Companion SOLD

'Companion' SOLD

5 x 7 inches watercolor on paper

I saw this horse at our local county fair a few years ago. It was outside in a riding arena filled with soft dirt and the sun was bouncing off the dirt and onto this horse's already red coat and it was so beautiful. Glowing! I tried to capture that look here. I loved the glow of light so much, but the horse's bridle isn't fitted quite properly so I put off painting it, but then, following my gut who has never led me astray before, I decided to just go for it anyway. 

Because the look in the horse's eye, so gentle and intelligent, and his glowing red coat was too much to pass by! And maybe the not quite perfect fit of his bridle makes him a little more endearing. I think so anyway. :) I like to imagine that his owner is a little girl who tried her best to make her horse look beautiful, even if he's not quite perfect, to her he is. 

"All horses deserve, at least once in their lives, to be loved by a little girl." - Anon

This is painting 7/30 for the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

Salvation - SOLD

'Salvation'

6" x 9" watercolor

SOLD

Once upon a time there was a girl who loved horses. She loved them so much that every waking moment was spent reading about them, drawing them, and tracking them down wherever she could find them, just so she could be near them and twine her fingers through the tangles in their mane and hold her palm under their velvet soft lips to feel the blast of heat from their sweet scented breath.

Then one day the girl received a horse of her own and they grew up together. She taught him to follow at her side without a bridle or lead, and to stay in one spot, like the most obedient dog on the planet, until she called  for him.

He learned the sound of her footsteps and the call of her voice and waited at the gate for her every day after school. He pressed his face close to the fence, leaving behind a trail of long white and red hairs from his forelock, waiting for her to come home.

She learned empathy, understanding, compassion, love, and finally how to deal with the grief of losing your best friend when he died.

They were each other's world, and salvation. He was my best friend, and I still miss him.

Where in this wide world can man find nobility without pride,
Friendship without envy,
Or beauty without vanity?
Here, where grace is served with muscle
And strength by gentleness confined
He serves without servility; he has fought without enmity.
There is nothing so powerful, nothing less violent.
There is nothing so quick, nothing more patient.
-Ronald Duncan, "The Horse," 1954

In honor of Skye, my niece's horse in the painting above, who was rescued from slaughter by my sister and her family, ten percent from the sale of this painting will be donated to an equine rescue group. 

Painting this piece stirred up a lot of emotions for me as I reflected back on the relationship I had with my horse growing up. The story is about me, the painting is of my niece and Skye, but it feels like it could have been me as well. :)

Synchronize

Synchronize 8" x 8" acrylic on canvas panel

I love that moment when you're riding a horse and there's this perfect communication between both of you. Like you understand each other perfectly.

The other day I had an A-ha! moment when I was painting this acrylic. I don't really know how it happened, but I was painting this and then something sort of clicked in my brain and I felt like I finally understood how I want to paint with these acrylics! Eureka!!

Don't you just love it when that happens?  :)

And last night my wonderful, amazing, super-hot husband got me a bunch of masonite boards and I can't wait to get started on them! It's good to be an artist, right? Even though sometimes it's hard, and frustrating, and maybe even down right depressing when we're blocked, or our work doesn't live up to our own expectations, it's still awesome to be an artist. It makes us happy. And it makes other people happy. And one can never be too happy.  :)

Also, I'm putting the finishing touches on a watercolor painting that I'm pretty excited about. It should be ready to post next week.

Until then everybody!