Saguaro Spirit

"Saguaro Spirit"
pencil sketch

 I'm back!  I have done a few sketches in my (online) absence, and these are the most recent ones.  Today begins the renewal of my goal of drawing every day.  "Saguaro Spirit" is a free-hand, no reference sketch.  I was thinking of my horse, Lola, and how she often peers out of her stall down towards the pasture and the pond at the bottom.  My spirit horses seem to be the most unique and fun expression of my style, so I will probably be spending a lot more time on them.  I will eventually translate this from quick sketches to large paintings.  This style and subject would have great presence in a larger format.

"Thinking of Dali's Elephants"
pen sketch

I'd like to say that the disproportionate conformation of this horse was intentional, but it was purely accident.  My brain was probably shocked that I was asking it to draw again.  As you can see, head, neck, and body are all proportionate to one another- but something disconnected when it came to drawing the legs.  They became elongated and large, a grown horse with foal's legs.  However, it is not an unpleasant effect, and perhaps even benefits the drawing with artistic license.  I may try to replicate the style on purpose in the near future.

Return of the Spirit Horse

"Spirit Walking"
pencil

I began this drawing by focusing on the negative space surrounding the horse, as opposed to the horse itself.  The horse in the picture captured my attention with his expression and energy at the walk.  When I first began drawing the negative space, it didn't look very good- but then as I continued, I saw that the proportions of the horse turned out very well indeed, and it helped me create a better composition than usual.  Since the reference photo was a bit blurry, I decided I would return to my previous phase of "spirit" horses and enjoy the zen-like feeling of drawing squiggly lines and shapes within its body.  I did start working on this drawing on Paint, but my patience and enjoyment was at an end- so that will be a project for another time.  I envision this horse to be all tints and shades of turquoise, with a white mane and tail, on a warm, earthen background.  The trip to the Southwest is rapidly approaching, and I hope to find some personal inspiration and guidance during my adventure.  This drawing, for me, captures that hope and possibility.

Burro Foal

"Burrito"
pen and graphite
small leather sketchbook

Pronghorn Antelope and the Creative Process

"Pronghorn"
pen
small leather sketchbook

Originally, I was going to draw a horse.  A Morgan horse, to be precise.  As I was idly scrolling through my Google image search results, I saw some baby goats standing on top of a reclining equine.  I thought to myself, "Perhaps I should continue in the vein of broadening my horizons, and draw something other than equus caballus."  "Goat" was summarily entered into the search bar, but nothing captured my eye.  Somehow my mind leapt to gazelle, and from gazelle to antelope.  I'm planning on going to the American Southwest early this summer, so I thought of pronghorn antelope.

According to Wikipedia, pronghorn are not antelope at all, but the last surviving species of the North American Antilocapridae.  Their closest living relatives include giraffes and okapi.  They were almost hunted to extinction, but collaboration between the National Audubon Society, the Boone and Crockett Hunting Club, and President Hoover helped establish a large enough game refuge which put the population on the road to recovery.  Some subspecies remain on the endangered species list, however.

I spent a little over an hour on this little sketch, working only in pen.  His nose should be a little smaller, but otherwise I'm pretty satisfied with his proportions. I will count myself very lucky if I get to see one of these guys in the wild!