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Monday, March 10 2014 / Published in Sidelines Feature

An Unlikely Artist

By Katie Navarra

 

A Barry Koster photograph: “Cross-country in daybreaks morning mist.”

A Barry Koster photograph: “Cross-country in daybreaks morning mist.”

Barry Koster’s career as an artist could have been over before it even began. An elementary school teacher nearly failed him because he had “poor art skills.” Not willing to accept this fate for her son, Barry’s mother marched into a store and purchased a pad of paper and pastels – determined to improve Barry’s skills.

“She [regularly] dropped me off at the museum and I would stay for hours and draw pictures of statues,” he said.

 

Little did that elementary school teacher know, her criticism would ignite a lifelong passion and a professional career for her young student.

 

Throughout his youth, Barry developed his skills as an artist, spending much of his time drawing and painting. On his 10th birthday, his cousin gave him a camera, inspiring a passion for photography. “It floored me because, until then, I had never been treated like an adult and this made me feel like an adult,” he said.

 

One of Barry’s favorite acrylic paintings.

One of Barry’s favorite acrylic paintings.

Every surface had potential as a canvas. He once removed the glass door from his mother’s shower, placed a perfume bottle on it and photographed the display. He later used the piece during an interview with Avon cosmetics and was hired on the spot.

 

The Evolution of Photography

As an adult, Barry worked as a commercial photographer and shot portraits for global companies including JCPenny, Montgomery Ward, J. Walter Thompson Ad Agency and several others.

 

Being a commercial photographer was a challenging, stressful job. Before the digital age, photographs were shot in large format film, demanding precision and massive equipment. Each size photograph required a specialized camera designed to shoot photos of the selected size.

“It took two people to move the cameras and you needed a tripod to hold it up,” he reminisced. “Each photograph was carefully calculated and if the image did not come out well, the shot had to be taken again.”

 

Acrylic on stretched canvas – Barry’s wonderful Dalmatians kissing.

Acrylic on stretched canvas – Barry’s wonderful Dalmatians kissing.

He continued, “That is where I really developed my eye. I learned to be a professional photographer on the job doing work for the biggest companies in the world.”

 

As photography evolved and the 35mm camera was released, Barry remembers thinking, “How am I going to take 36 pictures? A few decades later, the digital age emerged allowing photographers to take thousands of photos in one day.”

 

“Going from that (large format film) to digital and having the ability to correct the image, [photography] is a piece of cake,” he said. “If something was wrong with the photo back then, I had to reshoot it. Now in Photoshop, I can click, click and it’s fixed.”

 

A Starving Artist

Horses became the focal point of Barry’s work when he and his wife, Laura, moved into their current home, a seven-acre farm in Aiken, South Carolina. They needed a revenue source to support Laura’s passion for rescue animals.

 

“We call my wife, Laura, rescue ranger,” he said. “If there is a dog [or horse] in trouble or in danger of being put down, we take it in. She regularly volunteers at and supports Danny & Ron’s Rescue and the Equine Rescue of Aiken.”

 

Photo montage - Two Aiken Icons, Oak Ally South Boundary Street and Jack Wetzel’s four-in-hand.

Photo montage – Two Aiken Icons, Oak Ally South Boundary Street and Jack Wetzel’s four-in-hand.

With 11 rescue dogs and a barn full of horses, “the feed bill was getting ridiculous.” To offset the expense of rescuing the animals, they started a small business out of the house.

 

Barry began drawing and painting horses and scenes depicting the equestrian life and selling the artwork on eBay. “I take pictures or images of foxhunting I like, I do a painting and put them on eBay,” he said. “I’ve sold thousands of dollars of work on eBay to people all over the world.”

 

The duo also capitalized on the growing popularity of digital photography. Expecting that virtually everyone would become a self-proclaimed photographer and would be searching for ways to create high quality reproductions of their images to display in their homes, Barry and Laura opened a photo canvas business.

 

“There are more iPhone cameras than all other cameras combined, or some crazy statistic like that,” he said. “If we offered the service to print people’s pictures, I thought it would be a great business for the future.”

 

What neither of them expected was that clients would rather hire Barry to take the photo and produce it on canvas rather than use a photo they had taken themselves. “The canvas is a great supplement, but it actually gained me more photography work,” he said.

 

The canvas business catapulted Barry’s career of shooting equine events from hunters and jumpers, foxhunts to three-day events, carriage driving competitions and private photo shoots.

 

His talents as an artist are well appreciated in Aiken, a community known for its equestrians and dog lovers.

 

Word of Barry’s talents spread quickly through the region and he has been hired for private commission paintings from several clients. His work is displayed at local shops and is available at Equine Divine and Aiken Dry Goods.

 

Laura is also getting involved with the photography business. As a former jumper, who trained with Harry de Leyer and Pablo Gamboa, she has a natural instinct for timing each shot perfectly. “She has great timing and knows how a horse is supposed to look and she is learning the technical side of the camera,” he said.

 

Acrylic on stretched canvas - Canadian hounds hunting with the Whiskey Road Foxhounds.

Acrylic on stretched canvas – Canadian hounds hunting with the Whiskey Road Foxhounds.

Every artist has a critic

But while Barry may have a massive fan base, he is not without doubters. Oddly enough, one of Barry’s critics is his own son.

 

One day Barry and his son were having a conversation about his artwork. “We were discussing how good or not so good of an artist I am,” he laughed. “I told him, I bet I can do a picture of a horse’s ass and sell it.”

 

Excited by the challenge, he went out and shot a photo of an Appaloosa’s rump. Then, he went home and did a painting from the photo. He offered it for sale on eBay. “It sold instantly!” he said.

