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Talking with Kathy McKenzie |
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Kathy McKenzie is the talented model horse artist who lists those luscious dappled greys, dilutes, and duns on Ebay weekly. She also has her own mailing list on Yahoo Groups where members can share information on customizing and painting. Here's your chance to find out more about her.
Kristin Berkery: What is your background with real horses? Kathy McKenzie: I had my very own pony as a child -- her name was "Goldie" and she was a pretty Welsh pony mix and was, of course, a flaxen chestnut. She was in foal when we bought her and produced a son, "Danny Boy," who was colored much the same as she was, but even more flaxen. That little devil wasn't gelded and got his own momma pregnant -- she had another chestnut baby that we named "Cricket," who was at her side when we had to sell them all to move. While growing up, away from having my own equine, I read every book on horses I could get my hands on, went to horse shows when I could (mostly Arabian shows), subscribed to magazines, and studied all kinds of artwork depicting horses. While living in Dallas, I had a lesson stable I rode at weekly and also continued to attend horse shows were I could -- including the Arabian regionals held in Fort Worth every year. After moving to Kansas City in 1996, I found a job with a local Arab show barn in 1997 and spent that whole summer working as the show groom. I had the extreme pleasure of working with A LOT of great horses, some of them National and Scotsdale champions! I already knew a lot of what I needed to do [to paint realistic models], but I gained so much more knowledge while I was there. KB: Your background with model horses? KM: My Mom bought me a horse here and a horse there -- mostly dime store items and Japan Chinas. I have some old Hartlands she also got me, including a lovely near mint dark blue Arab mare, which I have no recollection of from my youth. Weird, huh? I only got four Breyers as a child, the first being a palomino FAF, followed by a bay running mare and foal, and a dappled grey PAM (my favorite of them all). After that, as I got to be a teenager, it was up to me to get new Breyers as I could, whether it was with babysitting money at the yearly fair or at the Arabian horse show that came to the local show arena each summer. I still have all of my early Breyers and other assorted horses; the only ones to have suffered a few breaks are a couple of the Japan chinas. 'Round about 1994 was the beginning of the course my life has taken to this day. A whole new world opened up to me -- I was enthralled with the CMs I saw in the magazines, the articles on repainting techniques, and the sales lists. My ex-husband Dan discovered Haynet for me and the "obsession" grew. My collection steadily began to blossom and I became very serious about learning how to do my own customs. I bought a copy of Carol Williams' Color Formulas and Techniques, Dan got me a set of oil paints, and I was off! In 1995, I went to my very first live model show, Lonestar Live, which was being held during the Texas State Fair in Dallas. I took my few first customs and my best OFs and actually came home with a number of ribbons, even though I opted to show in the open division, instead of novice. I met some very nice hobby people, got interviewed for the Dallas Morning News, and had a lot of fun! To this day I still adore live showing and remember the fine people I met that weekend. I made the change to airbrushing from oil paints in 1997 -- I really do still love oil paints, but had always adored how an airbrushed horse could look if done well. I had gotten a Paasche airbrush in 1995, but had only dabbled with it and used it for basecoats until I decided to work with it some more once I moved to Kansas City. I acquired enough skills to do some decent work with it and then moved on to a nicer and more precise Iwata Eclipse in 1999. In the last part of 2000 I moved up to a real Cadillac in the airbrush world, an Iwata Micron, which is probably the last upgrade I can ever see needing to make with an airbrush. I have a large collection of horse books -- from specific breed books to those on showing, training, and grooming. I subscribe to three model horse hobby magazines and four to five real horse magazines, so I can keep up with the trends and news in both worlds -- hopefully keeping my work more up-to-date and "real." I try to be correct in what I do (I'm certainly not perfect though) and like being able to advise a customer on colors that would work for their new resin or advise them on what molds would be appropriate for a portrayal of their favorite breed. (continued above right) |
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KB: How have model horses changed or affected your life? KM: Well, my artistic talents have certainly grown by leaps and bounds, but I have also grown as a person and a hobbyist. I've become more outgoing (to a point -- I'm more shy than I act), I've made a lot of neat friends and met so many cool people, and I've traveled a bit and gotten to see and do some new things. My knowledge and understanding of many different breeds of horses has increased much more than ever before and it continues to grow. I suppose it's a "growing" sort of thing? :-) KB: What are some of your favorite models or resins to paint? Why do they appeal to you? KM: Goodness -- first off, I LOVE Arabs still, but find it hard to find a really great and correct Arab, be it resin or plastic. I suppose my favorite Arab has to be the Aashiq by Ed Bogucki; he fits my ideal and is conformationally "all there." I enjoy working on the Stone Arab too, once I "tweak" it a bit. I adore most anything by Sarah Rose and her Deseoso is my hands down favorite horse of all time. It was that resin which really sparked my interest in Spanish horses, an interest that has really flamed inside of me. Aside from him, I really like the Tenorio (Kristina Lucas), Almanzor (Brigette Eberl), and the AA traditional-sized rearing Andalusian. I'm a major fan of Morgans (like Chris Jolly's Covenant Kept and Sarah Rose's UVM Yesteryear), Saddlebreds (Kathi Bogucki's Dozen Roses is heavenly), and I've become fascinated with Akhal-Tekes too -- like Brigette Eberl's Akhal-Teke resin and Sarah Rose's Khan. I don't do a whole ton of stock breeds aside from the Stone ISH, which I enjoy working on, thank goodness. I suppose what catches my interest first in any model or resin is a spark of personality. I like some fire and life in my horses. After that they must have good conformation and breed type to really hold my interest -- otherwise they quickly become something I can't look at for too long. Incorrectness just bugs me too much. KB: Do you plan to sculpt your own model or resin someday? KM: I have no idea. I haven't even tried to do anything like that yet. Maybe someday. Right now I am just trying to learn how to do new manes and tails to my satisfaction and enjoy doing it at the same time. Sculpting was something I hadn't had too much fun with until recently. KB: You're known for painting realistic dilutes, duns, and dapple greys among other things. Do you have a favorite color to paint? KM: I guess maybe the dappled greys and rose greys, but the buckskins are right up there too, along with really great-looking dappled bays. KB: You recently found your own personal "Holy Grail." Please describe it and how you decided to paint it. KM: Oh sigh -- Sarah Rose's Deseoso, the dream horse to end all dream horses. After I did one for a customer, I knew I had found my Holy Grail. To me he is the perfect embodiment of the word "horse" and all that it means to me with his wonderful conformation and strong, masculine presence. I figured I would never be so lucky as to have one, but a friend of mine changed that for me. She had one with a dinged-up paint job and we struck a deal on him. I repainted him the very week that I got him from her, just after Breyerfest this year. I thought long and hard about his color and decided he must be THE color I think of when Spanish horses run wild through my dreams -- a mulberry white grey! I had never done this color before and I was scared to death that I would ruin him, but he came out perfectly and I couldn't be more thrilled with him. "Escandaloso" is the one who will go to my grave with me! ;-) You can view more of Kathy's work at http://www.dragonflightstudio.com.
-- Interviewed by Kristin Berkery, November 2001
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