In the Works

After a week of the highest high (getting to meet up with friends) and then to low (ill/fatigued, unable to do more than go to my full-time job & crawl back into bed), followed by another high (a wonderful PIF courtesy of a Model Horse Blab member) I am back in full force to creating.

I will admit that I am not a patient person when it comes to painting. I am not the type to sit down, paint, go do something else. I am of the mindset that if I am painting then-gosh darn it I'm painting! That being said, acrylics are a temperamental beast at the best of times, and it's still quite humid here in the Midwest. To counteract this and my impatience for drying times, I work on multiple projects at once. The smart thing would be work on things that are similarly colored, and typically I do, but sometimes I need to add some other colors to my canvases that I am not putting on the model horses, or vice versa. Today is a prime example: I put some blues & purple on my palette for new canvases that I started when I didn't need them for the current horses I'm working on.

Speaking of what I'm working on! That's the entire point of this post! Currently, I've got four paintings in the work: my super late July Year of the Pig piece, what will eventually be an orca on an abstract background mini canvas, another mini canvas that will eventually be a Arctic scene with a Polar Bear or two, and an Elk on an abstract background which is nearing completion.

On the first "table" is the larger model horses. The grey Blue Ribbon Quarter Horse is a fun personal horse (pretty eager to get him finished, but as he's a personal piece, I tend to set him off to the side) & two sales pieces: a Breyer Classic Ginger who will be a flaxen chestnut and a Breyer Traditional Legionario III who I've dubbed "Symbiosis" he's a fantasy piece that is one of my more labor intensive endeavors as he will have some adds on along with his new paint job.

Moving on to table two we have a mish-mosh of Breyer Stablemates & miscellaneous micros. Hidden behind the water cup and paints are a Breyer SM Calf, that will be for sale once it's completed, a micro of unknown make that is a personal project, a Breyer Paso Fino SM that might be having a change in direction from what I originally intended, and an altered Breyer Cantering Warmblood SM & base that will be a chestnut & will be a sales piece. Then there's my NaMoReViMo Breyer SM which I need to finish prepping and settle on a color already, it's been altered to resemble Breyer's Traditional Misty's Twilight mold (and it's Breyer's Trotting Warmblood SM). Then there's my fun, deformed Breyer Friesian SM that was intended to be a unicorn but due to my ignorant self, of the time, he was deformed in attempts to alter his positioning/attach his horn and beard. I don't know what he'll look like when finished as he's been a WIP for years and I only keep getting crazier ideas as he keeps getting weirder and stranger alterations each go around. On top of that, but thankfully not a priority project, is a Breyer SM Unicorn Clyde with additions to its mane & tail. Finally, there are the two micros: a Great Dane & altered fantasy pewter micro. These are for a friend in trade of all the photos she took of my models for me.

There are many more projects hiding in the drawers of "table" one, but they aren't even started yet, so it's all good!

Meet the Staff

You've met the artist. Now meet the staff!

Name: Lucky
Nicknames: Happy-Go-Lucky, Luck-a-Muck, Luck & Piggu
Job Title: Studio Assistant
Tasks: Remind artist to take breaks, get artist to exercise, remind that snuggles are sometimes required, petting the dog is nice too, get the artist to work other parts of her brain & remind her to find herself (& the dog too!)
Favorite Quote: "Bowties are cool" - Doctor Who
Pay: Treats, belly rubs, butt rubs, chews, walks & playtime











Name: Renji
Nicknames: Mew-Mew, Meow-Meow,  Renjikins, Mr. Mew-Mew
Job Title: 2nd Studio Assistant/Quality Control
Tasks: Inspect items for quality (knock off those that don't meet approval...sometimes those that do...), remind artist to take breaks-insist on pets and lap time, even if lap space is at a minimum, remind her to write blogs/FB updates (sitting on computer/walking across it seems to work well), remind artist to keep her work area clean, check table sturdiness
Favorite Quote: "Right, MEOW!" -unknown/can't remember
Pay: Pet/scratches, chin rubs, treats, lap time

Name: Rory
Nicknames; Orca, Ror-Ror, Piranha, Goober Fish
Job Title: General Manager (aka the REAL boss)
Tasks: Keep artist sane, remind to relax, entertain with antics, dazzle with beauty, & bring back inner peace.
Favorite Quote: "Just keep swimming" Dory from Finding Nemo
Pay: Room, board & maid services







So there is the current staff! Till the next time!

Introduction

Welcome to Creative Fyre, an art/hobby blog centering around my business, Spyryt Fyre Studios, and the pieces I'm working on. Here you will find updates from the studio, fun antics of my studio assistants (who you will meet in another post), WIP photos of my pieces, tutorials/how I work in different medias, new things I learn, etc. This is meant to be a fun, art focused blog.

(Pink Zebras in acrylic)

For those that don't know, Spyryt Fyre Studios came about through my work on painting model horses. While I am new on the scene of model horse customizing/painting, I hope to make my own contributions to the hobby and to further develop my skills.

(First pastel model: a greying out Appaloosa on the Django mold)

As for background on me, I am not an art major, I actually have a Bachelor's in Agribusiness and an Associate's in Equine Science; hence my love of horses. I do have a background in art though,, taking art throughout all four years of high school. At my four-year college, I took an art course per semester whenever possible. I was Secretary and then Vice President of our campus' Clay Club, and even got to studio ceramics under one of my favorite artists: Bruce Howdle. I work in a variety of media, but acrylics tend to dominate due to their quick drying time (and my impatience-I'm working on it, lol), pastels (more for flatwork than 3D at this time) and clay (more specifically: Sculpey & Apoxie). From time to time I will work in watercolor, oil pastel, pen, ink, markers (various types), scratchboard, and just about any media I can get my hands on. Those are just the ones I know I have on hand. I also dabble in photography. I have started to get back into sculpting my own pieces as well as getting into more extreme customs of model horses, rather than just repaints.

(June's Year of the Pig piece in pastels-more on this project in a different post)

Model Horse Hobby wise, I have been collecting since the early 2000s. That being said, my friend has given me the bug for vintage customs (and I have at least one in my collection). I also love the vintage molds like Misty's Twilight, Old Timer, Proud Arabian Stallion, etc. Not too long after I got into the hobby, I started to repaint models. It wasn't until 2017 or so that I really started to take a more serious interest in customizing. It was set aside though, as college took priority. I've continued to participate in swaps, events like NaMoPaiMo, and just making what I wish was on particular molds to gain experience. Scale wise, I really enjoy Stablemates and Micro Mini to paint, but I am more than happy to paint larger scales. I just had more of those smaller scales on hand to practice on. While far from being an expert, I hope to show my own ideas/style to the hobby. Hopefully it will be well received!

(Crazy deco/modern art SM. Will be making more in the future)

Currently, I am working on three commission models (all on the Mesteno mold). In the future, there will be pieces for NaReViMo, of course NaMoPaiMo next year, more SM swap pieces, trade pieces and hopefully more commission pieces! There will also be an assortment of flat work in various mediums. I find that it helps to keep my mind from worrying about drying time.

(Watercolor: Dawn on the Shore)

For this blog, there will be no set schedule. If I have things to share, I will, but there will be some weeks that there won't be. Should be more to share rather than not though :).

Till the next time!