Galloping Spirit and Remembered Passion

"Galloping Spirit"
graphite
small leather sketchbook

I read today that passions are remembered, and not found.  Looking back at my childhood, all I wanted was to be with horses.  I loved everything about them- their graceful conformation, the way they moved, their beauty and grace, their scent, and the deep connection and understanding that is possible between horse and human.  I ached for and thrived on that connection of trust, understanding, and respect.  The challenge and thrill of riding was just a bonus.

It's been over a year since the last time I have sat on a horse, the longest hiatus from riding that I have ever taken.  Something inside grows quieter every day as I give myself over to my post-graduate life.  40 hours working, 10 hours commuting, every week.  Financial obligations silence any protest I might have at this lifestyle (student loans, I'm looking at you).  I do have a wonderful life, a wonderful home, a wonderful partner.  I'll be frank: as an art major, I am amazed that I have a job which pays all my bills.  I never expected even this much.

Drawing is not something that I love.  It's a different type of relationship, a painstaking journey that I hope to love one day when I can forgive myself for not being perfect or especially talented.  It's self-exploration on paper.  I only like to draw things that I like or am interested by, not necessarily to draw for drawing's sake.

I resigned myself to the fact that it was highly unlikely I would ever have a full-time job working with horses that could also support my other wants and needs, certainly not when starting with a negative net value.  Horses require a great sacrifice of time and money.  I once was given the advice to leave my boyfriend and give up my home so that I could fully commit to gaining the experience required by the field.  I chose not to violate my comfort zone in such a manner.  I don't think it was a mistake, but now I have to be more creative in figuring out how to work horses into my life.  My desire to have my cake and eat it too will require courage to accomplish.

Caterpillar

"Caterpillar"
graphite sketch
small leather sketchbook

Leo said to me today that I should draw things other than horses.  While walking, I saw something that looked like a squished caterpillar, and decided that I would draw a caterpillar.  I'm not sure of the species, since I got the reference photo from wallpapers.com.  Because of its hypnotic pattern, it was difficult to draw.  Each segment had to be done a little at a time to avoid confusion.  I focused mainly on the contours and outlines of the body, and then the pattern.

I'm looking forward to warmer weather.  Drawing this was a nice distraction from the cold February breeze blowing outside!  Winter will soon unfold into spring.

Arabian stallion sketch, v2.0

"At Attention"
graphite sketch
small leather sketchbook

I was still feeling attracted to the theme of black Arabian stallions, perhaps from having looked over my bookshelves and seeing Walter Farley's The Black Stallion.  This was the result of having spent about 45 minutes sketching from an online photo.  It's been very difficult for me to muster up the same enthusiasm to draw at least every week day as when I started this blog, but that's why I set parameters for myself such as running an ideal blog post schedule of every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

The end of the holidays and the old year lead to a sort of limbo in the beginning of the new year for me; no major holidays to plan for, a relatively clean slate, but rather forbidding weather.  Despite the rain and ice-covered sidewalks, I still walked my beagle this morning for our usual thirty-five minutes; I have no wish for my dog walker to risk life and limb in this weather.  As soon as I got back home, I wanted nothing more then to put my pajamas back on and resume watching nature documentaries on Netflix.  Instead, I salted down my bit of sidewalk, got in my car, and headed off to my 9-5.  

Resisting the urge to hibernate is a real struggle, including when it conflicts with my creative impulse.  This is part of the reason that I have not created anything on a larger scale than my little sketchbook recently.  I also will reluctantly admit that I haven't yet finished matting, framing, and taking my prints off to the floral shop.  One of my New Year's resolutions is to complete this goal before the end of January.  Today, I am considering opening up a Fine Art America or SmugMug account to further spread my art and potentially sell a print or two.

Arabian stallion graphite sketch

Arabian Stallion
graphite
small leather sketchbook

I was browsing pictures of black Arabian horses, and a picture of this stallion was among the search results.  His beauty and almost geometric conformation captivated me at once, and I thought to myself, "I'm going to draw that horse."  It is easy to draw beautiful pictures when one has beautiful subjects.  That being said, I will critique myself on my rendition of his body (it being oddly angled/proportioned in the photo), and I'm not sure I like having added his tail or not.  I thought that the composition was lacking without it, but the execution isn't quite how I pictured it.  I was trying not to be a slave to my reference photo; this will take even more practice.  However, I am satisfied with the way his head and neck turned out.  Lines and patches of graphite flow smoothly and elegantly, capturing the stallion's form and grace.