I'm embarrassed to say that I was NOT happy that I got Hartlands.  I wanted those nice, big Marx horses and eventually I did get them.  Yes, the Hartlands got played with, too, but at my tender age, they got broken early while the sturdy Marx kept their legs and ears.

 

I discovered this hobby in 1974 and have been in it in some way ever since.  We weren't very well off but that still didn't keep me from lusting after the customized horses, especially those by Kathy Maestas.  What's a poor girl to do?  Well, she takes her newly acquired set of acrylic paints (Christmas gift) and tries her hand at creating her own beauties.

 

Yah, right.  My first efforts were abysmal but that didn't stop me.  I was having too much fun!  And I've been painting one way or another since 1978.

 

My love of the airbrush came about because of my hate for oil paints.  Acrylics were hard to get good shadings with and the nicest paint jobs I saw were done in oils.  I "appropriated" my older sister's oil paints and gave them a whirl and it was obvious from the get-go that it was not meant to be.  But how can I get that nice, soft shading I wanted?

 

I saw some pieces done by Cheri Elder in the early 80's and the secret was revealed - the airbrush!  With her advice and LOTS of help from my father (who had painted many cars in his life), I soon had an airbrush and a compressor and found my true love - the airbrush.

 

We've had a number of spats over the years (with me winning most of the time and the occasional airbrush sitting idle for awhile until I stopped being mad enough to take on its troubles again), but for the most part, it has been a wonderful partnership.

 

For years I used a Badger 150 XF, but my being a lifelong cat lover got the best of me....curiosity arose and I wondered if there wasn't something better.  There was.  I did my research and found that most pro airbrush artists used Iwata airbrushes so I tried one.  It was love at first spray!

 

That was many, many years ago and it doesn't surprise me in the least that the airbrush of choice these days for model horse airbrush artists is the Iwata.

 

My artistic forte' is painting the smaller models.  Not only do I find them fun and challenging (and there aren't many artists out there that are doing them well), I also like how affordable they can be for the average model horse hobbyist.

 

Anyhow, I'm getting off track....I live in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, in a tiny old house in the city.  For about 17 years I used to be Laurel A. Steinert, but divorce happened and I took back my maiden name of Haig (SOOO much easier to write than Steinert when signing those tiny models I paint).

 

I share my home with 4 crazy cats and LOTS of dust kitties.  My studio name came about because I have the best horse in the world, a chestnut Thoroughbred named Sedona.  I call him Doctor Sedona for all the wonderful things he does for me...he is my psychologist/emotional therapist, he's my physical therapist and he's my best buddy, too.  He raced and then played polo so he's an achy old man at 12, but I love him anyway.  He never fails to take me on safe, enjoyable rides.  I swear he is one of the most non-Thoroughbred Thoroughbreds I have ever met.  Talk about calm and mellow.....he usually snoozes during farrier and vet visits.  It's all I can do to keep him from resting his head on the farrier while his front shoes are being done!

 

This hobby has been my salvation more than once and in more ways than one.  It is a wonderful hobby, filled with some of the best people I have ever known and will ever know.  When I go to the great studio in the sky, I want to be buried in a pyramid with all my airbrushes and paints and model horses.  LOL