Its Blue Eyed Mustang Week! East Coast Internet Adoption Challenge painting #450

"Blue Eyed Beauty"

Mustang #2201 From The BLM East Coast Internet Adoption from August 2013
5 by 7 inches Watercolor
by LindaLMartin Artist
$75.00

This beautiful bay pinto blue eyed filly is 2 years old and originally from the Paisley Desert HMA.  She was nearing $900 on the internet adoption the last time I peaked before she sold.  Her last Bidder was to New Mexico. If anyone knows who the final winner was please contact me with her new name and I will up date the blog post.

Every single mustang is special. And so many of these wild horses not only have unique colors but they have unique stories.  A special thanks to the BLM for  allowing me to paint these wild horses from their images.

For those looking forward to the next internet adoption It is being held September25th through October 9th. Remember if you would like to bid on a horse you have to be approved. To read the details and see the horses that will be offered you can access the BLM website here: https://www.blm.gov/adoptahorse/index.php

Its Blue Eyed Mustang Week! East Coast Internet Adoption Challenge painting #449

"Wildest Eyes"
August East Coast Internet Adoption Mustang #8557
5 by 7 inches Watercolor
by LindaLMartinArtist
$75.00

This watch eyed beauty is probably the darkest grulla horse Ive ever seen with the lightest blue eyes. She is just a beauty. I wasn't able to see the final bid on this one; However the last time I looked the high bid was Texas. I'm hoping that some of my Internet friends can tell me where she finally ended up and what they named her. 

Every single mustang is special. And so many of these wild horses not only have unique colors but they have unique stories.  A special thanks to the BLM for  allowing me to paint these wild horses from their images.

For those looking forward to the next internet adoption It will be held September25th through October 9th. Remember if you would like to bid on a horse you have to be approved. To read the details and see the horses that will be offered you can access the BLM website here: https://www.blm.gov/adoptahorse/index.php

Its Blue Eyed Mustang Week! 2013 Mustang Million Competitor Sequoya #448

"Sequoya"
2013 Mustang Million Competitor
Owned by Nancy Hawley
5 by 7 inches
by Linda L Martin Artist
SOLD

Happy Mustang, Lisa Wood's Shawnee, Challenge Painting#436

"Shawnee"
5 by 7 inches Watercolor
by LindaLMartin Artist
SoldPrints of Shawnee are available on
Fine Art America

Here is the story of Shawnee as presented by Lisa Wood's and was first told  by Lona Patton on the Wyoming Mustang Group in Facebook.

 According to her barely visible brand  this sweet gentle mustang mare was born in 1991 in the Agusta Mountains in Nevada. Shawnee subsequently went through an adoption auction at the Palomino Valley BLM Facility the same year. She was sold as a nursing foal with her dam. Her dam was aged at 7 years  at the time and was suspected to have been sold as meat as she was never documented to have been seen again.

Shawnee was passed from owner to owner. She was valued for her splashy pinto markings that Lisa told me in July, was called " Medicine Hat". In 1994 it seems Shawnee's life stopped and she was religated to a 12 foot by 12 foot enclosure by an inexperienced owner who regularly paid her board. " When I added my quarter horse to the boarding facility, the two became stable-mates. I got permission to work with her, but was warned that she was mean , ugly, stupid and untrainable." Lisa stated.

Lisa and Shawnee
Photo provided by Lisa Wood
and used by permission.

This didn't stop Lisa.  She worked with the mare.  Even though Shawnee's feet were abscessed and she had scabs over her eyes from lack of care and too many flies, as Lisa spent time and patience with the mare her feet became sound, her eyes healed, and her fear turned to willingness and her true gentle spirit emerged.
According to Lisa,  Shawnee had a strong maternal gentleness that helped her  formed strong bonds with humans and other horses. This mare thought to be untrainable was actually slow to anger and "seldom becomes alarmed".

Lisa convinced the previous owner to sell the mare to her for $1.

Shawnee has racked up quite a number of achievements:
In 2001  Lisa and Shawnee did  3,000 miles in cross country riding including  56 miles in 2 days across a BLM managed desert with no water.  According to Lisa, Shawnee showed no signs of dehydration or weight loss at the end of the challenging crossing. The trek that started on the west coast ended in Virginia.

"Once we arrived in Virginia, a fancy riding club invited us to join a fox hunt. Wearing my trail-beaten clothing, Shawnee her loud tri-color coat, we set off. Only as the first hedge appeared did it occur to me that the sport involved jumping. I clapped my hands over my eyes and prepared to meet the ground. Shawnee calmly stayed with the herd, and jumped perfectly. At the end of the ride, the hunt club members were seeking to replace their hunter-jumpers with well-behaved mustangs."

According to Lisa this wonderful mare is not only good with other horses and people but she is great with children and inexperienced riders as well. " I dont own her." Lisa told me, "She owns me! That is Medicine Hat Tradition" she pointed out.

A special thanks to Lona Patton who first shared the story of this mare. For those who don't know Lona, she is amazing Photographer in Wyoming. Lona is a dedicated mustang owner and works tirelessly to help find adoptive homes for wild horses and educate the general public in their care and training. Her daughter is also doing amazing things and is a credit to her mom. Thanks Lona! You Can see some some of Lona's work on her photography page: https://www.facebook.com/L.PattonPhotography

Reference Photography for this painting was provided by Lisa Wood.