"Gray Lusitano" graphite sketch

"Gray Lusitano"
graphite
small leather sketchbook

I've been on a Lusitano kick lately; these especially beautiful horses are similar to the Andalusian horse and possess large quantities of fire, grace, and spirit.  Their movement is high-stepping and smooth.  This is a movie-star breed.

I had a little bit of difficulty with foreshortening in the left hindquarter as he steps forward, and the right foreleg is just a little too long.  However, I did well in capturing the feeling of motion, the horse's proudly arched neck, and the degree of collection that he possesses.  

"Dun Lusitano" graphite sketch

"Dun Lusitano"
graphite
small leather sketchbook

I decide to return to a more realistic style after feeling inspired by talking horses with a friend of mine.  There's a dun mare who graduated from the Rutgers Young Horse research program available for lease in my area, and I am deeply tempted to meet her.  She looks like a gorgeous, friendly animal, and was the reason for my Google search "dun horse."

This horse's confirmation looks good and well-formed, except for the fact that his head is too big.  I actually began with the head, when it is usually better to have a rough drawing of the whole horse first.  The latter methodology can help you catch any disproportions and other mistakes.  I also began too low down on my page, and as I wanted to draw all of the horse or as much as possible, some subconscious shrinkage occurred from the shoulder back.  It's most noticeable in the hindquarters.  I did not have a blending stick, so I used a finger to lightly shade the horse and went over darker areas again with my pencil.  The drawing does not have a finished feel to it but retains its sketch characteristics.  I would like to heighten the contrast and tighten up some of the pencil strokes.  I have noticed that my pencil sketches of horses do have a similar style, although I haven't quite figured out how to describe it yet.

"Balboa Lusitano" and the perils of cats and charcoal

"Balboa Lusitano"
detail with cat's pawprint

I was waiting for my turkey to brine on the night of Friday, November 28th.  I had about four hours to kill, and I was inspired to take out my charcoal for the first time in quite a while.  Working from a reference photo by Bob Langrish in one of my many horse books, I became lost in capturing the spirit of this fiery Lusitano stallion.  His bay coloring and fierce eye put me in mind of Rocky Balboa; Rocky IV had been playing in the pizza parlor earlier that day.  Hence, the title for this piece: "Balboa Lusitano."  I will probably almost certainly do some more work on it.  As you can see in the above photo, my cat Arya decided to take a closer look at this drawing.  I took the picture for evidence before erasing the paw print with a kneaded eraser, so I could photograph the entire drawing.

"Balboa Lusitano"
pen and charcoal
11x14

During the process of photographing, Arya came to investigate.  Most of the time, I love how she follows me around the house.  Most of the time.  I like it rather less when she gets her little paws (and claws) into my artwork and supplies.  She is terribly adorable, regardless.

Who, me?

On Friday, I became frustrated with the lighting at my desk job while working some more on my Suffolk Punch team graphite.  It's rather dim and yellowish light, and I literally could not see what I was doing with the lighter gray details.  So I decided to make this tracing off of the computer monitor to feel some sort of sense of accomplishment.  This revealed to me that my free hand drawing was not quite accurate in its proportions, but fairly close.  I might take some watercolor or acrylic paint to it and just have fun.

I was talking to my significant other about all that I had/have in mind to do: finish matting and framing my prints, acquiring more supplies, going to Greens and Beans, blogging, trying to become good enough to have an art show, going to other people's galleries.  He said that he had no idea that there was so much to art.  As one of my professors said, there's a reason why artwork is called Art. Work: yet I want to continue enjoying the fulfillment of my creative process.