January 2008 Newsletter - Portraits by M Theresa Brown and Stephen Filarsky

Hi! It’s a great day, huh?
January is that time of year when we start the year with renewed energy and optimism! No long lectures from us about resolutions or recommendations….No, we just hope you have a great year!

What’s New in the Art Studio
Theresa continues working on her portraits and Steve continues with his oil paintings. Recently he started creating some of the little art card editions and originals (known as ACEO’s in the art world) and those little 2.5 x 3.5 inch gems have been quite popular. Check out a few below!

Charlotte and JR

The Pastel Portrait on the left was given by Charlotte's Dad to her and her Mom on Christmas Morning.

She wrote the following to Theresa:

People who ride or work with horses can always remember that special horse that stood apart from the rest. It is often due to exceptional talent or confirmation or maybe outstanding bloodlines. Our special horse didn't have any of those characteristics. He was a 24 year old quarter horse with nothing special about his confirmation or his talent. What made him stand apart was his gentle nature and his willingness to do his best and take care of his rider. Charlotte and I have struggled since his death in October. We miss our friend. You can not imagine my surprise when I opened this beautiful portrait on Christmas morning. You captured so completely the sweetness of his face and his wise old eyes. You also captured perfectly the face of a little girl who thought he was just about the best friend anyone could have in life. Thank you for doing such a beautiful job. I will treasure it always.

Kitty Yarbrough

Pastel Portrait 12 x 16

Pastel Portrait 16 x 20

Red Fox in Snow
oil, 9 x 12

Crooked Run Valley
oil, 9 x 12

Latest paintings created by Steve.

This 2 1/5 x 3 1/5 oil is a "thumbnail" painting, is a prelimary sketch for the painting on the left

Click on the above image to view the larger painting created from this thumbnail oil sketch

Art Lingo
Just a few terms to help your art vocabulary and understanding!

Primary colors--colors that can't be mixed--red, yellow blue

Secondary Colors--colors mixed from 2 primary colors--orange (red and yellow), green (blue and yellow), purple (red and blue)

Neutral--gray, white or black

Value--light to dark range of a color, white has the highest value, black the lowest.

Important: Our Privacy Policy

We have added a page to our website with our privacy policy, regarding information given to us, either from forms on our website or from signing our guest book. It basically says, "1.We don't give your information to anyone. 2. We use it to send our email newsletters, post cards or to contact you if you requested information on portraits or paintings.

This month’s laugh
Watch and listen Moms, it will make your day!

http://www.womensfunnyvideos.com/videos/mom-song.htm

Quote of the day

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.

- Aristotle

Interesting Trivia or Did you Know?

The Eisenhower Interstate road system requires that one mile in every five must be straight. These straight sections are usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies.

Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs only have about ten.

In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere.

It takes a lobster approximately seven years to grow to be one pound.

Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.

Wintertime Lesson at Bridlewood Farm

Barn of the Month

Hidden away in a quiet corner of southern Granville county, north of Raleigh, NC is Bridlewood Farm. Meet the owners and trainer of our Barn of the month by visiting their site and seeing what they do!

www.bridlewoodfarm.net

Road Tips
We travel a lot! A recent site I found states “Road tripping is a state of mind. To truly enjoy it, you must embrace the philosophy of the road, much like European backpackers must bring a mindset of art and culture and beachcombers must be prepared for umbrellas in their drinks and sand in their shorts.” This is a pretty interesting site with things like Green travel, traveling with pets, kids, teens, historical trips, women traveling alone…just a host of things to know! http://www.travelsense.org/tips/roadtrip.asp

Until next time! Theresa & Steve

PO Box 337, Franklinton, NC 27525

Ph. 919-880-7431 or 919-880-2858

Portaits Main Recent Portraits Equine Portraits How to Draw Horses Paintings Prints		Hi! It’s a great day, huh? January is that time of year when we start the year with renewed energy and optimism! No long lectures from us about resolutions or recommendations….No, we just hope you have a great year! What’s New in the Art Studio Theresa continues working on her portraits and Steve continues with his oil paintings. Recently he started creating some of the little art card editions and originals (known as ACEO’s in the art world) and those little 2.5 x 3.5 inch gems have been quite popular. Check out a few below!


Charlotte and JR		The Pastel Portrait on the left was given by Charlotte's Dad to her and her Mom on Christmas Morning. She wrote the following to Theresa: People who ride or work with horses can always remember that special horse that stood apart from the rest. It is often due to exceptional talent or confirmation or maybe outstanding bloodlines. Our special horse didn't have any of those characteristics. He was a 24 year old quarter horse with nothing special about his confirmation or his talent. What made him stand apart was his gentle nature and his willingness to do his best and take care of his rider. Charlotte and I have struggled since his death in October. We miss our friend. You can not imagine my surprise when I opened this beautiful portrait on Christmas morning. You captured so completely the sweetness of his face and his wise old eyes. You also captured perfectly the face of a little girl who thought he was just about the best friend anyone could have in life. Thank you for doing such a beautiful job. I will treasure it always. Kitty Yarbrough

Pastel Portrait 12 x 16		Pastel Portrait 16 x 20



Red Fox in Snow oil, 9 x 12 Crooked Run Valley oil, 9 x 12		Latest paintings created by Steve. This 2 1/5 x 3 1/5 oil is a "thumbnail" painting, is a prelimary sketch for the painting on the left Click on the above image to view the larger painting created from this thumbnail oil sketch


		Art Lingo Just a few terms to help your art vocabulary and understanding! Primary colors--colors that can't be mixed--red, yellow blue Secondary Colors--colors mixed from 2 primary colors--orange (red and yellow), green (blue and yellow), purple (red and blue) Neutral--gray, white or black Value--light to dark range of a color, white has the highest value, black the lowest.


Important: Our Privacy Policy We have added a page to our website with our privacy policy, regarding information given to us, either from forms on our website or from signing our guest book. It basically says, "1.We don't give your information to anyone. 2. We use it to send our email newsletters, post cards or to contact you if you requested information on portraits or paintings.

		This month’s laugh Watch and listen Moms, it will make your day! http://www.womensfunnyvideos.com/videos/mom-song.htm

		Quote of the day We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit. - Aristotle
		Interesting Trivia or Did you Know? The Eisenhower Interstate road system requires that one mile in every five must be straight. These straight sections are usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies. Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs only have about ten. In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere. It takes a lobster approximately seven years to grow to be one pound. Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.

Wintertime Lesson at Bridlewood Farm		Barn of the Month Hidden away in a quiet corner of southern Granville county, north of Raleigh, NC is Bridlewood Farm. Meet the owners and trainer of our Barn of the month by visiting their site and seeing what they do! www.bridlewoodfarm.net

		Road Tips We travel a lot! A recent site I found states “Road tripping is a state of mind. To truly enjoy it, you must embrace the philosophy of the road, much like European backpackers must bring a mindset of art and culture and beachcombers must be prepared for umbrellas in their drinks and sand in their shorts.” This is a pretty interesting site with things like Green travel, traveling with pets, kids, teens, historical trips, women traveling alone…just a host of things to know! http://www.travelsense.org/tips/roadtrip.asp

		Until next time! Theresa & Steve
		PO Box 337, Franklinton, NC 27525
		Ph. 919-880-7431 or 919-880-2858
		www.portraitsnc.com
		www.sfilarsky.com


	NEWS FROM OUR STUDIO
	January 2008