SIGN IN YOUR ACCOUNT TO HAVE ACCESS TO DIFFERENT FEATURES

FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD?

FORGOT YOUR DETAILS?

AAH, WAIT, I REMEMBER NOW!

Sidelines MagazineSidelines Magazine

  • LOGIN
  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Subscriptions
    • Flipbook
    • Subscribe Options
    • Order Individual & Back Issues
  • Podcast
  • Marketplace
    • Business Ads
    • Directories
      • Barns, Farms, Trainers & Clubs
      • Equestrian Services
      • Real Estate
      • Stallions
      • Tack & Feed Stores
    • Classifieds
    • Horse Trailers for Sale
  • Advertise
  • Blogs
    • Show World
    • What’s Happenin’
  • Partners
  • Contacts
    • Contacts
    • Employment
1
Thursday, September 13 2012 / Published in Weekly Feature

Art That Makes You Smile – Louise Mellon

By Jan Westmark-Allan

Artist Louise Mellon shows off her painting that is the cover for this issue of Sidelines Magazine. Check out her amazing paintings in the background.

The first thing I notice when I walked into Louise Mellon’s sunny art studio in Aiken, South Carolina, is that it makes me smile. The walls are covered with Louise’s vivid artwork – from traditional pieces that take your breath away to the quirky ones like her “Olympic Show Bull Jumping” painting that causes you to not only smile, but chuckle out loud.

Louise is a well known equestrian artist and a long time friend of Sidelines Magazine. I was fortunate to be able to visit her farm while in Aiken and was delighted to meet the person behind the art. I was also enchanted by her studio, where all the magic happens. Louise’s studio is a welcome spot for people and animals alike and her Corgi, Ruffles, roams freely while a parade of Shetland Ponies, chickens and pigs (the big ones, not the pot-bellied version) walk past the giant windows. It isn’t unusual to find her pony, Little Richard, in the studio posing as a “live” subject, either. In the barn across the courtyard, Louise’s two handsome grey Connemara ponies, Linus and Lance, also provide inspiration for her artwork.

Linus and Lance, Louise’s Connemara Ponies, are often the inspiration for her art.

For an artistic person like Louise, the studio is all about creating art that can make someone smile. “It’s such a dire time for so many people and if I can bring a smile to people than it makes it worth it. I paint to cheer people up and I love it when they ‘get’ my art,” Louise said. What Louise wants people to get is the humor in her paintings. “My favorite thing to paint is humor and animals. People always ask me where my ideas come from and the answer is that I’ve always seen the twist in everything. Plus I have real life inspiration such as the time a hen was attacking one of my Connemaras.”

Louise points to a painting on the wall called “Barnyard Mayhem” that shows a naughty pony chasing a rooster. The painting makes me smile. “In real life, the hen went for him, flew up on his back and gave him what for as he galloped across the paddock,” Louise says with a laugh. “Cheering people up is so important. Life is too precious not to smile.”

“Barnyard Mayhem” is a painting inspired by a real life experience on Louise’s farm. Digital print courtesy of Louise Mellon.

If there is anyone who knows how precious life can be, it is Louise. As a passenger in a carriage ride in Maine in 2000, she was thrown head first into a stone wall at high speed. She suffered multiple broken bones, underwent four surgeries and incurred brain trauma, which brought on early onset Essential Tremor. While Louise has recovered from the accident, the Essential Tremor left her with hands that shake – a recipe for disaster for an artist that makes her living creating with her hands. “I can’t not paint or create, it’s genetic and pre-programmed into me,” Louise explained, adding that before the accident she created jewelry and highly detailed paintings. “Now, because I can’t control my hands, I have switched to pastels or oil pastels, which is kind of like using crayons.”

Louise demonstrates how she has to brace her arm to paint now. While her style has changed, her creative spirit and love of art – passed down from her family – remains. Louise grew up in Middleburg, Virginia in a family of artists. “All the women in my family are professional artists. My mother is 95 and still in business. We have great work ethics and creativity is what keeps us going,” she said.

While visiting a friend in Aiken in 1999, Louise did the unexpected and on her third day in town she bought a house. Now named Unbridled Farm, she is quick to point out that the house was a horrible mess. “It took three years to bring it back. I added the barn and the studio. I love coming into this studio to work.”

Louise isn’t the only one who gets to use the studio. In keeping with her generous nature, Louise loans out her studio to other artists and organizations. “Everything in the studio is on rollers and I can move it all out of the way or upstairs. Charitable organizations can come in and use my studio for events and one month out of the year I am the den mother for four different artists from the American Academy of Equine Art in Kentucky. Each artist uses my studio for one week.”

