Diane Jarvis-Schuller

Working horses turned into art.

“Give a horse what he needs and he will give you his heart in return.” ~Unknown.

Oh – ooh — oooh, it arrived! One of the pieces of fine art photography that I offer for sale has arrived. Well actually, I ordered this one for myself and it’s one I will also be using for an upcoming gallery showing. As you know, equine art is a current home decor trend these days, and I’m hoping to spread the word as much as possible. Although equestrian chic is a current trend, equine art really never goes ‘out of style’ — it is classic and has been around for years, whether in royal castles, as western / rural decor, or as a contemporary and elegant work of art.

I couldn’t wait to get it home. I had this image done on a high quality canvas gallery wrap and am extremely pleased with the result. This and other images are also available as fine art prints that can be matted and framed instead. This particular image titled “Whisper” is so well suited as a canvas gallery wrap and I can hardly wait to show it off! What do you think of this one?

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Dare to be distinctive and unique: allow me to provide you with fresh and imaginative equine art portraying the powerful and alluring essence of the horse!

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There was a winner! Remember the great giveaway by Kelly over at Jax Does Design? She was giving away one of my equine prints, “Listen” and the lucky winner was Christy over at Lil Welsh Rarebit! Congratulations Christy, your print has been matted and will be on its way to you right away!

Welcome! … Ottawa designer Kelly James is featuring my equine artwork over on her blog this week.

“Listen” being given away over at Kelly’s blog — go enter!!

Since my recent posts are mostly about my recent trip to Hawaii, I thought I would put this one here as a welcome to those who are coming from Kelly’s lovely spot on the web (to the first handful who arrived earlier, I’m sorry I didn’t have a welcome post before you arrived). As part of my introduction, I welcome you to scroll down and see some of my images of all subjects but if you’d like to see some of the equine-only ones, simply go to the menu bar above: click “Categories” and then select “Horses – Livestock” from the drop down menu. That way  you will see some of the more recent posts/images of horses. Or, visit my website to see a few more of my equine images listed in my “Gallery” under “Pets-Livestock” (I am currently in the process of setting up a specific area for my fine art prints so if you’d like to see more, let me know and I’ll point you in the right direction.). Let me know what you think. Enjoy!!

“Power Pair” by Diane Schuller, shown as a 5×7 matted to 8×10 (this is how “Listen” will look when sent to the winner over at Kelly’s blog.

And don’t forget, if you’re interested in purchasing equine art, I ship anywhere. Please contact me if there is something that catches your eye and we’ll work something out. I’d love to help you add some beautiful equine art to add to your home or office decor.

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Diane’s photographs have appeared in two recent gallery showings as well as being included in publications such as Trot magazine, Dog Sport, Dogs in Canada, Country Guide magazine, Canine Review and newspapers Hythe Headliner, Peace Country Sun, and The Edmonton Journal.

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“The wind of heaven is that which blows between a horse’s ears.”  ~Arabian Proverb

“A horse is the projection of peoples’ dreams about themselves – strong, powerful, beautiful – and it has the capability of giving us escape from our mundane existence.” ~Pam Brown

Coming Soon: Horse art in feng shui!

I am looking for a horse model for a casual outdoor photo shoot (in the snow) to expand my portfolio. This casting call is for any breed of light or heavy horse in healthy condition. The photo shoot will be done in the privacy and comfort of your farm, ranch, or boarding stable.

I will require a signed model release from anyone who takes part to allow me to use the images for my portfolio. In exchange there will be no cost for the session and owners of models will be compensated with a gift of five printable digital images (a total value of $469). If you or anyone you know is interested, please use the Contact form above (in the black menu bar). I will be selecting one model for certain, but may consider a second. To be considered for this opportunity, please contact me right away to discuss the details. If you know of someone  with a horse who may be interested, please send them here! There is an “email a friend” link below for your convenience. This is a limited time offer (offer expires February 15th, 2011 but photo shoot will be arranged at a day/time convenient both for the photographer and the recipient).

Here’s what to include to get a conversation started, and to be considered:

• Your name and location;
• A brief description of your horse (including breed, if known; colour; age; and notes on horse’s personality);
• A brief description of the landscape where your horse resides (large pastures, small corrals, riding stable, wooded trails, or any other pertinent information).
• Your email and phone number.

Eligible locations: Grande Prairie, Alberta and surrounding communities; also in the Dawson Creek, BC & surrounding areas. Special consideration will be given those applicants who live in/near communities in the Grande Prairie – Hythe corridor (Beaverlodge, Wembley, etc.) or along the Highway 59 corridor (Valhalla, LaGlace areas, for instance).

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Diane specializes in photographing dogs, pets, and horses. She comes to you or a location of your choosing. She will capture the true essence of your pet so you have some beautiful and memorable photographs. If you have a dog kennel and need professional photographs for your website or for advertising, Diane is the one to call!  Visit Diane’s website to find out more.

Photographs Never Forget!

