Phew–time really flies! I’ve been especially busy since the weather has turned a bit springy here in Kentucky.
Several weeks ago, I went with a friend to a horse farm down the road, and we painted for a few hours before the weather got too bad. I also took some photos, which I’ve been using to create a few more small works.
Here’s a collection of acrylic sketches done on handmade paper. Although I can’t take credit for making the paper myself, I sure do like how some of these turned out. I had forgotten how difficult it is to draw/paint animals from life! The caretaker at the farm was nice enough to feed the horses near the fence where we could sit and observe, but man were they feisty! (At one point we received a little mud-shower as they quite literally kicked up their heels.) I started out with these sketches as practice, to get in the groove of drawing their figures.
The work at left is oil pastel on paper, which I did from a photo taken that day. I really dig the bright green, and this little foal was just as cute as can be! I will probably frame this up and take it over to the Damselfly this weekend (where I also will be teaching a few painting/sewing classes in the months to come)…
This next one is chalk pastels on canvas. It was done “on site” so I didn’t use any photos for it. I’m not sure that I feel satisfied with it yet, but I also don’t want to spoil the loose, free feeling of it by adding too much more detail. I like the contrast of the black and white, with just the little bit of odd orange and green color. Maybe I’ll stick a frame on it and let it sit for awhile–Whaddya think?
I’ll eventually do a much more detailed oil painting of one of the foals. I managed to get a few interesting photos during the 15 minutes of actual sunlight that we had when we arrived, so those will definitely be useful. Three cheers for modern technology!