Louise’s Corgi, Ruffles, holds down the fort in the studio. The painting above Ruffles, on the left, is one of Louise’s fun paintings and features a Corgi jumping into a pool, ridden by a small cowboy. Perhaps Ruffles was the inspiration

Louise generously agreed to create a painting for the cover of this Sidelines art issue and during my visit she showed me the painting and talked about it. It’s an Olympic themed painting that pays tribute to all of the horses from the United States who participated in the Games and I smile when I notice that the horse’s hooves are painted red, white and blue. “I do my art for myself but I also do it to make people smile.” Louise has certainly achieved her goal – and along the way created beautiful work that will cause smiles for generations to come.

To see more of Louise Mellon’s artwork, visit her website at www.louisemellon.com.

Louise in her bright and airy studio filled with tables of oil pastels. Notice the great paintings hanging on the walls.

Double D Trailers Info

Tagged under: aiken, American Academy of Equine Art, art studios, artist, Connemara Ponies, Kentucky, Louise Mellon, Middleburg, olympic games, south carolina, virginia

What you can read next

The World’s Smartest Horse
Nona Garson
Diane Roth Combines Horse Sense With Fashion Sense

Download Sidelines Digital now from your favorite app store!

Sidelines Magazine - Apple store   Sidelines Magazine - Google Play store   Sidelines Magazine - Amazon store
Update iOS app. Re-download Google Play and Amazon app.

Follow on Instagram!

sidelines_magazine

Sidelines Magazine
❗️George Williams column❗️ The FEI World ❗️George Williams column❗️
The FEI World Cup Final in Omaha is coming up quickly. That means that it’s starting to heat 
up as the end of the qualifying period for both the Western European League (WEL) and the 
North American League (NAL) nears. I started to write this column before the Amsterdam CDI- W, and I was using the FEI Ranking List from January 15 as a reference. As I sit down to finish 
my column, I’m now looking at the results from Amsterdam. While the list of the top contenders 
for the WEL hasn’t changed, they’re definitely moving around on the ranking list. The WEL has 
three more legs, as they’re referred to: Neumünster February 16–19, Goteborg February 23–26, 
and ’s-Hertogenbosch March 9–12, and they could change things dramatically.
Looking at the top 12 athletes from the WEL as they were ranked on January 15, there are five 
from Germany, three from the Netherlands and one each from Great Britain, Denmark

➡️Read Georges's full column by clicking the link in our bio, and never miss an article by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine 🦄 

#horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #equestrian #horseriding #equine #pony #pferd #equestrianlife #horselove #dressage #horselover #instahorse #love #cheval #showjumping #horselife #photography #nature #pferde #horseofinstagram #caballo #riding #horsebackriding #pferdeliebe #caballos #horsepower #horsephotography #instagram #Sidelinesmagazine
Lisa Goldman-Smolen and Ivaro N strike gold in Gre Lisa Goldman-Smolen and Ivaro N strike gold in Great American $300,000 Grand Prix at HITS Ocala!! 🏆🥇

Crowds filled the stands at the HITS Ocala Grand Prix Ring on Sunday afternoon to watch the world’s top athletes compete in the Great American $300,000 Grand Prix. The day concluded with a thrilling five-horse jump-off featuring athletes 
representing four countries. In the end, it was Lisa Goldman-Smolen (USA) and Ivaro N who produced the only double clear effort of the day, claiming one of the biggest wins of her career. Scott Keach (AUS) and Noble De La Chapelle earned the second-place prize with the fastest 4-fault jump-off, while Aaron Vale (USA) and Obi Wan placed third as the day’s pathfinders.

“I'm still on cloud nine, I still can't believe it – I’ve used up all my luck for the year,” smiled Goldman-Smolen after her win. “I've been knocking on the door a long time in these bigger classes. I am so proud of my horse – he gave every ounce of effort.”

Sunday’s Great American $300,000 Grand Prix marked the conclusion of the 2023 HITS Ocala circuit. HITS CCO Joe Norick concluded, “We are so excited about the new HITS, with 2023 as the launch. New footing, many new arenas here, and a lot of our facilities across America are getting a lot of love and new footing. Our partnerships with Worldly Martin and others across America including our footing leader Bart Poles overseeing our operations – it really makes a big difference for us. Today is about Ocala and these three riders sitting next to me who supported us this entire winter. We want to be a proud destination for our exhibitors and our friends. We know we have to provide them a beautiful showplace to work from that's horseman friendly, and that's our go goal. 

