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Blue Ridge Hunt Thanksgiving Meet with Graham Buston

Graham Buston Blue Ridge Hunt BRH

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'Blue Ridge Hunt Thanksgiving Meet with Graham Buston' is a large canvas painted in 2019 by Gail Guirreri-Maslyk. The brushstrokes are definite and quick with colors of muted purples that lend to the well turned out clipped hunt horse.

"It was a cold morning and the wind was blowing on top of the back hill at Long Branch as the hounds waited to depart. The Thanksgiving morning crowd was large and enjoying ham biscuits from the back porch of the mansion. It was a mostly overcast day with some peeks of sun from time to time but not enough to produce a shadow. I have not followed the hunt much since moving to this territory. My goal was to get a few great shots in hopes to paint some more BRH portraits."

"I knew the photo when I took it. A 30"x48" tall portrait composition needed to be done before the Gala in a week’s time in order to fill a blank spot from a sold painting off the wall at Long Branch. Graham is fairly easy to photograph but I needed that perfect moment from his beautiful quiet mount. I suppose I'm always looking for expression from a horse acting out a bit but his horse stood perfectly quiet even in the cold wind. What more could you ask for then a turned head, soft eye, slight contrapposto stance and sleek neck?"

"Once the sketch was started in my trusted palette of the last couple months I found some accidental swashes of color that really spoke to my eye. I'm not even sure how I made the wash over the top of the neck but my guess is quin violet and yellow ochre. As I start a painting I don't clean my brush. Instead I keep grabbing paint and pushing it around until the feel of what I want appears. It's a bit of a warm up process. The paint applied, correct or not, helps to tone the canvas so it's a benefit to not be exactly correct from the start."

"Zinc white has not been much use to me in the past. As I started the paintings for Tally Ho Holiday Art show I had to reconsider my palette. I have talked a lot about how PR102 (transparent red ochre) made a difference in all the paintings but I have not talked much about zinc white, a transparent not so impressive white. In the case of this painting, it would not be what it is without zinc white. Transparency of paint is as much key to the result as the color chosen. This painting to me is a great example of the use of zinc white in an alla prima portrait. The horse's coat glows without being overly painted. The purples are muted by a touch of yellow ochre or PR102 but toned down with zinc white. There is no room to fuss or second guess oneself in a painting such as this. Once the brush hits the canvas, I must be committed or the magic would be gone."

"As an artist one often hears, you can just do another. During one of the afternoon tea discussions walking around the show this subject came up again. I finally found the words to answer and I find this painting to be perfect example of what I meant, so here it is. Painting is a performance art not much different than a round at a horse show or a symphony on stage. One practices and practices but that moment in the ring or on stage can never be repeated exactly the same again. The paint, the brush, the amount of medium can never be perfectly duplicated again no different than the horse's response to every jump, pressure from leg or hand, expressive reaction to a banner in the wind. One that tries to duplicate a painting has lost the magic of expressive response to their subject, paint, canvas, texture, mood and day in time. Symphonies are recorded but never the same as felt in the audience or better yet, on stage. Watching a winning round is one thing but the feelings the rider takes home can not be known by anyone else. Fine art requires continued education, mastering of skills and constant search to produce with expression and each performance recorded on canvas is unique. It takes more than a banana and duck tape. This painting can not be duplicated but I can learn from it and take that with me to the next."

Hashes: Tally Ho Art Show, Hunt Country Impressions Byrne Gallery, Equine Impressions Art Exhibit Long Branch 2022, Paintings For Sale, Warrenton Art Show 2023,

Tally Ho Art Show

Hunt Country Impressions Byrne Gallery

Blue Ridge Hunt Thanksgiving Meet with Graham Buston

Equine Impressions Art Exhibit Long Branch 2022

Paintings For Sale

Warrenton Art Show 2023

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