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Earlier this month, we installed a beautiful exhibit at the Thermal Equestrian Show in Indio, California. It features several top equestrian riders, including Hannah Selleck, Ashlee Bond and Will Simpson. Seen in the paintings here are renown riders Joie Gaitlin and Michelle Parker.

We are raising money for the RideOn Charity, and these equestrian superstars graciously helped out. If you’d like to have a portrait of your family (whether or not you own a horse!), we’ll donate your session fee to RideOn in your name.

We have just completed this portrait of Gary and Ferryn Melton’s children, and can’t wait for them to see it once the paint is completely dry. The Meltons have a beautiful collection of fine art paintings, and we’re proud that this painting will soon be displayed in their home as well.

What an incredible weekend it was in the Blue Ridge Mountains with some great friends. We encountered this scene on our drive back down the hill. It is so great to meet with this group of portrait painters every year. For reasons I still can’t quite explain, we call ourselves the Barking Cats. Notice the bobcat we coaxed into posing with us for our group photograph.

It was such an honor to have Steven and Peggy Roosa of Pro Photo West interview us a few months back. Not only did they feature us on the cover of the Winter 2010 issue, they also ran a 4 page article in the magazine. Thank you Steve and Peggy, and Bianca and Gianna who you can see in the image here.

I’ve had the incredible opportunity to create portraits of some of the world’s top equestrian riders, including Ashley Bond, Will Simpson and Hannah Selleck, at some of the most beautiful stables I’ve even seen. I’m finding that the equestrian world is actually more of a way of life. There is a tremendous camaraderie among fun-loving, competitive people who don’t mind getting their boots a little muddy from time to time. What an amazing experience this has been! And the paintings are going to be incredible.

As our young Internet Guru Elliott would say, we are jazzed at the response we’ve had to our painted portraits.

December brought us more painting orders than we could have ever hoped for! The paintings are actually made as a collaborative effort between April and me. I do the initial camera study, establishing the overall vision for the images, and April finishes them as paintings. Here’s a sneak preview of a few we’ve completed recently.

We decided that for the holidays this year, we would make a special offer for our clients to donate to Operation Christmas Child, and receive a free 5×7 or 8×10. We are amazed at the response we’ve received!
It’s simple to participate. Click here to donate to Operation Christmas Child, then forward your email confirmation to aprilb@brandesportrait.com.

We did this portrait of the Jansen family just in time for the Wellness Community Holiday Home Tour that’s happening this weekend. Wow, what generosity on Mike and Doreen’s part! They gave over 500 people a chance to tour their beautiful home, which was all decked out (by Doreen) for the holidays.
April was at the Jansen home today, and she helped raise a lot of money when she sold every single one of our boxed gift certificates. Because they provide support to cancer patients and their families, Wellness is especially close to my heart. As many of you know, my own sister Marla lost her battle with ovarian cancer last year.
We’ll be back at the tour tomorrow. Be sure to come say hi.

Best wishes to all our friends and clients for an especially meaningful Thanksgiving this year. We appreciate each one of you.

When Lindy Yow came by the Costa Mesa gallery to pick up the portraits of her extended family, her first words were “They are perfect!” She was so excited to take them home for the holidays. Her parents were married 50 years ago in China after only knowing one another for one month. I loved seeing how all the children were so honoring to them. The portrait was the first of its kind ever created at the famous Huntington Library Chinese Gardens.