Red Desert White Band Stallion Mustang A Day Painting #5



Red Desert Band Stallion
Painting by Linda L Martin
8 by 10 inches
$265.00
Acrylic on Canvas Pannel



This Band Stallion photo was used by permission by Horse and Western Heritage Photographer Tamara Gooch.  Tamara says she has followed this stallion and photographed him quite a bit. As of September he had a band of 4 mares all with foals.” He certainly is the tough guy on the block” Says Tamara, “ always wanting to test another stallion even when mating season is long over.”

Tamara goes on to say that  this HMA( Horse Management Area) is one  that is scheduled for a round up in the spring of 2011.  It is possible that  round ups or gathers as they are often called might directly affect this stallion.

The Bureau of Land Management schedules the round ups as part of their herd management strategy. Unfortunately  many times family groups are separated during the round ups  and sometimes the normal herd activity is so disrupted that a vigorous stallion like this might be removed from the gene pool simply because population estimates are over management quotas.

Were the Stallions and their harems not interfered with by the round ups a stallion like this would naturally stay with his mares, protecting them and taking them to the best grazing  help his foals grow strong, until another stallion could fight him for control of the mares or steal one from him. In this way only the strongest and the wisest stallions produce foals.



Detail of  original Refrence
Photogrpah by
Tamara Gooch



Unfortunately, sometimes a stallion might loose his entire family and have to build it back up from scratch. Other times a stallion will be removed and all of his off spring and only the mares will be returned to the range. Sometimes only whole families will be removed and separated. Wise management in the HMA areas will make sure that viable family groups are returned to their ranges together after mares are treated with birth control to slow down the birth rate. However, consideration of herd behavior and natural selection varies from HMA to HMA. One of the challenges of  wild mustang  horse management is to maintain population levels on multiple use lands with out interfering with natural herd behavior.  It requires hours of field work and observation to distinguish and make determinations as to which horses should be removed from the range and which should stay.  

A group of herd watchers local to each HMA helps in this as do wildlife photographers like Tamara. They can document family groups, herd behavior and  herd migration patterns within the public and private lands of the Horse Management Areas.

If you are local to a herd management area and would like to donate photography and stories of the hores you document or watch please email me at llmartisticservices@yahoo.com

You can see more of Tamara's Work  at:  http://www.tamaragoochphoto.com./           

You can also find her on Facebook at: Tamara Gooch Photography
A Spcial Thanks to Tamara Gooch for her contribution to this painting.

Band Stallion Nomad of Sand Wash Basin Painting #4

Nomad of Sand Wash Basin

Nomad
Band Stallion of SandWash Basin
8 by 10 inch
$265.00
Acrylic on canvas Board
by LindaLMartin



Nomad is a buckskin or light bay band stallion in the HMA at Sand Wash Basin, Colorado. His harem consists of one mare and his black filly out of her.



Reference Photo by
Nancy Roberts
used by permission



He was named Nomad because of his habit of roaming far and wide all over the Horse Management area. As horses are nomadic in nature, Nomad takes it to the next level, always in search of the best food and water and never staying in one place too long. I highly suspect this is also Nomad's strategy for keeping other stallions from stealing his mare.

A special Thank-you to Nancy Roberts for the use of the Reference Photography

You can read more about Prince on my Mustang A Day Blog:
http://mustangadaychallenge.blogspot.com/2010/12/band-stallion-prince-of-sand-wash-basin.html

Find out more about the Challenge and how you can be involved at http://www.llmartin.com/


Band Stallion Prince of Sand Wash Basin Herd Management Area: MADC Painting #3

Prince is one of  sseveral gray band stallions in the HMA at Sand Wash Basin. He tends to favor deep red chestnut mares and has some beautiful rosy roan offspring  in the photos of his harem.

