Mare and Foal

On Wednesday I spent around an hour at Llety Stud which sits in a beautifully rural landscape above the market town of Carmarthen. With one of the stud's staff, Rachel, as our guide we were given access to some of the mare's and their Stimulation foals that are currently enjoying the lovely weather in their lush paddocks.

I've wanted to paint an intimate study of a mare and her foal since I painted Milly a few years ago. Hopefully this one will be similarly successful.

Today I have blocked in the painting on a piece of  naples yellow tinted board at 20 x 30 inches.

My palette consists of blue black, windsor violet, burnt sienna, burnt umber, yellow ochre cadmium yellow and alizarin crimson oils with alkyd titanium white to mix.

Hopefully it will be dry enough for me to work on again tomorrow.

P2P Jockeys, Lydstep

 This is something a little different for me, a close-up painting of three jockeys and their mounts at one of my local point-to points.

I've just added Windsor & Newton's blue black to my range of colours and so far I'm really happy with it's performance. I've used it in my shadow colours along with my usual windsor violet and burnt umber.

 The first image is a close up of the two principle horses heads. I've decided to use a variety of square brushes to paint with so that I don't get too bogged down in detail.  Each of the following sequences took around a day to do (which is around 5 hours, give or take), so it's progressing really quickly at the moment.

Now that I'm about to start the jockeys I envisage a slower and more deliberate session. I really want to get their likenesses, which in the past I've found to be a hit-and-miss affair.  

 Watch this space as I shall be adding each days work so you can watch the progression from day 1 onwards.

Portrait of Hero

Here's my latest commission at the almost finished stage.  The horses name is Hero and he's a lovely bay with a gorgeous white stripe. 

This painting has come together quite quickly.  It's 14 x 16 inches on gesso prepared board and painted in oils (as is usual with me). I've just given him a final all over glaze of liquin after highlighting his eye, buckles and other little bits and pieces that had got a bit 'lost' under the various coloured glazes I've added.  Once he's dry he'll be framed and sent on to his new home.

March Catch-up

 Here are the two pieces I have been working on over the past month finished.  I am very happy with both of them.

Behind the Stalls, Ffos Las (left) was an exercise in painting sunshine on silks and horse flesh and I feel it has gone very well. I really like this piece and look forward to seeing it suitably framed.

Working Girls is a larger painting (24 x 31 inches) in which I wanted to explore texture, light and form.  Once upon a time I really didn't like painting leather and metal, it seemed too difficult and too time consuming.  These days I love nothing better.  Strange how your tastes change.  This is another piece I'm really pleased with and I look forward to displaying it at my exhibition at Aberglasney Gardens in the summer.

I've just finished a horse portrait commission which I will post shortly and I'm about to start a lovely spaniel commission, of which more at a later date.  Thanks for reading.

Shire Mares 5

Today I've blocked in the background using a combination of burnt umber, naples yellow and titanium white, having already worked on the second mare's neck collar and chains.  

Once this is dry and will go back and tidy up some elements, including the front chain,  and start to glaze with a liquin + body  colour mix.

Shire Mares 4

Today I've been working on the second mare, specifically on her bridle and blinkers and some of the chain and rope details. This has taken me the best part of a day and can be excruciatingly slow work at times but well worth it when you step back and see what you've done. 

I'm very pleased with how this has turned out. Tomorrow I will start on her collar.

Shire Mares 3

I've finally had chance to work on this again today and have blocked in the second mare. She's quite brown in the sunlight so I've added a little burnt sienna to my mix and painted her rough coat with a 1/2 inch square brush, using another, clean square to blend the edges.  I'm really please with how the work has gone today and can't wait to tackle all her lovely tack and gear.