Settling In.... Right.

There is no greater gift you can give or receive than to honor your calling.  It's why you were born.  And how you become most truly alive."  -- Oprah Winfrey

"Hello Friend", 11 x 14 oil on canvas, almost finished! :D

I'd say he's come a long way since two days ago, wouldn't you?  In case you missed him two days ago, this is what he looked like when I roughed him in.  (poor muley-nose..)

Instead of sketching today I decided to play with some watercolor.  Last night I was contemplating a few gifts for birthdays and whatnot coming up, and I had a strong urge to play with watercolor.  So yeah, despite my recent profession that I have decided THIS (painting horses, in oil) is what I want to do, I can't resist dabbling.  Ever.  Nor am I sure I want to.  So I figured maybe dabbling, or sketching, or playing, might be a good way to warm up.   So, voila:  dabble.  It's not done, I'm going to henna the heck out of it.  With paint/ink, not actual henna.

So, once warmed up, I got back to the painting I'm working on, starting with his neck.  You know what I love about painting this way?  I'll enlarge my reference pic, zoom in on it, focus on right-brained patterns while (hopefully) shutting down the left brain, and time loses meaning, and then, I take a bathroom break and look at it from across the room, and my left brain goes, "Oh hey!  That's a horse.  Not bad, either."

Painting horses is good for me.  It feels like coming home.  It feels like I've stepped into the flow.

So, this handsome guy (I'm thinking he looks like a Quarter Horse, what do you think?) is almost done.  Some detail to muzzle, mane and eye, and probably a few background touchups, make his skimpy forelock match his make better, and we're there.  Huzzah!

I love painting equine profiles, but I think what I'd really love to paint is the relationship between people and horses, especially highlighting natural horsemanship.  If you're a horse lover and you've got some photos you wouldn't mind me using as reference, I'd love to hear from you.  I've already contacted some great people I follow on Facebook who have graciously agreed to let me paint them and their horses, so that's where this journey is taking me next. 

As Pat Parelli says, Keep it natural.  Love to you and your four-leggeds.