Jezebel, the 41 year old donkey, is by herself in the barn because all the other donkeys and horses are away being shown at the county fair. She seems a bit lonely and looks out of her stall disconsolately.
Jeanette goes to the tack room to get her a ginger snap, which is why she makes all the funny faces.
Curling back the upper lip is called the flehmen response. It's something all donkeys and horses do in the presence of an odor that interests them.
It is so wonderful to see the initiatives you take to draw from direct observation. I have found that with the accessibility and ease of photography through the Internet and phones that actually, drawing from life is now the rare exception amongst the vast majority of students I work with. These videos of you working on site are terrific, I love seeing them and watching all of the moments in your painting process. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHow nice of you and Jeanette to keep Jezebel company - and to give her a ginger snap treat! We get to enjoy your wonderful on-site sketch as well. It looks like (maybe) you jumped in with the brush right away this time, no pencil sketch?
ReplyDeleteOh, and thanks for the bonus of the info on the flehman response. I spent a lot of time around horses in my youth, and always wondered about that.
My goats do that thing with their lips! Now I know why! Thanks for the cool info as well as the artwork...
ReplyDeleteBeautiful painting. At one point it looked like she winked at you and it made me laugh. What a beautiful animal!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the adorable video!
ReplyDeleteI thought she's trying to smile because she knows you're doing a portrait of her. lol
41 years old ... wow!
ReplyDeletePoor Jezebel, all alone. So nice of you to keep her company and get her ginger snaps.
ReplyDeleteWonderfully expressive painting. I also wink at anyone fetching me a gingersnap.
ReplyDelete