February pARTy Showcase

February pARTy participant Linda Massey had a special challenge thrown her way in the days leading up to the pARTy deadline. Here's what she emailed along with her entry (pictured above):

"...I didn't think I would get you something as Friday morning while I was feeding in the barn.....my foot caught and (I) fell head over tea kettle onto the concrete aisle way onto my head... I wasn't able to drop feed buckets and get my hands down to block the fall so my hard head took the hit.... I spent the better part of the day getting checked for concussions, taking x-rays and CT scans and spent the night swelling up and turning B and B.... I have some whiplash but basically I was fine. But my body nerves were so shaken I couldn't stop my right hand from shaking... the doc said that was okay and would go away after a day or two... so this aft. I picked up a brush and sure enough I was fine. And painting was better medicine than the doctors prescribed for the pain. "

We would like to award Linda Massey the Gold Medal this time around!

Thanks, Linda, for playing, despite your injuries. We hope that you are continuing to feel better.

-Linda and Kim

February pARTy Paintings!

We had a great turnout for our Feburary pARTy. Thanks again to Kim Santini for providing the reference image of the Curly horse! Artists - I have tried my best to include information for everyone with their image, but if yours is missing (or incorrect!), just send me an email or make a comment to the post and I'll make the changes.

Thanks so much to everyone who took part! Without further ado...your pARTy pARTicipants! (in no particular order!)


Kim Santini, "Up Close(Percy)" 6 x 8 acrylic on board


Catherin McMillan, 5 x 5 acrylic on canvas panel


Catherine Gillespie, "Percy"


Lois Primeau, 5 3/8 x 8 oil on gessoed masonite


Sue Kroll, acrylic

Lisa Ward-Guarino, pastel


Candy Simchik, "Hello" 5 x 7 acrylic on canvas board

Kate Dardine, "She Really Didn't Need a Man on Her Back" 6 x 6 oil on canvas


Kathy Roeth, 9 x 7.5 watercolour and gouache on coldpress archival watercolour paper


Linda Martin, "Snow Globe" 4 x 4 watercolour


Marilyn Sadler, "Snow Pony," 5 x 7 pastel


Linda Massey, "Winter Reflections" 3 x 20 oil on panel


Diana Lancaster, "Wild Dawn" 6 x 6 acrylic


Linda Ward, "Mardi Gras Pony!"


Linda Shantz, "Up Close and Personal with Percy" 10 x 10 oil on gallery wrap canvas

Hey, you !! Consider yourself personally invited to participate in this month's Virtual pARTy.

How does a Virtual pARTy work? Using the image below (contact us -ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com - for a higher resolution of the same file) create a piece of artwork within a 24 hour period. Send a jpg of your artwork (4in wide at 72dpi please) to us - thevirtualparty77@yahoo.ca - by midnight on Saturday, February 20th 2010. Include your name, the particulars of your piece, and your websites or blog address. When you visit the pARTy blog (http://the-virtual-party.blogspot.com/) the following week, you'll see your piece in the great company of other pARTy participants' various takes on the same reference.

However.... We do ask that if you post or publish your resulting pARTy artwork in any way, you give credit to the reference photographer and mention the Virtual pARTy event. We also ask that you refrain from entering pARTy artwork in exhibitions since there is always the possibility another pARTy artist could enter a piece very similar to yours.


Oh yeah !! There's also a pARTy forum (http://www.lindashantz.com/party/index.php) where artists can share their experiences and comment on each other's work. This forum is private (so theoretically no clients will see our true thoughts about any given piece!), and therefore you must register first in order to participate. Please register with your real name, and then fire off an email after registering so that you can be activated asap. Additional information can be found here.

Sharing is good. Know another artist who might want to participate? Please forward this email along with our advance thanks. The more, the merrier is what we say.

Y'all come back, you hear? We aim to have Virtual pARTys every 4-8 weeks, with the frequency relying entirely on our availability. Linda is at the mercy of her herd of Thoroughbreds and Kim gets pulled in 100 unpredictable directions (and merely wishes they were horse related!) - we do our best to maintain a relative frequency and appreciate your patience. Your best bet is to watch the pARTy blog and this forum for announcements - we do our best to give at least a week's notice prior to each new pARTy.

What do you think? Feel free to chime in and share your ideas about how we might improve the pARTy experience.

Thanks so much for pARTy-ing with us!

Linda and Kim


All artwork included in pARTy blogs and forum, including reference photographs, is copyright protected by the individual artists. We ask that you extend them the same copyright respect and you demand others to extend in your direction. Courtesy goes a long way towards making this world a sunnier place. And who doesn't love a sunny day?

Heads Up! Next pARTy Coming!

Okay, let's try to keep the momentum going with another pARTy for February. This one will be run during February 16th through the 20th. I think this time around I'll be looking for a snow photo. Snow is challenging to paint, and maybe we'll get some International participants this time who might not otherwise have the chance to paint snow!

Mark your calendars! And the same 'rules' apply. I think the header, above, is up-to-date on the information. Feel free to share, too! The more the merrier!