We All Have Our Vices...This Is One of Mine
As cowboy humorist Baxter Black puts it, "We all have our vices--to chocolate, chewing tobacco, horse-training clinics...."
I can exercise restraint over the vices named by Baxter. But the one I don't seem able to control is the urge to collect vintage paint-by-number horse pictures. I started with a 99-cent one scored at the local Goodwill store, and the next thing I knew, I was stalking them at yard sales, flea markets, estate sales, and on eBay.It's probably a good thing I have a large, rambling ranch-style house, with plenty of wall space. Otherwise, my hoarded PBNs would be stacked many feet deep. These things are addictive!
I love not just the subject matter, but the colors, the variety of images available, the old-style framing that many come with, and the sheer nostalgic aura they give off. My grandparents had horsehead PBNS in their living room in the 50s and 60s, and I remember spending many hours engrossed in painting the ones I received as Christmas and birthday gifts way back when.
(Amazing how kids used to occupy themselves before electronic devices took over their entertainment worlds, huh?)
posted by Juli Thorson @ 10:51 AM
16 comments
16 Comments:
Those are pretty cool, I want to see more!!!
Jessie,
A quick way to see more is to go to ebay, and search 'paint by number horse'--it's amazing to see how many designs and images there are.
MY CRAZY COLLECTION IS OLIVE GREEN DEPRESSION GLASS. I'VE GOT HUNDREDS OF PIECES. IT DOESN'T MATCH MY MODERN DECOR, SO I DON'T EVEN DISPLAY IT. IT'S LIKE A CRAZY ABBERATION - WHEN I SEE A PIECE I DON'T HAVE I MUST HAVE IT!
I SYMPATHIZE.
Anon--
Ahh, depression glass....I had an amazing collection of PINK depression glass, but parted with it some years back when raising money to buy our place.
I now have one or two token pieces to remind me of the ones I sold, but that's all.
Collecting--they will find a gene for it, I swear~
Thanks for the tip, I never knew there was such an interest in paint by numbers! Some of them are pretty amazing.
I also love paint by number pictures of the horse. My 76 year old mother paints these. She recently finished a buckskin that she customized to look like my own buckskin gelding. She is currently working on a cowboy sitting on a horse in a creek. She says this one may be the death of her since it is so detailed. I always make her sign her painting. I will always cherish these painting done so lovingly by my Mom.
Jessie,
In the few years that I have been collecting paint-by-number horse pictures, I have noticed that the number of pictures available is declining--with prices rising. So I guess they are getting more popular all the time.
Michle--
How great that your mom paints and signs these pictures! I would treasure them, too.
I love horse art too - but am a very selective and careful collector. Older prints are often replaced with new ones and I send the older ones down the road, so its under control. My biggest current treasure is a metal horse sculpture by David Govedare - its a tiny replica of one of the Vantage Horses, I LOVE IT!
Buy my vice aside from books (which I am not really ready to admit that I have a problem with yet)is ROCKS. I am an amateur rock hound and have been since I was like 5. I have 2 small closets full of rock samples I have bought or collected myself - only God knows what I would happen if I had more income to devote towards rocks, maybe that's why I have horses.
Anyway I love Rocks and Gems and stash them every and display them every where, between the rocks, horse art, and random piles of tack and books i always receive interesting comments on my decorating style for my house. Almost nothing make me more happy than when I get to show off my rock collections or add new samples to it.
Its so fascinating to read about everyone else's interests and collections! You know because we are all so fixed on horses it always surprises me when I hear about "so and sos" beanie baby collection or whatever the case may be. Good post!
Steph,
Ever been to Gem State Crystals in Moscow, ID? Talk about a rock hound's paradise!
I have a bit of the rock hound in me as well. Once, on the way to Portland from a show near Ontario, OR, I got detained by road work that involved blasting through a vein of beautiful rock. I filled the back of my pickup with as much loose rock as I could--then drove 350 miles with it to get it home.
Fuel mileage for that trip was not pretty, LOL!
That's pretty good - I would totally do that! I am commonly side tracked on the way to shows by rock shops, and other interesting rock back road trips - and yes I have visited Gem State Crystals. I have also stopped by Emerald Creek, ID once or twice and scored a huge 6 point purple star garnet. Have you tried there? Very fun - go in the summer.
You should see the looks I get arriving to a show with rocks in the back of my truck or falling out of my cab.
Since I blow eeerr... invest! most of my money on horses my best rock samples are the ones I have found myself for free.
Steph,
I take my mother to the Emerald Creek area every summer. She has a real knack for finding those garnets.
I haven't been quite so lucky, but it's still a fun thing to do.
Boy do I understand the book thing! I am an avid reader and take 3-4 books with me to a show.
Where I live there was a huge indian population long ago and we will go arrow head hunting. We have found complete knives, bird points, grinding stones and much more. I LOVE to do this! It is relaxing and really neat to see what the indians used. I even catch myself watching the ground when I am out just pleasure ridding. I have come back to the barn with rocks and things stuffed everywhere on my horse! haha
My mother also got me into cacti. Out on the ranch we walk around looking for cactus, all kinds. For some strange reason it is really fun and my grandmother has a cacti that mom gave her 15-20 yrs ago that is huge now and will be split between us all. Very cool!
I have many other "investments" that just drive my hubby crazy! haha Pack Rat I am. LOL
Thanks for sharing Julie. This thread made me smile!
Hi, Miffed,
There is something really relaxing about looking for interesting objects or plants when out riding (or hiking).
I sometimes wonder if we aren't born with a gene that encourages foraging. When we go to our cabin on weekends, I often tell Ed I'm going out to "shop the woods." I can be just as happy coming back with some shed antlers, a pretty rock, or a fossil, as I would be after spending money in a store.
Maybe happier! ("Free" is a very good price.)
I have a few paint by number pictures. I also have collected ceramic horse figurines since I was a child. But I have another shelf in my cluttered den filled with cocoons, horse and dog teeth, turtle shells, snake skins, unusual acorns, coral and rocks. Once, I discovered a HUGE live moth on my shelf in the dead of winter. Upon closer inspection I found that he had emerged from a cocoon I had placed there months before. The fireplace had heated the room to a temperature that brought him to maturity!
Anonymous,
Your post reminds me of the time I brought several decorative birdhouses in for the winter, and set them on a shelf in my bedroom. A few days later, the room was buzzing with yellowjackets. They had hatched from eggs laid inside the birdhouses!
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