 

The rapid sale settled the debate. “I see beauty in everything,” he said. “Being able to capture it and impact someone is so satisfying.”

 

For more information or to see additional samples of Barry’s work, visit his website www.barrykosterphotography.com or call his studio at (803) 955-7170.

 

About the writer: Katie Navarra has worked as a freelance writer in the horse industry for 12 years. She has been a lifelong horse lover and recently purchased a Quarter Horse mare with hopes of re-entering the show world in 2014.

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Tagged under: aiken, art, Barry Koster, carriage driving, equine art, equine paintings, horse paintings, horse-art, horse-magazine, horses, hunter, jumpers, Katie Navarra, Laura Koster, sidelines-magazine, south carolina, www.barrykosterphotography.com

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Annette Longenecker wasn’t just born into horses Annette Longenecker wasn’t just born into horses—in a way, she was born into her career. She grew up in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, where her parents ran a farm. Her mother taught, and her father had a jump business and then created one of the first horse show software programs: Ryegate Show Services, Inc.

Riding all her life, Annette spent many years as a groom and loved it, but knew it wasn’t what she wanted to do as a career. After she finished college, Annette’s father recruited her to help process entries at Ryegate. Since her father, Lloyd Longenecker, founded it in 1981, Ryegate has provided show management and office staff for some of the largest shows in the country. Now, Annette has taken over from her father and directed the company as it focuses on managing memberships and rankings for organizations such as the North American League, WIHS Championships and Equitation, Rolex/USEF Computer Ranking and National Medal Series (THIS NCM and Ariat NAM). Ryegate also provides scoring software for use with video walls, and production teams for hunter and jumper shows.

“Besides running Ryegate Show Services and its various organizations, I can be found in the show office, running a scoreboard or judging jumpers at most shows,” Annette said. “I love getting to wear a few different hats at the show.”

When she’s not busy at a show, Annette lives in Annville, Pennsylvania, with her “fur-baby,” Maggie Mae, and enjoys spending time with her many godchildren. Though she doesn’t currently own any horses, Annette rides when she can at Rolling Acres Farm with Patty Foster, Ashley Foster-Worthington and Mary Lisa Leffler.

Read this month unbridled with Annette Longenecker by clicking the link in our bio. Never miss a story by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine! 🦄
📸Photo by Sheryl Sutherby

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A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself The spor A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself 
The sport of eventing is a demanding and mentally challenging discipline that requires a combination of physical and mental fortitude from both the rider and horse. While having a coach can be incredibly beneficial, self-coaching can also play a crucial role in a rider’s success.

I think that given the opportunity, most riders would like to be coached every day. The reality of life in the horse world, however, is that the majority of us need to absorb as much from the lessons we have on a limited basis and then practice those skills at home to improve.

When I am riding, I try to have a plan for the horses each day and focus on what I’m looking to achieve. It’s important to be aware of the steady improvements rather than trying to solve everything all at once. This is especially important when teaching horses new movements or exercises that they might struggle with, and we need to give them time to learn and understand what we are asking for.

I have a couple of quotes that I use regularly when I’m teaching, and these are mottos that I hold myself to in my daily work as well.

The first is, “If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten.” This is a quote that was said to me many years ago when I was still motor racing and I keep it in the back of my mind each day. It’s easy to get stuck doing the same thing every day with your horse and bad habits are hard to break, from both riders and horses!

This leads me to my next quote, which is, “If what you are doing isn’t working, try something else.” It really is as simple as that! Many riders I see keep asking a horse to do something the same way over and over with an ongoing negative response and they wonder why things don’t get better. In these circumstances, I recommend that the rider change something, even if it’s wrong.

Read the full article by clicking the link in our bio! Don’t forget to keep your eye out for our April subscription!
📸Photo by Alex Banks Photography
The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here and we are so excited to feature three-day eventer Liz Halliday on the cover! Big thanks to photographer Melissa Fuller for the beautiful photo of Liz and Cooley Nutcracker- Liz Halliday-Sharp - HS Eventing. Liz and her horses have taken the eventing world by storm - and find out how Liz is at the top of the sport as a female eventer! As the horse world gears up for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event 2023, it's the perfect time to enjoy our eventing issue!! We also feature eventer and woman entrepreneur Frankie Thieriot Stutes, who is not only an eventer, but also runs Athletux and FRANKIE CAMERON handbags and accessories. And don't miss our eventing story on Robert "Bobby" Costello, who will be leading the US Eventing team to the 2024 Paris Olympics- and US Equestrian has named Bobby the eventing technical advisor/chef d'equipe!! Liz, Frankie and Bobby all have GREAT stories - don't miss any of them and don't forget to get your tickets for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day event! We are also excited to introduce you to hunter-jumper rider Casey Lorusso Smith, who is not only a talented rider but also a psychotherapist and incorporates horses into her career. If you are up for adventure, then read the story on dressage rider Priscilla Baldwin who certainly doesn't let any grass grow under her feet! We also head to the west coast to catch up with hunter-jumper trainer Jim Hagman of Elvenstar Farm, we feature beautiful art by equestrian artist Tammy Tappan, and we get to know Miranda Jones and her family. Miranda is not only an attorney who spends a lot of time in the courthouse, but she's a rider and spends lots of time riding, and is joined by her daughters also! We are excited to feature Stephanie Lightner in our Unbridled column, and don't miss our columnists George Williams, Robert R.L. Jacobs and Margie Sugarman! It's a great issue - and you can read it online, but don't forget to go to the website and order a subscription and get every issue delivered to your mailbox!! Enjoy this issue and enjoy the ride: Link in bio!!
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