The New Horse Painting
This is my drawing thus far, for my new horse piece, tentatively called The Gladiators. I am not completely happy with it so I’ll be making some changes to it yet before I begin to lay in the color. I plan to show this painting through it’s various stages of creation. This is something I do quite a bit actually. If you would like to see the stages of creation for some of my other paintings, visit my artist journal on my website.
What I have so far.
I always start out with a completed drawing. I work primarily in oil pastels which have staining properties. What that means to me is that if a put a glaringly wrong color in. I most likely will not be able to lift enough of it off to make corrections. So all major decisions need to be made before I begin with the color.
The inspiration for this piece came from a couple of different sources. First, the Minnesota Horse Expo last year had a chariot pulled by four Friesians. (Enough to make a horse painters heart go pitter pat.) That had been simmering around in my head when I attended the Albert City Threshermens event this year. There, they always have people movers pulled by four drafts. This year they had a particularly handsome foursome of Percherons. (again, with the pitter pat.) So this is a creative hybrid. I have not really decide whether they will look like Friesians or Percherons or just be big dark horses. I am leaning towards not making them too much one or the other. I am also pondering medieval tack. (That may be just a little bit too much.)
Where I’ll go from here.
I am reasonably happy with the two horses on the left. But I think the two right hand horses are too small. Whats really bothering me though, is the negative space. (Essentially the background area) I just don’t like the shape of it. Some of this issue will be helped by enlarging the two horses. But something more has to be done. I’ll rest on it and see what brilliant insight comes tomorrow.