THE DAY I BECAME AN "EQUINE ARTIST"

Until recently, I never really considered myself an “equine artist”. To me, horses have always been such majestic and enchanting creatures. The idea of trying to capture that essence in paint seemed outright intimidating. Who was I to think that I could improve upon something that was already so perfect and flawless in real life? How could I take something that was so beautiful and try to make it more aesthetically pleasing in a painted form? To me, that seemed impossible. It was a debilitating awe that I suffered and it metaphorically crippled my artistic hand.

For that reason, for many years I kept my sketches of horses hidden away in my own personal collection. I was a closet ‘painter of horses’. I shared glimpses with friends but I never exhibited them for the public to see. I viewed them simply as studies, as working drawings and exercises in equine anatomy. I never dared to claim them as ‘artworks’. How could I? Horses in real life were artworks in themselves!

But then one day my opinion changed….

I was contacted by a lady who had seen my ‘studies’ of horses through a friend of a friend. She was a horse-trainer and said that although she had searched and searched for equine art to buy, mine were the first works that truly captured the spirit of the horse.

Really?!

I was shocked….doubtful…surprised. Had I really been able to capture the ‘spirit’ of a horse?

I looked back through my works - countless sketches and paintings of horses that had rarely surfaced from the drawers they were in. They were good. Soon, I came to realize that being a good equine artist did not rest solely on being able to paint a good likeness of a horse. Photographs could achieve that. Being an equine artist was being able to capture the essence of the horse, the power of the muscles, the nobility of their personalities and the gentleness of their demeanor. This could not be taught in schools or acquired by studying equine anatomy. It could only come from knowing horses, from developing a close bond with them and from conversing with them in their own language.

I realised that, while I may not be the best painter or the best artist out there - I do have that advantage. I do know horses intimately. And from that moment on, I did feel like I had a gift to share. In fact I WANTED to share my equine works. I wanted to share what I knew about these incredible animals. I had an incredible relationship with horses, I understood their behaviors, their fears of being prey animals, their needs for leadership and their desires for comfort. I wanted to tell the world that these are incredibly complex animals, with complex brains and emotions. There is no need for metal bits in their mouths to control them or whips or spurs to force them to do what we want. They are not just a beast of burden, of transport, of sport, or work. They can be companions and loyal, willing and lifelong friends.

And for that reason, from then on I considered myself an “equine artist.”