 

Band Stallion Prince
copyright (c) 2010 LindaLMartin
8 by 10 acrylic on Canvas board
$265.00
Photo Refrence Credit to George Roosevelt 

The other Sand Wash Gray stallions are difficult to tell apart at a distance. Prince, besides his star quality, has a bit of pink around his nose and muzzle. Quite often, from the photos, Picasso's band is  nearby and they tend to migrate  around the horse mmanagement area(HMA) keeping their distance and their mare's separate. Prince like so many of the band stallions has bites and scars from his many battles for mares. The day this photo was taken Prince was chasing off a bachelor stallion trying to make off with one of his mares. Jimmy Darksand, the bachelor stallion that I named last year was the horse trying to circumvent Prince's domain and steal a mare for himself. 
See the originial painting in the Mustang A Day Challenge Store on Etsy:
www.etsy.com/shop/MustangADayChallenge

Thanks to George Roosevelt for the use of the refrence photography for this painting





Picasso Band Stallion:Mustang A Day Challenge #2

Picasso of Sand Wash Basin
8 by 10 inch Acrylic on Canvas Board
$265.00
by Artist LindaLMartin

Picasso is probably the most flashy and famous Band Stallion on the range of Sand Wash Basin Horse Management Area. He has been featured in photography books and other items troughout the country. He is one of the older Stallions. Because of his age he has become savvy to the ways of the roundup. My understanding is that he illuded capture (using helicoptors)during the 2008 gathers and cowboys had to go out to bring him in.   Among his mares this year is also a stray domestic mare.  She will be featured in a painting with him later on in the challenge.

Thanks to Nancy Roberts for the photo image used as a resource for this painting.

For those interstested I dont strickly copy photography but  use it as refrences. As you can see by the photograph below I centered in on Picasso from a larger Photograph in order to Capture his movement. These first band stallion paintings I am trying to capture each in movement before I  move on to more complicated works of them. If you have a horse you wish to see painted as a part of the challenge please email me at contact@llmartin.com or message me in facebook.

Jet of Sand Wash Basin: Horse #1 in the Mustang A Day Personal Challenge of Linda L Martin



Jet, Band Stallion of Sand Wash Basin HMA
8 by 10 inch Acrylic on Canvas Board
$265.00
copyright(c)2010 LindaLMartin Artist

 Well  Here I am at the very beginning of the Mustang A Day Challenge. It was a really hard decision as to which band stallion I should paint first :flashy Picasso, the sexy Corona, powerful Prince… There are so many to choose from, and of course there is steady rangy Nomad. All of these will be painted soon. But the one I chose to start with was Jet.  I chose Jet for so many reasons. This leggy refind Stallion has a lot of determination and moxie. Not to mention he reaks of “Fury” and the Black stallion from tv fantasy and children’s books.

I re-thought Jet's importance when I read something that Nancy Roberts wrote about him. In 2008 he had a huge band of mares. During the round ups or Gathers as they are officially called, when the mares were separated out,  he like most of the band stallions lost his mares. For the last two years he has been fighting and collecting mares until now he is in the process of building up a large band again.

There is something to be said for the band stallion that uses all of his prowess, his determination and his strength to gather up mares and keep them safely through the winter, then make sure they are healthy through famine and drought in spite of the conditions they find themselves.

I haven’t seen too many photos of this Stallion  when he wasn’t facing the camera, as he is ever alert and ready to defend his band.  However, one of the Sand Wash Basin Photographers caught him as he lifted his head from grazing. When I told him I thought this needed to be a painting he emailed me the photo. Trouble is I cant find the email now to verify the name. So I won’t post the reference shot as it is very different from what I actually painted. But if the person will come forward I will post both their photo and give them credit.

So in the mean time It is with great excitement I give you the very first of the Mustang A Day Personal Challenge Paintings: Jet of Sand Wash Basin Colorado.

Update:
The Original Painting is now listed on Etsy in the Mustang A Day Challenge Shop. The current price will go up as the painting becomes more popular.  Link in here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/63442670/jet-of-sand-wash-basin-hma-mustang-a-day

You can also buy framed prints of Jet at www.zazzle.com/LindaLMartinArtist*
Proceeds generated from the sale of these items will go toward funding the Challenge project

Update:2/8/2011 The refrence photo for this painting was provided by photographer Jim Weston. If you would like to see the original image of Jet with his harem pre the gathers of 2008 you can see these amazing photos of Jim's on his facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?fbid=1350550978563&set=a.1350549618529.44733.1675031126&pid=682786&id=1675031126 
Thank-you, Jim!

