THE THINGS I SEE
While many artists concentrate on a single medium, these days I work in oil paint, ink, digital brushes, and sometimes a combination of all of them. In the past I've working in colored pencil and watercolor, graphite and both soft and oil pastels. And although the horse has been a constant subject and theme of my entire life's work, I enjoy painting landscapes and still life too. Besides my commissioned portraits, here are some of the subjects that fascinate me:
HORSES IN THEIR WORLD
Many of those larger works can be found in the gallery Horse Paintings. These are of scenes that I've observed at shows and around the barn. While they are sometimes of a specific horse, more often they are painted as vignettes of equine work and play. These are of everything from a gallop across a field to “landscapes with horses” to the award ceremonies after a competition.
LANDSCAPES
I often paint on location near my home in San Diego, taking advantage of Southern California's fabulous weather and light, which lends itself to painting outdoors. The beautiful local scenery is often my subject, but I regularly set up my easel, sketch pad or iPad at horse shows, too, in order to capture horses in paint – it's a a lot different than photographing them! Mountains and trees usually hold still for a morning's painting session, but painting a horse in motion is a exercise in concentration and learning to take mental snapshots. During these plein air sessions, I get a greater understanding of light, atmosphere and gesture. While these impressionist field studies are for sale, their main purpose is to bring visual information back to the studio as reference for my larger works.
"LOOSE HORSES"
These images evolve from ink or digital sketches done from life, or spring directly from my imagination. Some become physical paintings in acrylic and oil paint: others are completely digital works of art. Whatever medium they are finished in, Loose Horses are all about gesture and the fleeting moment. They are either charged with vibrant color, or elegantly monochromatic. Due to their nature, there are a limited number of original pieces, but the images are available as prints on metal, canvas or paper. Many of the designs can also be found on a range of licensed products such as mugs, greeting cards, home decor, wrapping paper and more.
HORSE HAIKU
A Haiku is a poem in three lines with 17 syllables, arranged in a 5-7-5 pattern. This collection is a combination of ink drawing and Haiku poetry. Usually the sketch happens first, and the verse is inspired by the image. A book is forthcoming - meanwhile these charming little pieces are available as cards and prints.
STILL LIFE
I love ribbons. I love the curly edges of rosettes, and their shimmery bright colors. My “Ribbons and Rosettes” series looks at the nature of rewards. While they are physical renditions of horse show award ribbons and trophies, there is a deeper side to them as well: is the competition about the result, the silk ribbon, or is there more? Healing and spiritual symbols appear in some paintings; in others, I rely on the human response to the actual colors of the silk. My “Stripes and Patterns” series is often filled with humorous juxtapositions of fabric, fruit and other objects. I love reflections, too, and you will see the reflective surfaces of silver trophies, as well as bits and stirrups incorporated into my still life paintings.