New Equine Painting

I have been excited to start this painting, because it has everything that I like play with in a painting, light/dark, warm/cools, infocus/out of focus and the subject.  I am working from a photograph I took of my horse, Duncan, last summer.  He is a 16 hand Quarter Horse gelding, with great dapples and light mane and tail.  His color worked beautifully with the grass, the trees behind him, and above him.  I really enjoyed starting out with the shadow areas on the horse being done in purple.

I am showing you two images, one from the start of the painting, the other one that is part way through the painting.  It is an oil, done on a really neat kind of linen which has a clear gesso which lets the color of the linen come through.  I have bought the linen on a roll, and I stretch it myself.

On the one that I worked on today, I am going over the purple layer of the shadow area with a more local color (actual color) of the shadow areas.  Some of the shadows are still too dark, and I have not done any sort of blending, but that will come.  These kinds of paintings really hold my interest, even though I can’t wait to get to the fun colors and areas.  Enjoy!