Estes Park Police Department Safety Fair 2023

 

It's back - after several Covid years - the Safety Fair is BACK for 2023!

This fun event is FREE to the public and a great way to show adults and children the various forms of safety offered in the Estes Valley, Larimer County and the the State of Colorado.

The Estes Park Police Department Sworn Officers and Auxiliary host the event with help from LETA 911, Restortive Justice, Larimer County Humane Society, Estes Park Health EMTs/Paramedics, Larimer County Search and Rescue, Laramier Sheriff Wildland Fire, Laramier County Sheriff Dept, Glen Haven Fire, Big Elk Meadows Fire, Estes Valley Fire Protection District, Rocky Mountain National Park, American Red Cross, Upper Thompson Sanitation District, Piblic Works, Estes Valley Crisis Advocates, Gun Safety, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, UCHealth LifeLine Helicopters, Salud Health, Laramier County Mounted Patrol, Loveland K-9, Laramier County K-9 and so much more. 

There were tons of SWAG - stickers, bike helmets, water bottles, free popcorn, candy, hamburgers and hot dogs, and even the Clown Twilite making balloon animals! 

It runs from 10 am to 2 pm and there are drawings for fun things like bicycles, theatre tickets, etc. 

This annual event was put on hold in 2020, 2021 and 2022 due to Covid. The 2023 was well attended and the weather held so that the Helicopter, dog demonstrations, and a kids bouncy house could be used the whole time - Thank you Mother Nature for that! 

Please enjoy some of the shots I was able to get at the event of all the fun stuff! 

Using a Palette of Colors

I received this group of Earth Pigments as a gift a couple years ago and I finally decided that I would use them all up. I took two Micro Minis and two Curio foal scale models. 

I painted them all in a gesso white base, then added another layer that was a mix of Testors Craft White, Ceramcoat Oyster white, Ceramcoat fleshtone, and Ceramcoat pearl mixed with acrylic blending gel. (I learned this from Stephanie Blaylock's Instragram.)

My first one was a Safari Micro Mini Warmblood - i did this fellow with the Pearl Essence, the light pink, and the light ochre. My vision was the real horse in the photo below. 

 

The  Breyer Mini Whinnies American Saddlebred was much more difficult. I was going to do her as a lovely palomino/flaxen chestnut but she insisted on being darker. I originally wanted her like the horse below.

This is how she ended up looking after layers of pigment, acrylic washes trying to adjust the color and more pigment. And a new reference.

Next I moved on to two foals and I added a Stablemate standing warmblood and a 3-D printed cat who was also my Challenge piece for the month of January. The foals were done in an acrylic base mix of flesh, white, oyster white and a tiny amount of pink. 

The Stablemate was done in gray primer with an acrylic base of oyster white airbrushed on and then I started the earth pigments.

The cat was done with a primer base of two coats of Gesso and then an acrylic base of tawny medium. 

Then a second layer of burnt sienna earth pigments.

Then I added Red Ocher mixed with Yellow Ocher.

I put white acrylic markings on and then I did a new trick for me that I saw on Instagram. I mixed my earth pigments with water and I made the tabby markings, highlights, toe beans and nose. I used acrylics for the eyes and I finished this lovely fellow with Rust-o-leum Satin Clear.  

I put a layer of of Yellow Ocher on to the two foals. 

I spent several hours working on the first foal. Layers of light ocher, light sienna, and natural umber. I used wet and dry earth pigments. Acrylic on the eyes and the white markings. 

The other foal took me a bit longer, because I was trying a color and pattern. And I was suffering for extreme emotions and things - I didn't get any shots of it until around February 22, 2023.

It's been a little rougher with this foal. I lost my first reference and one that I found that I like okay, just isn't what I am wanting with the foal. But I have been watching an artist that uses acrylic washes inbetween layers and I am trying that to fix mistakes I make along the way. 

There was a stop in my process for NaMoPaiMo in February and in March because I just didn't seem to be able to work on models. I picked up again slightly in April, by completing the following models using the colors in this palette with acrylic additions.

I switched over to using my pan pastels on some other models and might start a part two on this at a later date. It is fun to see how many different colors you can get from one set palette.