"In all things... Attitude is Everything"
 This is the original design for Gift Horse that was accepted by The Trail of Painted Ponies.
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 Here is what she looked like when she arrived at my studio.
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 The design is all drawn on now. It was definitely a challenge to get this design to flow smoothly from one side to the other, over the back and around the front/ back areas. The way I ended up doing it, the 2 sides actually share the balloons, some of the boxes and the teddy bears. It gives a unique effect to the top and bottom of the horse.
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 And here is the other side.
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 Painting has started on Gift. The straight lines on this design are a little strenuous on me since in my work with animals there are no real straight lines. But, I am determined that a few straight edges are not going to beat me. I will win! :)
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 Painting is a little further along in this shot. I really like the brownish color I was able to get for the "background" on Gift. It has a very nice effect that the pictures really don't show well. And, it offers "resting spots" for your eyes while looking at such a busy design.
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 This is a close up of Gift's head before I added the mane.
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 Major painting is almost done, just a few more details to add. The transparency of the balloons is proving to be a challenge also, but I think they are coming along.
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 Same stage just another angle.
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 Other side almost done being painted.
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 Here is side 1 before I made some drastic changes.
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 Here is a close up of the leg detail on side 1. Notice that if you look at just the right angle, all of the lines on the boxes line up perfectly. Yes, I am proud of this... it was Not easy!!
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 Gift from the front.
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 Gift's mane has multi-layers of color, which I think adds a nice range of depth.
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 Gift's other side.
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 The "back" view. Unlike the front, I decided to continue the design and merge the table and add some boxes to flow around her back end.
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 Here is another detail of the legs.
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 Gift's front legs.
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 A front 3/4th view.
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 And a back 3/4th view.
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 A close up of some of Gift's... gifts.
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 Gift towards the end of being finished. I have made some revisions on her. The red boxes now have big blue bows, I have moved the yellow balloon from under her chin to behind her mane, and speaking of her head... Gift now has a whole new face!!
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 Same stage, but the other side.
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 Here is a close up of Gift's new face.
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 And... the other side. This shot shows off her yarn mane and new halter with all of its tiny details.
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 Here's Gift with her newly painted base.
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 Here is the other side.
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 An up-close look at Gift's base. As you can see, the base is no longer plain and black. Now, it is painted to resemble a prettty wrapped package.
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Well, I hope you have enjoyed watching Gift Horse evolve from the dull gray pony she was into the colorful and festive Horse she is now!! Even though she was a Huge challenge and granted at times made me want to hang up my brushes... I must say that I really like her now and I hope that you do too!!
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