You are viewing the newest Pony done by Khw called DIAMOND LIL. "Diamond Lil" was a colorful gal from the Late 1800's who braved the Klondike in the Gold-Rush days (see excerpt below). Diamond Lil is an original, signed by the artist on both the small card (Trail of Painted Ponies) & on the underside of Lil's Base. She is the only edition (1 of 1) But... she is also the First of 12 Ponies in this Series of : Famous Ladies. She is also Khw's third Pony offering, overall, and will likely go up in value because her work is bound to improve. This pony is not airbrushed, but is completely hand-done by various paintbrushes. Lil is kelly's first attempt at Opalescence. She first painted the pony white, then covered it with a coat of pale pink. Then followed it with 6 coats of pearl white to slowly turn the pony from pink to a pearlized opal while still maintaining an essence of pale pink underneath. Decorations: Lil has 3 diamond-shaped opalescent swarovski crystals at the base of the tail followed by a top line of small antique rhinestones down to the end of her tail. Around one rear leg is a diamond-shaped antique rhinestone surrounded by more rhinestones in a diamond shape. There is a diamond shaped opalescent crystal on her forehead and each one of her front hooves. Her simple headstall has a nosepiece with a single pink swarovski crystal surrounded by opalescent cylinder beads. Her breast collar has 2 large & 6 small opalescent Swarovski crystals spaced by cylinder beads. There is a large clear pink stone pendant at the center. Of course she would have a white boa!! On her floral op-art stand splashed in pinks, whites, silvers, pearls & fuscias is five 2.5ktw cubic zirconia set in bases. Add a long-stemmed pink rose (floral wrapped in ribbon) with a green glass petal and you complete her. (The rose was to compliment & hold in her diamond teeth!) Lil has been finished & sealed with 2 coats of brushed-on gloss polyurethane to make her appear like glass. She will scratch very easily, so handle her as carefully as possible. The headstall, breast plate, boa, & rose can be removed at will. A letter of information/ explanation (on this Pony & future Ponies) will accompany each pony purchased. Kelly appreciates each & everyone of you that has looked at her pony and hopes all of you have a special equine pal in your life!
DIAMOND Lil (1870-1927) was born Luella Day in 1870. She completed her medical degree and was a practicing Physician in Chicago..no small feat for a woman in the late 19th Century. In those days they didn't even want to teach FEMALEs to be nurses, much less Doctors. In 1898 she succombed to "Gold Rush Fever" and gained an internationl reputation as one of the only women "Stampeders"..... traveling by Horse Team to Dawson (a trading post at the place where Klondike & Yukon Rivers joined) with her companion St Bernard " Prince Napoleon". Dawson became the capital of the Yukon Territory, a tough place for even men to be. 3 months after her arrival in the Klondike, she married Ed McConnell and continued to practice medicine and together with her husband, they also operated the Melbourne Hotel. Around 1900, after continued brushes with government officials over their corrupt laws & ordinances and two attemps on her life by Arsenic Poisoning, the city of Dawson had lost it's appeal even though the Klondike was still in it's heyday. (she recounts her experiences in her publication: " The Tragedy of The Klondike") She moved to California for a spell and then....there is an astounding record of her traveling all the way to Harare, Zimbabwe, Africa somewhere around 1903 where she had a large, opulant diamond imbedded in her front tooth. About 1904 she arrived in St. Augustine with "cash and a diamond in her front tooth." hehehe. She bought land adjacent to the Matanzas Inlet and created the "Fountain of Youth" tourist attraction. The spectacular alley of live oaks along Magnolia Street continues to provide a grand entrance to the attraction which remains popular to this day. After coming to St Augustine...She spent most of the next thirty years, fabricating delicious stories & tales to amuse and appall the residents of St. Augustine. After her passing in 1927, much of her reputation was fictionalized & embellished by Mae West's character in Mae's 1928 play "Diamond Lil". In reality, Lil was somewhat outrageous & flamboyant, but truly she had the large heart & pioneering spirit of the independent American Woman: outspoken, tough enough to drive a team..but she was educated, hardworking and intelligent. And the cool part: Through it all, the Lady never lost her taste for finery or her LOVE of Diamonds!! This pony is a tribute to her...and to the ultimate beauty of the pioneering spirit of American Women.
Today there are many things named after Lil. Among the most notorious: A large commemortive Air Force B-24 Plane, A well-known Wrestler, A Red-headed Female Marvel Comics Cartoon Character, a 3.5 Star Hotel in Montana, A Rock Band, a AQHA Champion Cutting Horse, a card Casino in Seattle, Numerous Bar/Grills in South Dakota, Utah, Idaho, and other states.
