when they drove in 4-7 weanlings and offered winning bid gets choice or all. The best was chosen and then the bidding continued for the rest. Eventually one bidder took all the remaining weanlings for his bid per each weanling left. You may see a selection of images I took during these weanling sales in this Gallery.

Sketching In the Galleries: That Gentleman

This week in sketching in the galleries I chose to sketch part of one of my favorite paintings. This is the head of That Gentleman, an egg tempera painted by Andrew Wyeth in 1960. This painting holds a little more significance since I visited with his grandson at the Wyeth Hurd Gallery in Santa Fe New Mexico this summer (July, 2008).

In The Kitchen: Salmon Chili Biscuits

Wednesday night I was searching my cabinets for something to fix for supper and found a can of Salmon. I thought Salmon Cakes would be nice, but wait, I had no bread crumbs. I then remembered I and a package of biscuit mix. I first sauteed some thinly sliced Shallots and fresh Hatch Red Chili. I combined with salmon with a can of fire roasted chilis, some sliced black olives, and the Shallot and red chili mixture. I then added enough Mayonaise to well moisten the mixture. I then slowly added the biscuit mix, mixing with a large spoon until I had a dough mixture. I then made 4 patties and put in iron skillet sprayed with Grill Pam so biscuits would not stick. I baked in 400 degree preheated oven for about 18min.

Cerro Pedernal

This photo is by my Dad, Jack Arnold taken from Kitchen Mesa behind Ghost Ranch in Northern New Mexico. This is perhaps the most painted mountain in New Mexico. Georgia O'Keefe had the record, and claimed that God gave her that mountain since she painted it so much. I oversaturated the colors in this image so you can see the contrast between the red rock and the blue mountain and Abiquiu Reservoir. I spent many summers in my youth at Ghost ranch, and have even climbed Cerro Pederanal a few times.

Action Photography from floor level

This past Saturday night I photographed the Barrel Racing at the Rafter J Cowboy Church First Saturday Playday. In this arena, unless I am using my strobes, I capture images in B&W since the light in the arena is so red. I also use a red filter effect so that the light red areas show up particularly light. This time I found a point of view where I was able to shoot about 6 inches above arena level. Additional images from this playday may be found in this Gallery.

In the Kitchen: Italian Sausage Pizza

This pizza turned out perfect. The crust was from a powered mix and spread over a iron griddle coated with Pam Grill spray. The topping consisted of Central Market Bulk Italian Sausage browned, a sauce made from canned crushed tomatoes and Italian Herbs, a Blend of Italian Cheese, and sauteed Hatch Red Chili and Sweet Red Onion Slices. Pizza was baked on a Cast Iron Skillet for 15 min at 425.

High School Rodeo

This past Saturday I took photos at the Lone Star High School Rodeo near Terrell, Texas. I was there primarily to photograph my niece in her Junior events, but I took photos of some of the older high school kids as well. This first photo was taken during the Bareback Bronc Riding. I took a number but this was the one that stood out from the rest. The arena is large and the lighting poor. My best opportunity was when the bronc took the rider close to the far side of the arena where I was set up.
This second photo was taken during the Senior Goat Tying as one of the high school girls was dismounting her horse as it loped to the goat tying area.