Congratulations to all of the riders, horses, owners, and groom who participated in this prestigious class!!! 🎉
📸 @esi_photography 
#horseshow #horses #horse #horsesofinstagram #equestrian #horseriding #horselove #horsestagram #instagram #showjumping #equestrianlife #equine  #horsebackriding #dressage #horselife #pony #of #horserider #horseshoe #horsemanship #horseshowlife #riding #instahorse #horseaddict #horseofinstagram #sidelinesmagazine
It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is. It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is...

 ✨PF'S DIAMO BLUE✨
Diarado-Diamant de Semilly- Chacco Blue
17.0hh, Oldenburg International Hunter Derby/ Jumper Stallion
An outstanding Pedigree- Chacco Blue and Diamant de Semilly
WBFSH/ Rolex top ranking Jumping Sires 2017 thru 2022
Standing at Ryan Pedigo Sport Horses, in California

For more information, you can contact 
🖥Ryanpedigosporthorses.com
🖥Ryan.p.f@hotmail.com
☎️(714) 357-2714

You can find ALL of the stallions featured towards the back of the magazine in the equestrian gallery. Keep a look out EVERY Sunday for a new handsome STUD muffin🧁 and don't forget to subscribe to get your very own edition of Sidelines Magazine, the magazine for horse people, about horse people 🦄

@ryanpedigosporthorsespf_

#stallion #horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #equestrian #equine #dressage #pferd #equestrianlife #mare #hengst #horseriding #instahorse #cheval #pferde #equinephotography #horselove #dressagehorse #pony #horselover #caballo #foal #quarterhorse #aqha #arabianhorse #sidelinesmagazine
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

#horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #equestrian #horseriding #equine #pony #pferd #equestrianlife #horselove #dressage #horselover #instahorse #love #cheval #showjumping #horselife #photography #nature #pferde #horseofinstagram #caballo #riding #horsebackriding #pferdeliebe #caballos #horsepower #horsephotography #instagram #Sidelinesmagazine
Load More... Follow on Instagram

From Our Classifieds Ads

  • Tenney's Custom Saddlery
    OUTFITTING BOTH HORSE AND RIDER FOR OVER 27 YEARS! Tenney's Custom Saddlery has an extensive line of Hunter/Jumper Equipment, Horse Care, and Premium Riding. Apparel. We are your "Go To Place" for expert Saddle and Tack Repair, Custom Chaps and Half Chaps. Our exceptional Team hopes to work towards your Success in the Equestrian Lifestyle!

    [Read more]

  • Fab Finds by Sarah
    With one of the most extensive collections of Golden Goose in the world Find us at Most A rated horse shows or Order Online www.fabfindsbysarah.com Equestrian Vendors

    [Read more]

Sidelines Articles by Email

Subscribe to Sidelines Magazine Articles by Email

RSS Sidelines Blogs: What’s Happenin’

  • Get More for Your Money with an Adjustable-Rate Mortgage
  • Longines Global Champions Tour of New York Returns to Governors Island
  • A Paris Horse Adventure: Saut Hermes 2022

RSS Sidelines Blogs: Show World

  • 2023 Upperville Colt & Horse Show Presented by MARS EQUESTRIAN™ Returns for 170th Year on June 5-11
  • Will Coleman Retains Yanmar America CCI4*-S Lead in Dramatic Show Jumping at Setters’ Run Farm Carolina International
  • First edition of the World Sport Horse Sales was a hit with $410.000 for the most expensive horse

Category

Recent Posts

  • April 2023 – Table of Contents

    Subscribe for just $9.95 or Order Individual Is...
  • Building a Bond With a New Horse

    By Margie Sugarman I just bought a new horse. I...
  • Developing Healthy Relationships With Your Barnmates

    By Rob Jacobs The purpose of this month’s colum...
  • The Value of Self-Coaching

    By Liz Halliday-Sharp The sport of eventing is ...
  • Unbridled With Annette Longenecker

    By Britney Grover  Annette Longenecker wasn’t j...

Copyright © 1987 - 2021 Sidelines Magazine
Privacy Policy · Returns & Refunds Policy · Hosting by Lucian Web Service
· Login

TOP
Get the Sidelines Scoop — your weekly look behind the scenes.Sign me up!