I’ve recently had some exciting email discussions with Ottawa interior decorator Kelly James of Jax Decor regarding the huge trend for equine chic. Kelly featured some of my equine art in December.

Nancy Marcus Gueret of Marcus Design recently featured a post about Equine Chic. She also just posted the Top 5 decor trends for 2011 and equine chic is right there on that top list! As we know, home decor and fashion are tightly woven together so it’s no surprise that equine chic also hits the fashion runways. In Canada, the program Cityline will be talking about equine art for home decor on Thursday, January 6th — check it out!

I have several images that fit the bill and plan to take many more this year. Whether it’s rural related as the ones in today’s journal post or more refined and sleek, I have it! In my mind, equine art is classic and never goes out of style but it’s great to know it’s such a hot trend this year. If you’re interested in seeing more of my equine art, please contact me so I can direct you to a slideshow of available artwork. As I mentioned yesterday, I have just opened up an Etsy shop though I have so few items there yet — but you will see the beginnings of equine art offerings (including that beautiful soft image I posted here yesterday). Stay turned (subscribe by email or RSS or subscribe to my newsletter) as I trot out more equine art throughout this coming year.

Something else I will soon have available are small size equine art images on solid wood ‘blocks’. These will be smooth and not rustic and will have a permanent finish. The added bonus with these is that they come ready to hang; no framing necessary.

Don’t forget, if you live in Alberta or BC and would like me to come and take beautiful photos of your horse(s), you can have custom equine art for your walls with images of your magnificent horse! Visit my website and get in touch!

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Serving Alberta and BC and have been to the following areas to take memorable photographs for other clients: Grande Prairie, Edmonton, Beaverlodge, Hythe, Valhalla, Dawson Creek, Rycroft, Sexsmith, Spirit River, Grimshaw, Peace River, Valleyview, and more!

I am so excited to announce some changes to my photography business that are now in effect.

COMMERCIAL:  As some of you are aware, I have been doing some commercial and editorial photography (for magazines, newspapers, and businesses) and I have made the decision to focus much more on this commercial aspect of my business. That means I will be giving priority to and pursuing more of the commercial photography opportunities both locally and nationally. If you, or someone you know, is seeking photography for your business I hope you will keep me in mind and refer me to friends or their businesses. Coverage of corporate or family events will fall into this category and I look forward to continuing to photograph events of all kinds. Special commercial rates apply.

FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY: Another aspect of my photography that I will be pursuing is fine art photography. One of my canine photos appeared in a fund raising book for cancer in 2010 plus I had two gallery showings of my photographic art with plans to sell my art as home & office decor (prints, canvas, and matted or framed options). Changes will soon be made to my website to reflect this additional focus and I will be seeking out additional opportunities for gallery showings in 2011 and beyond. To that end, if you know of any business that may be interested in hosting a showing of my photographic art (one month or beyond), please let me know and share my website with the decision maker for the business (there is ‘something in it for them’ when they host my photographic art).  As I recently announced on my photo journal (blog), in December my equine photographic art was featured by an Ottawa designer and will be featured again later this month on her design blog (details coming up on my photo journal/blog). Also, to help provide exposure and offer feature artwork, I’m proud to announce I have opened up an Etsy shop. At the moment the ‘shop’ has less than a handful of items so next month once there is a better selection of stock on the ‘shelves’, I’ll provide a link plus another link where you will find some of my other available photographic art.

EQUINE & PET PHOTOGRAPHY: The third important change to my business will be a re-focus to the subjects that got me started in photography to begin with and that is equine and pet photography. Commencing 2011 my portrait photography will re-focus to a specialty in photographing horses, dogs, and pets — as well as the connection with their people. Some of these will fall into the commercial category for breeders or ranch owners needing professional photographs for advertising and promotional needs; others will simply be those who love their pets and want beautiful photos of them.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN REGARDING ALL OTHER LIFESTYLE PHOTO SESSIONS?:

Although I am shifting my business focus in the areas noted above, I will continue to take on lifestyle sessions for individuals, couples, and families where booking dates are available.

I am very excited about the growth of my business and successes for the future. I hope you share in the excitement with me and will let others know about my business.

It was great having the month of December off and I’ve already hit the road running in January! What a busy year it was in 2010 for my photography business. Many new and creative progressions are coming for 2011. Thank you to all of you who have supported me and believe in me! I am very grateful to each of you.

“I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn’t photograph them.” ~ Diane Arbus

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Diane is available for a wide variety of commercial and editorial photography assignments. Diane also serves the entire Grande Prairie and peace regions of northern Alberta as an equine, pet, and dog photographer though she is always available anywhere in Alberta, BC, and beyond.

