Ellen Fountain paints a pony for the Ponies del Pueblo project

Ellen Fountain paints a pony
for the Ponies del Pueblo project

October 2002
I submit my pony design to Tucson/Pima Arts Council. The design is based on one of my Southwest Series watercolor paintings. If it's chosen, I'll use lightfast acrylics to paint the design on the horse.

December 13, 2002
Here I am (below) with the pony just after it was delivered to my studio. He's already "primed and sanded", so all I will need to do is wash him down with rubbing alcohol or acetone to remove any grease or dirt before I start painting.

I ordered paints today, and they should be here by the weekend.

A HUGE thank you to the Town of Marana, for choosing my design! I'm really excited about working on this project and making it a very special pony that will bring in lots of $$ at auction in November 2003. Proceeds will help support the activities of the Marana Arts Council.

Fountain unpacking paint December 27, 2002
Today I finally got my paint order, after a week's delay. I'll be ready to start painting in the next couple of days.

	January 2, 2003 I get the drawing done, and begin to put paint on the pony. I have a workshop to teach on Saturday, so won't be able to work on this project again until next week. Doesn't look like much yet!

January 6-7, 2003
Moving along, now. I'm working on all the base colors at this point.

January 9, 2003
[Left] Still working on getting all that gray primer covered!

January 11-12, 2003
[Right] Did anyone get the license plate number of that horse that ran over me????

January 11-12, 2003
[Left] Put a white primer coat on the platform base, and finished up the big areas on the horse.

January 11-12, 2003
[Right] OK, OK, so it's not the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, just a pony tummy, but it's my art, and Cactus Pony is looking good!

January 13-14, 2003
The glazing and layering of color is well underway.

This will be the "slowest" part of the painting process, as I'm working on the smaller specifics rather than the larger general areas.

I still have all the pencil cactus stems to do, the lighter whitish line work around the other shapes, and of course the design on the base platform.

If you look carefully at the green area, you can see where I've begun to scumble a darker, bluer green over the flat yellower green. This same process was used in the blue areas where I scumbled violet over the more turquoise blue. You can see the difference in color the scumbling glaze makes by comparing the blue stripe on the front leg with the area at the top of the pony's neck.

I also scumbled violet over the dark reddish brown color to give it additional depth. It's hard to see in the photos, but it enlivens the color quite a bit.

Quinacridone red, a warmer scarlet color, has been glazed over the cooler magenta areas (the tail and some of the stylized agave and prickly pear forms).

January 21, 2003
The pony is nearly finished now. I'm just "fine tuning" some of the transitions between areas of color, and adding some small details at this point. I've begun a simple design on the platform base as well. I expect to finish up by this weekend.

The next step will be to have him picked up and taken for a final clear varnish coat, and then he'll be off on display here and there. First public exposure will be at the Mayor's Costume Ball for the Arts, March 1st.

These ponies will be auctioned off in November 2003 to raise money for various non-profit groups. Anyone anywhere can be a bidder! Proceeds from the sale of my "Cactus Pony" will benefit the Marana Arts Council. Contact the Marana Arts Council for more information.

Some details of the layers of color and the transitions between colors are shown at the left.

Want to see more of my work?

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Would you like an invitation to the Auction of the Ponies in November?
Contact:
Karen@TucsonPimaArtsCouncil.org www.TucsonPimaArtsCouncil.org

If you interested in bidding on my pony,
Contact:
sandyg@maranaArts.org
www.maranaArts.org

The pony is picked up by Lee and John on Monday, Jan 28th, and taken to get a final glossy varnish coat. I'll be seeing him around town here and there between now and November. My studio seems kind of empty now!

Thanks again to the City of Marana for giving me the opportunity to work on such a fun project.