Day 3a Trying to recreate what I lost. Aintree and Sandown Park

I  wrote about Liverpool being the home of the greatest horse race in the world...The Grand National which is held at Aintree.  The most famous horse in the UK who won this race three times and was placed twice, carrying 12stone over 4 miles, is RED RUM.  He was a fantastic horse.
I found a BBC link that showed this horse on stage being interviewed with his trainer..it is magnificent to see :  you can see why he won the personality of the year!  just google red rum+ sports personality of the year+BBC
I also found a blog that has great photos of him too: check out a wordpress blog by googling
makemeadiva+redrum bbc sports personality 1977

Ginger McCain, was a small trainer, pretty much unknown except for this horse, and he became probably the only trainer who knew how to train a horse to win the National.  Since Red Rum he had another horse called Cloudy Lane win the Grand National for him again a few years ago. It was such an amazing day, and I recall he was interviewed saying he had woven red rum's browband with a tassle of his mane to bring him luck in running. Red Rum never ran well anywhere else until he saw the huge obstacles, and then he came into his own.  Looking at those photos brings back so many lovely memories for me, especially of my beautiful mum, who loved the races and racehorses as much as I do.  She told me to put a bet on the race, and by the time I came back to be with her she had passed away.  Her horse came in second, so she would have been so happy!

I also wrote about Sandown Park being a right handed track, and for those who don't know what I'm talking about.  In the UK horses race both clockwise and anticlockwise, in the USA they only run one way round, which I find odd as some horse like people are more natural at being left handed than right!  Sandown was the first Racecourse in the World to broadcast a race in 1948.  It was the first course that sponsored a race in 1957. 

Hope you enjoyed meeting Red Rum!

Day 3

Oh dear, I've just deleted my entire Day 3 blog and cannot get it back.
All very frustrating.    I'll try to redo it tomorrow.

Here is today's painting: 

Study of a Grey  6 x 6" Acrylic

Standardbred Art Day 2

Ken's filly 8 x11" charcoal and pencil, paper
Have had this image for a year or so, and love the extension of the foreleg.  I am trying to strengthen my lines, and be more confident in my drawing.   Often I use preliminary drawings for a larger oil painting.   I think reverting back to line and light and shading, should improve my painting.

Standardbred Art Day 1

Acrylic on board 9 x 12" Bay Filly Study
Beautiful Day, wondering if I can actually do this project... a daily image takes a lot of energy, at least I'm having a go.    I sit trackside and paint away most days, looking for an image I like, munching on an apple, chatting to my friends going in and out with different horses.   Today I wasn't chatting too much, as I wanted to produce something better than my last post! I think my little sketch shows this.  I was focusing on movement  and you should be able to see the Alfred Munnings influence from the previous posted thumbnail, simply by the colours I used (actually his work was not on my mind at all when I started this!) 
One trainer also told me he liked the link to Lambourn, so for his sake, here are a couple more lovely links to the area, horses can use the roads!  http://www.worldisround.com/articles/10902/photo117.html
http://www.worldisround.com/articles/10902/photo122.html
http://www.worldisround.com/articles/10902/photo171.html

Under par

Nothing worthy of showing anyone....was so disgusted with what I was creating, I think it might get thrown away.  My mind was not there, I forgot my camera, wallet..id..etc, so couldn't even get some coffee in the shop, which I know I could have had on a tab, but decided I'd leave the track. Artists funk today,didn't talk to anyone...just a bad day.  Any artist knows how this feels. I'm just going to get a haircut instead.  I'll come back to the painting later today and when its better I'll show the world what a bad day feels like for an artist.  Was thinking about Sir Alfred Munnings, one of the greatest equine painters ever and feeling better just looking for a photo to post. See thumbnail below: I never knew there is a museum in Suffolk England that I could go visit next time I'm in eastern england

The Hennessy

I shall only post UK Racing once a week usually on the Weekend, and may separate it from my work, as I think it is detracting from my art.  What do you think?

I should have been out sketching, but had to listen to the outcome of some great National Hunt racing today.   The Hennessy is a 3mile steeplechase race over brush fences and is run at Newbury in Berkshire.  I was pleased to see that Lord Oaksey's horse Carruthers won it.    Lord Oaksey was a former National Hunt Jockey, and is the patron behind the Injured Jockey's Fund a great charity in the UK.  Newbury and Newmarket are the two racecourses that are closest to the main training centres in Britain.  Newmarket has an open heath (plain grassland) that the majority of flat speed horses train on, while close to Newbury are the Downs, a beautful range of hills that is great for strengthening the hind quarters for thoroughbreds and jumpers.  They have signs for the "Valley of the Racehorse" just outside the village of Lambourn. Its magnificent to drive alongside the gallops ontop the downs.  Well worth a visit.

I used to live close to Newbury, so regulary went to watch the Hennessy myself...often getting cold in the stands!  Or to watch my Aunt and Uncles racehorses run there..which was fun..my late uncle makes me smile..one day his wife drove up from Cornwall in the South West of England (a four hour drive) and left him behind furious, as I think he'd been in the pub with friends...to her and our astonishment he made it to the races happily,  smoking a cigar having taken the high speed train which stops at the trackside, where he proceeded to tell us about the other trainers/owners he'd met on his journey...he was jolly. Must have been several mad connections that day.

More often than not its a given who's gonna win a Newbury!

take a look at this link if you have time;http://www.worldisround.com/articles/10902/photo117.html

ORDER YOUR HOLIDAY CHARITY GREETINGS CARD

I have spent most of the summer working on this card, it seemed to keep evolving! The Childrens Foundation for Equine Assisted Therapy does amazing work with children of all ages who have various difficulties, and they benefit tremendously from being with horses.  Retired Standardbreds   are perfect for assisting and befriending the children.  Contact me by email if you would like to purchase them, 100% OF ANY PROCEEDS WILL GO DIRECTLY TO THE CHARITY.  For more information on the charity go to their website www.childrensfeat.org.