Contact Kristin Berkery | Red Dog Blog
Photo Album
Photos of horses that have played important roles in my life.
Album last modified 05/28/05
Some facts & figures about Red Dog Studio...
- In 2007, Kristin is celebrating 6 years of painting, sculpting, and showing
in the model horse hobby
- Kristin has painted over 125 model horses and sculpted 5 original sculpture resins since 2001
- Red Dog Studio models have won 6 NAN Top Tens since 2002
- By rough estimate, RDS models have earned 60+ NAN qualifications and 2 dozen
championships (based on customer reports, so those figures may be low)
- RDS custom models have been sold by Kristin to 28 U.S. states and 5 foreign countries
- Kristin has been honored to judge at more than a dozen model horse shows, including NAN
- Kristin uses handpainted and airbrushed acrylics, pastels, and colored pencils when finishing model horses
That's me with the legendary
Khemosabi
on his 29th birthday.
Photo by Patrick Berkery.
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I've been painting and sculpting for the model horse hobby since 2001, and I also create gift items, like bas reliefs,
that can be appreciated by any horse lover. My strengths lie in capturing accurate breed type and conformation on a small scale,
even down to the smallest details like armpit wrinkles and whisker bumps.
Because I'm a newer sculptor and painter to the hobby I haven't amassed a lot of North American Nationals (NAN) titles, but I'm proud to say I do
have 6 NAN Top Tens to my credit at just two NAN shows. Three of those Top Tens were Stablemate-scale models that were
competing against all scales of models, including Traditionals.
From left to right, Michele Treolo, Kathy McKenzie, Kristin Berkery, and Desirae Corbett at the 2005 Bay Area All Halter Custom
Classic show. Photo by Cheryl Mundee.
In addition to highly detailed models, I offer the hobby the best customer service I can provide, including satisfaction guarantees
on unpainted resins and models I've painted, fast shipping, and reliable communication. Sometimes customer service is taken
for granted in the model horse hobby, but I feel it's important no matter where you're spending your money.
My Appy/Welsh Pony gelding,
Chico, and me in 1995. After a lot of research into Chico's unusual color, I believe he's a smokey black (cream + black gene). More photos of him can be found on the Photo Album page.
Photo by Patrick Berkery.
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One of the big complaints I hear about the hobby today is that prices are going through the roof. I couldn't agree more. That's
why I feel it's important for collectors to search out those artists who put just as much time, detail, and effort into their painting and
sculpting but may not be "famous" by hobby standards. Those are the artists from whom you're going to get the best deals
and the nicest work.
When you're looking for a top-quality model, I hope you'll remember my name or my red dog logo. You can be sure you're getting
the kind of detail you expect without spending a ton of money. I feel confident in saying this because my repeat customers
tell me it's true.
Happy collecting,
Kristin Berkery
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Why the Red Dog?
The dog of a lifetime, Penny
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Red Dog Studio is named after two special dogs in my life: Penny, a Golden Retriever mix, and Ruby, a Terrier/ Chihuahua mix.
Both dogs have played important roles in my life, and they've always been right there in the background. When I was a kid, Penny was usually running and playing alongside me. She spent so much time off the leash that she had lousy leash manners, but that was symbolic of Penny's personality -- she was a free spirit who wasn't constrained by convention. We always joked that she was the only dog in the neighborhood with her own cat, a homely tortoiseshell named Tippy. Penny and Tippy went almost everywhere together, including following me on horseback riding adventures.
After Penny died in 1999, I was heartbroken for a long time. I was waiting for the right dog to come along, but I was determined not to try to replace Penny. During a visit with my husband's relatives in 2001, I met a little dog named Ruby who was the exact same color as Penny! She'd been left at a shelter in Southern California when she was just six weeks old, was adopted out and returned six different times, and was facing euthanasia because she was considered "unadoptable." My husband's cousin worked at the shelter, and while she liked cats better than dogs, she couldn't bear to see the little dog destroyed. She took Ruby home, crate-trained her, and started looking for a permanent home for her. I happened to come along at the right time.
Ruby taking a dip in Northern California's Salmon River. She'd never gone swimming before.
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A couple of months after I met Ruby, I succeeded in convincing my husband that we had to have this dog. I wasn't trying to replace Penny, but I felt there was something very special about this new red dog. It took several months to help Ruby get over her problems resulting from past abuse, but she blossomed into a confident, tenacious little dog that everyone loves. She's always around, usually spending time with me when I'm painting or sculpting.
Since every horseperson I've ever met loves dogs too, I thought "Red Dog Studio" would be appropriate for my equine art studio. Both dogs have brought me so much happiness that I wanted to honor them with something special.
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