Canter Pirouette on Yupo

Canter Pirouette 

11.5" x 7.75

Acrylic, Gesso, & Graphite 

on Yupo

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I love experimenting. I love the feeling of recklessness that I get from not know if what I am about to do will work or if it will end up in the dust bin.

I started with a drawing in water soluble graphite. Next I went in with acrylic paint and water, nothing to risky there. I wanted some darkness and I wanted it coming from underneath what I had already finished, so I flipped the piece of yupo over and work on that side.

I am very pleased with the out come.

All the Angles

                                  Detail of a Work in Progress


I have consider this painting that I am working on from all the angles. I have considered each hue and value. I have agonized over each colour. The thickness of the lines have undergone scrutiny, not to mention their length, their direction, whether or not the intersected.

It has all been evaluated, not once, or twice, but again and again.

You see each time I add or remove something it affects everything.

Sometimes

Primavera

Oil, Acrylic, and Charcoal 

on Canvas

40" x 60"

7950.00

Sometimes, if you are very lucky you just listen to your heart. You forget all the reasons why you shouldn't do this or you ought to do that, and you just listen to that constant, soft, true voice. The voice that usually gets drowned out by all the shouting in the world.

This painting is one where I just listened and was led down a garden path.

Double Edged Sword

Untitled

Acrylic, Charcoal, and Graphite on Yupo

17.25" x 23"

975.00

One of the best things about being an artist is that there is no one telling me what to do. One of the worst things about being an artist is that there is no on telling me what to do.

The freedom is amazing! I can explore things, ideas, media, anything and everything. I can revisit the past or plunge into unknown territory. I am the one who sets my own parameters and can remove them or change them at will. It is boundless!

This sort of freedom can also become a hinderance. With all the possibilities, how do I choose one to start? How do I focus on one idea, one notion, and stay with it when there are so many other ideas dancing around demanding attention?

To be honest, I don't know. Some days I don't. Some days I clean and sort things. Some days I stretch and gesso canvas. Some days I do paper work. While, all these things need to be done, some days I do them to avoid choosing.

Most days however, I just pick my media and begin to work. 

Most days are good.

SaveSave

Mad about Yupo

Comin' In

17.5 x 23

Mixed Media on Yupo

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I LOVE the surface of this paper. Yupo is a synthetic paper made by a company in Virginia. It has soft and velvety texture. It accepts the charcoal and will then release it, leaving only a ghost of the line. A line like the memory of a dream.

I have been using acrylic, and gesso, and charcoal, and water-soluble graphite on it. I have been working with a limited colour palette, and yet I feel there is so much to still explore with in these boundaries. It's intoxicating, I love being a painter.

Red Edge; Work in Progress

I am currently working on a triptych. Each panel canvas is 24" x 40" x 2". This area is approximately 8" x 8". Planning to show the finished painting at Criollo August 7th.

In the Frame

"In the Frame"

Oil on Canvas

34" x 34"

$3750.00

Visit www.tannerjensenfineart.com or Tanner Jensen Fine Art on Facebook.

I look forward to hearing from you.
ctannerjensen@gmail.com

Horses, Horses, Horses!….and little girls.

I had a fabulous time up at The Event at Rebecca Farm, in Kalispell, Montana. Beautiful horses, horse people, dogs, and lots of little girls.

An eleven or twelve year old pony clubbed asked me if I had painted all of the artwork displayed in my booth. I told her I had. She very seriously walked into the middle of my booth and with hands on hips surveyed it while nodding. Solemnly she pronounced "Good job" and left.

A girl of about eight came in with two of her siblings. The looked at the paintings and made comments to each other, grabbed a piece of candy and headed out. The eight year turned and came back. "Did you do all of theses?" she asked. I said yes. She stood still for a moment, through her arm up and exclaimed "Fantastic!" and left.

Those two were the cherries on top of my ice cream sundae of a trip.

Bittersweet

"Bittersweet"

Oil on Canvas

34" x 34"

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I finished this painting earlier this week and had Tom Alexander photograph it for me. He does  beautiful work and I am able to see the painting square inch by square inch it I wish.

There is something bittersweet about finishing a painting. You are ending your involvement with it as an artist, as a creator. The new relationship with it is hard to describe. There is a good deal of satisfaction in gazing at the finished work and a bit of pride, but there is also a edge of sadness, of longing to be involved in the process of painting and creating. 

And so, there is only one cure for this malaise, today I start a new painting.

Roses and Violets

Untitled Horse in Roses and Violets

Oil on Canvas

34" x 34"

$3750.00

When I start a painting I have a very general idea of where I am going. No set destination, no completely formed picture in my head. I like it that way, it keeps it interesting for, the not knowing. The discovery of lines, and shapes, and color combinations.

