Freehand Andalusian

"Andalusian"
Sharpie pen
5.5x8.5

I was standing outside yesterday, admiring the balmy October afternoon, when a little niggling thought popped up.  "You haven't drawn anything in over a week now.  You really ought to update your blog."  An image of a proud Spanish horse, mane flowing and neck arched, came to my mind.  I like to draw the Iberian horses the best- the Lipizzaners, Friesians, and Andalusians.  There is such grace, strength, and beauty in their conformation.  They are the Adonis of horses.

This was a freehand, no reference drawing.  There are some liberties taken with the horse's conformation, and as usual when I draw without reference, his eyes are too high up on his head.  It's not as noticeable as usual, so there has been some improvement.  The foreshortening of the right foreleg is a little awkward but gets the job done without detracting from the overall image.  I could spend more time on the shadowing and crosshatching.  There is a heavy reliance on line in the drawing, especially on contour lines.  While there is nothing "wrong" about that, some classic instructors and critics might turn their nose up.  I'm no da Vinci, but even he used a lot of contour lines.  I think I may try replicating some of his sketches to improve my own art.