Thank so much for inviting me on your blog!  We’ve known each other for a few years, and I remember Rio when the two of you were just starting out!  You are still one of the most naturally soft and gifted riders I’ve ever seen.

I am an equestrian artist who produces original work, commissioned portraits and paintings, prints, and HoofPRINTS NoteCards.  My degree is in illustration from the Ringling College of Art and Design, but I’ve been drawing horses since I could hold a pencil.  I was drawn (get it?  heh) to horses long before my first riding lesson, inspired by The Black Stallion, Black Beauty, Rainbow Brite, She-Ra, the Saddle Club, etc. (The 80s were a great time for horse crazy kids!)

 There are so many artists I turn to for inspiration, both living and dead, but to my mind the finest painter of all time is Rembrandt.  I also adore the painterly brilliance of John Singer Sargent, Sir Alfred Munnings (and he did all of that with only one eye!), the German Expressionists, any of the Fauves – especially Gauguin and Rousseau, the academic masterworks of George Stubbs and Rosa Bonheur –  and the incredible line quality and graphic work of Mucha, JC Leyendecker, and John James Audubon.  Modern artists I return to are Richard Schmidt, Lyn St. Clair, Julie Chapman, Lesley Humphrey, Joanne Mehl, Mary Gilkerson, Anders Zorn, and Andre Pater.

Because my degree is in illustration, I’m comfortable working a variety of mediums, which is helpful especially for commissioned work, but my favorite mediums are oil, scratchboard, watercolor/ gouache, and mixed media.  My work has been featured on the covers and pages of the Chronicle of the Horse, Sidelines Magazine, Southwest Art, Horseback Magazine, Ex Arte Equinus, HITS Thermal and HITS Ocala, The Great Southwest Equestrian Center and others, and I’ve been fortunate to exhibit at The International Museum of the Horse, The Art Gallery at Devon, Louisiana State University, Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum, Art at the Classic, HTS Thermal, Ocala and Saugerties, Western States Horse Expo, Cazenovia College, Studio C Gallery, Tracy Miller, and Equis Art Gallery.  I’m also a juried member of the American Academy of Equine Art, the International Society of Scratchboard Artists, and the Institute of Equine Artists, and participate in group shows with those organizations.

Oh, they all spring to life like Athena fully formed from the head of Zeus.  NO!  I’m totally kidding.  There are some paintings that get started and will never – EVER – see the light of day, for a variety of reasons.  I’m actually working on a very important commission right now that’s taken me a lot longer to complete than I ever dreamed, but it’s a challenging non equine piece that’s very special to me and the client and so “there is no time limit on such things”, per my understanding patron.

Other than that, I usually tend to get to about the 85% complete point on a painting (what I jokingly refer to as “the dental hygienist” stage, as in “Why didn’t I become a dental hygienist instead?”) where nothing in the painting is working- it’s crap, I’m crap, why did I ever think I could do this art thing and how have I not been found out yet that I don’t know what I’m doing and what am I going to DO?! – and the only thing that keeps me going is the knowledge that I’m almost done with the bloody thing and once I stop crying and move forward, it will all fall into place and turn into a very nice piece of art!

There are a very few that seem to paint themselves, but it doesn’t usually happen that way.  Strangely, scratchboards are almost a total opposite, in that they are very zen-like and I can sit on the couch and zone out and have a lovely piece of artwork at the end.  The paintings are a very different process.

 

I usually work only from my own photo reference.  I’ll take thousands of photos and sift through them, looking for something – ANYTHING- to catch my eye, whether it’s the tilt of an ear, or the fluidity of motion in an extended trot, or the color of a horse against a jump combination, or some other “something” that makes me stop and linger over the image.  A lot of times, the paintings come off that spark of inspiration.  The titles usually come to me very quickly, and I like titles that are a play on words or have some twist to them.  If I can’t come up with a title for a piece while in the initial planning stages, it will likely be a lot harder to complete or will never get off the ground.

I’ve got future paintings lined up ready to go for years from the photo reference I’ve taken.  Hunter/jumper shows, grand prix, breed shows, rodeos, racetracks, polo, dressage, reining… you name it, I’ve got photos from it.  Having said that – I’m always looking for inspiration, so if you know of any cool equine events, let me know!  Obviously, if I’m working on a commission, I’m usually using client supplied images, especially if the subject of the painting is no longer alive.

 

 

I became a first time horse owner in my 30s, and, when I’m not scraping mud off his mane or bemoaning the fact that he just destroyed another blanket (that was today, btw), he’s still one of the most gorgeous horses I’ve ever seen.  He’s just a plain bay OTTB, 17.2,  built like a warmblood with legs like telephone poles, a long arching neck, and the most beautiful eyes, and I’m always filled with wonder at his inherent power and grace and oversized personality.

I tend to create art that speaks of the energy and power in the equine form, and so I guess a lot of it is inspired by him.  The only piece I’ve ever actually done of him will be featured in downtown Los Angeles this summer as part of a large scale mural project.  That’s right – Frankie’s going to Hollywood!  The original was a small painting done quickly in palette knife and sold almost immediately.

 

There are a lot of really exciting things on the horizon, but right now I’m preparing for the American Academy of Equine Art’s Spring Exhibition, the supremely cool Art Gallery at Devon Horse Show in May, sending some new work off the Equis Art Gallery in NY (who represents me), working with my new artist rep Kayce Douglass in Colorado, launching a new series of mixed media oils and gold/ silver/ copper leaf on panel (so much fun!), finishing up a few commissions, and preparing work for upcoming shows.

Thanks so much for having me, and if you or your readers have any questions or would like to see more work, I’m always available through my website at  www.MoosePantsStudio.com, via email at MoosePantsStudio@gmail.com, on fb (www.facebook.com/MoosepantsStudio) and instagram  @MoosePantsStudio_equineartist.