This just such a painting. I knew I wanted the composition to be dynamic, but I had no idea what color this horse would be.

I love a good surprise.

Preview of things to come……….

Detail 

Unfinished Oil on Canvas

Working on painting for a show that opens May 2nd, at Hidden Light on South San Francisco, here is Flagstaff.

Hope the sneak peak piques your interest and you come to the opening.

Between the Devil and the deep blue sea.

So when I enter my studio I am always caught between the Devil and the deep blue sea, but in a good way.

I believe when most people feel this way it is because they are caught between to difficult choices, where either outcome is likely to cause them some form of suffering. Not so for me. I am caught between finishing a painting, working on any of several paintings in progress, finishing collages, or starting the under painting on several new canvases. All choices will lead to satisfaction and happiness, but "Oh no! Which do I choose?"

Oh the quandary

Longer Days

"Spring Romp"

22" x 30"

Mixed Media on Paper 

As soon as the days start getting longer I start thinking of spring. All the glorious greens and the feeling that everything is full of life.

Clients, Collectors and Patrons.

"Lilies of the Field"

Oil on Canvas

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It is always rewarding to make a sale. It is solid proof that someone values what you are doing. Again, while everyone who has ever purchased a card, print, or original piece of art from me has been important, every once in a while someone stands out.

Once a woman in her mid forties purchased a painting from me and it was the first piece of original art she had ever purchased! That's memorable.

A group of women bought a print for their friend who had the last moment couldn't make the trip with them due to hardship. Two years later they all made the trip together. She came and told me the story and how looking at the print every morning had helped her. I'll never forget those women.

This year at The Event at Rebecca Farm a young lady of about 14 years was one of my sales. She selected a print of "Lilies of the Field". While she was counting out her money, her mother asked her if she need her give her some money."Oh no" she replied, "I have it." She told me she was going to take it to the framer and once it was framed hang it in her bedroom.

She paid for this print with money she earned teaching riding lessons on her pony. Another sale that will be etched on my heart for all time.

Thank you all for helping me to continue to have the best job ever.

Cover of the Chronicle of the Horse

"L'air du Temps"

Oil on Canvas

40" x 60"

$7950.00

When I first picked up an issue of the Chronicle of the Horse I wanted to be on the cover! It reminds me of the song by Dr. Hook and Medicine Show , "On the Cover of the Rolling Stone", that's the feeling!

So over the years I have been fortunate enough to have my work grace the cover. You never now when it's going to happen. So this morning when I went to see who was on the cover it was me! Or rather my painting.

This is a very nice way to start the day.

Unexpected

"Spring Green"

from the "In Search of the Superlative Horse" series

22" x 30"

Mixed Media on Paper

I completed this painting a few years ago. I have shown it a few times since then, and while other painting have sold this one has remained.It has been completely unexpected as it is one of my favorites.

Perhaps it will find it's home later this summer when I show it at the Event at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell, Montana.

Three Weeks!

Detail

Unfinished Painting

40" x 60"

I will be able to work in the studio a little this weekend. After that I leave for vacation! Sun, sand, a few of those Tropical Drinks with a tiny parasol artfully tucked into the glass, and shrimp!

I can hardly wait to see my friends.

I'll be gone for a little over 2 weeks. Which means, after this weekends studio time it will be THREE WEEKS before I can start working on this painting again.

Think I'll take some watercolours and paper with me.

The Nicest Words

"Levade"

from the "In Search of the Superlative Horse" series

Mixed Media 

on Watercolour Paper

22" x 30"

My Trainer and Friend just wrote the nicest words about this painting.

I have held this in my hands and cannot describe the subtle impact of this work.. Tanner captures the fleeting moment we are always seeking in our relationships with our horses.

Thank you Gayle.

and in North Carolina

"Winter Pasture"

11" x 14"

Mixed Media

$375.00

Tonight at Carolina Fine Art, 116 West Clay Street in Historic Downtown Mebane, "The Art of the Horse" opens. Reception is 7:00 ~ 9:00 pm. For more information phone 919-566-8211

Hope everyone has a really good time.

Shipping!

Untitled

Oil on Cradled Artist Board

12" x 16"

$425.00

Not a very good photo, no surprise as I was the one who took it. However this image does convey a reasonable amount of information regarding a painting that I will be shipping to a Fine Art Carolina Gallery, 116 West Clay Street, Mebane, North Carolina for their "Horses in Art" exhibition. The show opens May 3rd with a reception from 7:00-9:00 pm.