Just a note to photographers. It would really help me out that when you lend me reference shots please put your name on the image in one of the bottom corners so this doesn’t happen again. If I do receive unmarked photos I will try to put your name on them but I cant garentee I can get to it with the sheer volume of work I am doing. Thanks =0)

Only One Day until The Mustang A Day Challenge Begins!! EXCITING!

Wow only one more day before the very first painting will be created in the Mustang A Day Challenge.



New Christmas Tshirt Desgn



I think I’m going to let it be a surprise who the first horse will be.  I will tell you this: the First 5 horses will be Band Stallions from Sand Wash Basin Herd Management Area in Northern Colorado.   I am open for suggestions on the Next group of horses. As they are finished they will be posted here with a bit of information and names if their herd watch groups have assigned them names.  

You can be a part of this!

If you live near a herd Management Areas and either know people or you yourself photograph. Please email me if you have suggestions. I am also looking for adopted mustangs to paint. We already have a number but I would like to do a total of 30 during the process so please tell your friends with adopted mustangs to email me or contact me through facebook.  Rescues are welcome too.  My easy email is contact@LLMartin.com

The Website:

Ive been updating my website and adding a series of internal pages just for the Mustang A Day Personal Challenge.  You can see it here: http://www.angelfire.com/jazz/llmartin0/MADC_firstpage.html

Please Take a look at the Website from time to time to see updates. One of the new things I am adding is an email monthly News Letter  that will run feature stories on  People and Places relating to the Mustangs , information about exhibits, new paintings, and herd watch meet ups. I will share more about that with you very soon.

Two new T-shirt designs 

In the mean time here are two new designs for t-shirts that I will be up loading to Zazzle. These two shirts will be in place before the end of the week and just intime for some late Christmas Shopping.

 Remember the sale of these t-shirts will help us fund the challenge project and eventually take it on the road.  You can be a part of getting the message out.  Tell your friends, Enjoy! And Happy Trails, ~Linda

Only 2 Days before the Mustang A Day Challenge Begins!!

Only 2 more Days before the Mustang A Day Personal Challenge Begins.

Prep Night for the Mustang A Day Personal Challenge
Every table top and counter space filled with drying
painting surfaces. My kitchen table held 11 of the 25
newly gessoed plannels and canvas boards.

I’m so excited!!

Tonight was prep-night. I prepped 25 surfaces for the MADC  December  Challenge Paintings.  Paintings Sizes will range in size  from 5” by 7” to  11 by 14 inches. Prices starting at $65 for those being sold from etsy. The 5 best paintings in the series from each month will be held as part of the traveling exhibition.  The first of the exhibition work will be ready to book in February.

Also selected paintings will be added to the zazzle store to be available for purchase as canvas prints, t-shirts, mugs. The sale of these items will help cover the expenses and a portion of the sales over the expenses of the project will go to mustangs in crisis/rescue groups  or watch/care groups  that document the Wild Horses. You can visit the zazzle store here: http://www.zazzle.com/LindaLMartinArtist*

If you have a horse you would like to see painted,  please email me or message me through Facebook . Any and all wild horses in the USA are eligible as subject matter for the project. I will also take commissions on the Mustang of your choice. All funds generated will go to funding the project.

 In the next two days I will finish updating the website.

Corporate Sponsor,  Event Hosting and  Press kit packets  will be ready to go by the 17^th.

Once all the basics are together I will be building an email base. It will update everyone interested on a monthly bases.  I would love to give you a preview to events, new products and background on selected Mustangs. Other work I am involved in will also be in these emails.

I cant wait to get started! We already have 2 galleries interested in Art from the Challenge. It’s going to be Awesome!!
And there will be some surprise announcements along the way.

Email me for specific info about the challenge or to become a sponsor, or to be on the news letter email list.

Happy Trails,
~Linda