"Jumper"

"Jumper"
graphite sketch
small leather sketchbook

I spent about an hour sketching this horse and rider, working from a photo which originally had a vertical jump in it.  The jump was obscuring the horse's hind legs, and I wanted to capture the strength of this horse's leap, so I did not incorporate the jump into the drawing.

The rider was probably the easiest part; I tried very hard not to draw my pre-conceived notion of a human and focused instead on angles and shapes in relation to the horse.  Lately I've noticed that I've improved in paying attention to the negative space which "outlines" objects in reference photos, which results in a more accurate drawing.

There's a lot of Western style equine and equestrian portraits, but not as many English style riding works of art.  I appreciate both styles, but have spent most of my riding time in an English saddle.  If I am going to draw mounted horses, I am leaning towards focusing on what I am most familiar with (and what subjects are most readily available in my geographical area).