Horses in art has always been somewhat shunned by traditional art critics and enthusiasts.
Well, really, who cares?
I have even been told that to paint horses and mainly horses is death to an artist.
Well, I don't believe it! It has been my experience that people who own, train and admire horses are also people that can easily fall in love with art. Especially if there is a horse in it.
I ahve been drawing horses since I can remember, but I can truly thank Arabian Horses for my growth from just sketching horses for fun to being inspired to truly capture the Equine Form.
The huge thick glossy issues of Arabian Horse World magazine became my teachers in the fine equestrian form. Nothing is as beautiful to me as a slender, sleek glossy Arabian Stallion that embodies spirit and strength.
I do find however that Arabian horses have dominated my imagination when it comes to horses. So much so, that it is often difficult to paint a horse without large eyes, a dished face and slender throat latch. It can be done by seeing the beauty of the horse that doesn't have that 'extreme' quality. Also, some horses are put together differently. The conformation that is considered weak in one breed, is often highly praised in another.
For example in American Quarter Horses a deep, sloping croup with low tail carriage is highly praised and highly sought after. In Arabian horses, people prefer to see a croup that is more level and the tail carriage nice and high, some even go as far as saying the tail should be like a flag. Other breeds have other standards and so on and so forth.
So it could even be said that breeding horses is like creating fine art. Always striving to portray the best possible horse.
In my art, I feel the same.
Well, really, who cares?
I have even been told that to paint horses and mainly horses is death to an artist.
Well, I don't believe it! It has been my experience that people who own, train and admire horses are also people that can easily fall in love with art. Especially if there is a horse in it.
I ahve been drawing horses since I can remember, but I can truly thank Arabian Horses for my growth from just sketching horses for fun to being inspired to truly capture the Equine Form.
The huge thick glossy issues of Arabian Horse World magazine became my teachers in the fine equestrian form. Nothing is as beautiful to me as a slender, sleek glossy Arabian Stallion that embodies spirit and strength.
I do find however that Arabian horses have dominated my imagination when it comes to horses. So much so, that it is often difficult to paint a horse without large eyes, a dished face and slender throat latch. It can be done by seeing the beauty of the horse that doesn't have that 'extreme' quality. Also, some horses are put together differently. The conformation that is considered weak in one breed, is often highly praised in another.
For example in American Quarter Horses a deep, sloping croup with low tail carriage is highly praised and highly sought after. In Arabian horses, people prefer to see a croup that is more level and the tail carriage nice and high, some even go as far as saying the tail should be like a flag. Other breeds have other standards and so on and so forth.
So it could even be said that breeding horses is like creating fine art. Always striving to portray the best possible horse.
In my art, I feel the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment