Horse Protection Day

Detail from pen and ink illustration of a cantering horse, mane flowing, tail flying behind.

  Horse Protection Day is March 1st (I know I missed it by a couple months. I just found out about it.) It was founded by pet lifestyle expert and animal behaviorist Colleen Page to bring awareness to the plight of both wild horses and unwanted horses being auctioned to be slaughtered for their meat.…

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The Image Appears in This Work-In-Progress, “Wild Horses”

A detail from The first application of ink to reveal the image for the painting, "Wild Horses".

This is the third phase in creating my painting: applying ink to the paint spatter to define the image. It’s a tense, but satisfying part of the process. The problem is ink splats happen! And you never know when. But there’s still a ways to go before this painting is finished. See the evolution of…

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Preliminary Sketches for the Painting, “Wild Horses”

A detail from A preliminary pencil sketch for the "Wild Horses" painting, of running, wild horses, featuring one looking back.

These pencil drafts (see the second image below) are the second phase in the creation of my paintings. (You can see the paint spatter in the first phase here.) They’re messy and loose and far from refined. But the looser they are, the more they keep the spirit of the initial inspiration for the painting.…

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The Paint Spatter That Inspired “Wild Horses”

A detail from A spatter of paint in violets and yellows from which the images for the "Wild Horses" painting emerged.

  Each one of my paintings starts with a spatter of paint. Pictured above is the spatter that inspired the painting, “Wild Horses”. I can always feel an excitement when I have a paint spatter that holds an image that I have yet to uncover. What can you see in this spatter? See the evolution…

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Just In: A Solo Show!

Announcement of upcoming solos show for Melani Grube with details from a trio of her paintings: Afternoon, Revisited; Wild Horses: Horse Cantering.

  I’m so excited! I met with Tyler White, the manager at Pause Coffee in Fair Oaks, CA and he has invited me to collaborate with them and put on a solo show of my artwork. This is incredible because it will allow you to see the original pieces in person, which is a completely…

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Everyone Loves a Good Race

A detail from A pen and ink portrait of a horse and jockey racing across the field. The horse is "Bravazo" in the Preakness Stakes 2018.

  A happy accident: posting about my newest painting of horses and the 2nd of the Triple Crown horse races, the Preakness Stakes 2018, happening this weekend. So, I couldn’t resist illustrating one of the favorites to win, “Bravazo“. His trainer, D. Wayne Lukas, has won with four horses before this. But really, it’s the…

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A Sneak Peek of New Horse Painting

A detail from the sneak peek of the new horse painting, featuring a bucking horse. Violets and yellow featured.

  It’s time for a sneak peek just for you of my newest painting. You can watch the progress of this piece from random paint spatter through the appearance of the images and on through to the finished painting, in the coming posts on this blog. This subject matter, a herd of wild horses running, has…

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Happy Mother’s Day!

Pen and ink portrait of Native American heroine Sacagawea with her infant son on her back. Blue ink and blue wash featured.

  Happy Mother’s Day! In developing a pen and ink portrayal of Sacagawea, one famous mother, I created a lot of “good try’s” (those images that didn’t make the grade). First off, I was working from my imagination, because there are no photos of Sacagawea. There is a painting of her with Lewis and Clark,…

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Art vs. Artist

Melani Grube, filtered selfie, surrounded by details from her paintings featuring the characters that inhabit them. The paintings include (starting top left and moving clockwise): A Portrait in Song, Gaia Upon Finding the Light, The Nutcracker in Battle with the Mouse King, Afternoon Revisited, Tea Time Moment, Winter's Icy Breath, Spring Amongst the Poppies, Skelly Wedding Party.

  Have you seen the “Art vs. Artist” posts on Instagram? The post is a grid of 9 images, with a picture of the artist in the center surrounded by images of her artwork. I thought they look so great and give such a nice snapshot of the artist’s style and direction. So, here’s mine.…

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Selfie, Sorta

Detail from A sketched "selfie" of artist Melani Grube. Red hair, bobbed, glasses, face.

  A selfie, sort of. A sketch of me, if I looked a little different. So, really, it’s a character sketch based on me. Sketching seems to be a series of choices. Which features do I include? Which features do I imply? How close to reality do I take this? How much do I let…

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