Evolution of Horse Painting: Merlyn

I am working on a painting of Merlyn, who anyone who follows me will know is a horse I have been lucky enough to be getting to know over the last few months.  Here he is, in acrylic on a big-ish canvass

Working back the way, starting at this evening, this is how he looks.... 

Merlyn, In Progress, copyright a.m.cairns
http://www.equineartportraits.com/


Here he is this morning, when I realised I had overloaded the black and just about vanished his features...


Merlyn, In Progress on the Mantlepiece, copyright a.m.cairns
http://www.equineartportraits.com/

And here he is on Wednesday Morning, when he was feeling a little blue....

Merlyn, In Progress on the Mantelpiece, copyright a.m.cairns
http://www.equineartportraits.com/

You saw him in the wet back on Tuesday, which I'll have vanished! I tend to stick up posts of work in progress and then balk at them a few days later when the it is starting to come together, but I really must stop photographing wet work in bad late night light.

He is jumping tomorrow a local competition, so I am going to try to get along and cheer him on....he is normally a Cross Country eventer so it will be interesting to see how he gets on in a tighter space!

Society of Equestrian Artists' Annual Exhibition Submission

Two horse paintings submitted today, form in post, payment made, images sent, wishing them luck!


I'll Fly Away, Acrylic on Canvas, 24"x24"
based on a photo by JustChaos under Creative Commons 2.0
Copyright A Cairns all rights reserved
http://www.equineartportraits.com/

 

Into The Dust, Acrylic on Canvas, 24"x24"
based on a photo by RedHotRuby, with permission
Copyright A Cairns all rights reserved
http://www.equineartportraits.com/

Paintings are still with me for the Dunlop Gala day, my lucky two horses I hope!

Art in progress...picky feet.



In progress painting, copyright A.M.Cairns



What is it about horses feet that are so challenging. They can be nearly as much a pest to pick as they can are to paint, but you can't gloss over the care they need.  

These are in need of some attention, but it's late now, so tomorrow belongs to them.....

.....and maybe Merlin, if the weather forecast for gales and torrential rain, proves to be wrong!

On the Easel....New Horse Painting

I don' know why I say on the easel, it is on the coffee table, being painted at eleven at night, in appalling artificial light and the backdrop of Lady Gaga in concert on BBC Three. It was all I could do to just listen, as had I looked up too often I might have started to dance and then the painting time would be hi-jacked.

Untitled - In progress painting
copyright A Cairns, http://www.equineartportraits.com/

Painting is thanks to a beautiful photo which caught my eye on Red Hot Ruby's Blog of one of her horses in a dust storm in Texas (thank you so for being kind enough to allow me to use your photo!)

She is still in progress, I need to work in a little more detail into the background so that I can come back to the foreground and work on the tail, which looks great in the photo, splaying out in the wind.

She is shaping up nicely, feeling really good, although the camera flash has been kind and tomorrows daylight may not be!

Starting over.. hello new horse painting

Life has been a little hectic so art was on hold last week, but now I am starting afresh today, and really needing the painting time.

What a great feeling when you find an photo you like to work from, so thank you blogging friends who were so agreeable to my request. One of you might recognise this as the paint starts to go on, perhaps sooner you know your photos well! 

Friday night painting time, lines down, I am ready ....


starting a new painting, lines down,
copyright www.equineartportraits.com

I'll Fly Away: Grey Horse, Acrylic on Canvas



I'll Fly Away, Acrylic on Canvas, copyright of artwork A.Cairns 2011
based on photo by Just Chaos licenced under Creative Commons 2.0
http://www.equineartportraits.com/

He is there or thereabouts....my husband if sufficiently sick of the sight of me painting him, that he insists he is finished. Me, I am less sure, but he is definitely resting, which means I will be looking for pastures new.

Rough riding....and a new Horse Painting

Such a quiet week from me, brought about by first off by much activity at work and later by another terrible flat work riding lesson this week that left me at the point of despair and ready to chuck it in. My riding seems to be deteriorating week on week right now, and I have begun to approach lessons with not the usual exhilaration, but rather a feeling of dread, sometimes feeling close to tears by the end of another gruelling often fruitless hour of failing and flailing. It is all in the head now, I know that. It is one of those 'conquer you demons' and mine is an affront at any failure of any sort. By the close of Thursday lesson I concluded that it is time to give up riding the harder horses. I brokered a deal with two of my riding school mates to get there early and grab a horse of my choosing for a few consecutive weeks to see if I can remember how I used to seem to be able to ride until around 6 weeks ago when it all started to unravel.....wish me luck! 

copyright equineartportraits.com

On the Art front, it took a few days to recover from said lesson but today I found my way back on track with my art and started a new piece in acrylic and canvas....only started and 'in the rough' although maybe not quite as rough as my shockingly bad riding! Here he is, propped up on my piano so I can get a better look at him in the morning with a nice strong cup of coffee.

I seem go be going through a phase where I want to draw and paint Grey's at the moment. I keep coming back to photos of one, Ice, from my stables up the road. He is a beautiful young horse, about 7 so still quite Grey and dappled. Sam on the other hand is older and almost white.

I am going to to have another try at acrylic work this week, and I think a monochrome piece might be the way to go. I still have trouble knowing what particular shade of a colour acrylic paint will dry at - I am a watercolour girl really - but I think that I could mix up a monochrome wheel and be consistent enough with re mixing it to get a decent result.

Anyway, I had a look in Flickr to give let Ice be this week I found this lovely horse as my new subject....

By celesteh on Flickr Creative Commons

Gorgeous horse, loads of detail, good light.....happy times!

On reflection, I think I would like a Grey of my own, and perhaps its just coming out in my art!