{Have you missed my recent photos? Books and several wildlife photos have been my  most recent contributions.}

I’ve loved horses my entire life and now that I don’t have horses anymore, my attention instead is focused on photographing them. Horses are particularly well suited for fine art photography, which is a direction I’ll be focusing on more in the future. Stay tuned for an upcoming feature at another blog of my equine photography.  Even ‘backyard’ horses can become art whether it’s because of the light and pop of colour as in this photo:

Processing the same image as a black & white also turns it into art. This is an ideal way to really focus the eye directly to the horse:

Or if the artist adds some soft vintage-like processing similar to the panorama I created below, a different feel is given to the entire image:

Sometimes a close up becomes art:

I’m really enjoying December and am so pleased I made the decision to take the entire month off work. I got my first batch for this season of traditional shortbread made yesterday — melt-in-your-mouth delicious!

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Photographs Never Forget!

Diane offers fine art photography in many sizes and shapes, professionally mounted and ready to frame, or have Diane do the framing for you. Watch this photo journal for an announcement in January regarding horse and animal photography. Diane currently has a limited number of fine art photographic prints available if you’re looking for a special gift for someone special. Ideal for home or office decor! Contact Diane today for more information.

I’m proud to announce my support for the Grande Prairie PARDS (Peace Area Riding for the Disabled Society) current fund raising project. I have donated a full photo session plus an 8×10 gift print for PARDS to auction off at the upcoming 13th annual Dine & Dance to be held November 20, 2010. To quote directly from their promotional material:

PARDS Annual Dine and Dance is the second major annual fundraiser our organization hosts in support of operations, rider sponsorship, facility maintenance, specialized riding equipment and countless other areas.

This is an event you don’t want to miss! Ideal for a great night out with friends (whether they are the ones you came with or new ones you meet there), and for your staff Christmas party. The evening includes a delicious Buffet Dinner, cash bar, Silent and Live Auctions (treat yourself or get some holiday shopping done or both!), the famous PARDS Plinko game, Ring Box raffle, “13 Bottles of Wine” auction featuring a different PARDS horse on each bottle (but which one is hiding the Grande Prize?), and, of course, music and dancing!

If you, or anyone you know, is interested in attending PARDS annual fundraising event on November 20th, tickets may be purchased through the PARDS office, phone 780-538-3211.

PARDS is a not-for-profit therapeutic riding center offering equine assisted therapy to children and adults living with disabilities. Why not check out the links above and support them by attending their important fundraiser?

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PS: My shoulder is really slowing down my workload of editing and any time spent on the computer. I hope you can be patient with me as I continue to work on some of my outstanding projects. I’m also on my way out of town until November 16th.

I can’t help but post just a few more images from the July 17th wedding (located near Bezanson). I really enjoyed myself and being around such warm and fun-loving people must have been part of the reason for that. Sandy & Travis live on a lovely acreage and I love that they also included horses in their ceremony. As all the guests arrived, there was a pair of draught horses hitched to a large and comfy wagon to transport people from the vehicle parking area up to the ceremony location. Once one wagon full of guests was delivered to the ceremony site, the horse drawn wagon headed back to pick up another group of people.

The bride arrived by a lovely horse drawn carriage and, after the ceremony, the bride and groom were taken back to the receiving line area in that same well appointed horse drawn carriage. The Patterson’s horses were beautifully groomed, their tails plaited with flowers coordinating with the wedding colours, and also had hearts (in the wedding colours) applied to their barrels (that’s the side of a horse). Here are a couple images of the bride and groom as they were being driven away from the ceremony site to the receiving line area.

And this one I added a vintage touch, especially because it reminds me of riding off into their new life together as husband and wife (instead of riding off into the sunset ).

If you have followed the previous posts of this wedding, you’ll know that this couple and their friends and family are definitely a fun-loving bunch. See!

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Photographs Never Forget! … keeping memories alive with custom albums and portraits. (I’m looking forward to putting the album together for this fun and loving couple!)

Art is another way of keeping a diary. Each diary and its contents mean something different to every reader or viewer.

Who says livestock and horse photography can’t be considered fine art?! Bah humbug, of course it can. This exotic looking Scottish Highland cow is a prime example of how a photo can be transformed into fine art. Plus, when printed on canvas or fine Hahnemule art paper an image such as this becomes a beautiful work of art enhancing anyone’s home or office.

Sometimes simplicity is the key to high impact.

This draft [draught] horse study is one of my favourites after being turned into a work of art through mixed media including photographic texture. I can imagine this printed on canvas, enlarged to beyond life size, and hung in a prominent place on someone’s wall in their home or office. What a conversation piece! {{NOTE: I have recently opened up an online storefront where you can purchase prints, matted & framed, or canvas gallery wraps of some of my work. You’ll recognize some of these images at my shop. Feel free to share the link with friends.}}

Some of you may recall my recent post discussing the value of purchasing original works of art. Whether you consider something from me or from any other artist, when you support original works of art, you are making an investment that you can treasure for years to come but also supporting the future for all artists. Some things are well worth saving for — art is one of them.

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Diane can also create original fine art from photographs of your pets, horse, or livestock. She also creates fine art from a wide variety of subject matter. Get in touch and find out more.

The creative act lasts but a brief moment, a lightning instant of give-and-take, just long enough for you to level the camera and to trap the fleeting prey in your little box. ~Henri Cartier Bresson