More primitive op art ponies

"Spirit Pony"
pen
small leather sketchbook

I'm still on the subject of these primitive op art ponies, as you can see.  Drawing them has a therapeutic effect for me.  They are not overly taxing to draw and have strong visual interest.  "Spirit Pony" was inspired by a painting I found online called "Navajo Dreams" by one Shellby Young.  My crappy ballpoint pen blotted all over, but I still like it, and it is just a sketch.  I enjoy the expressive quality of this style, and look forward to trying it out with paint and brushes.

"Pinwheel Pony"
graphite
small leather sketchbook

Primitive Op Art- trying a new style

Leaping the Wave
graphite
small leather sketchbook

As I was drinking my tea yesterday morning, my brain said to itself, "Today, you will draw an abstract horse with exaggerated features and many contour lines."  I needed a break from improving my realistic work, and from working from photos.  I wanted to tap into that inner creative child who was inspired by Disney's hand drawn Fantasia.

Traveling has been on my mind lately; a trip to the Caribbean or southern hemisphere sounds very appealing with the cold days of January and February ahead.  I was thinking of all the nontraditional art I had been exposed to in my art history classes from around the world, and also of a children's book I used to own called The Desert is Theirs.  I always loved the austere and line dominated illustrations by Peter Parnall.  While drawing these horses, line after line, my mind entered a Zen like peace.  I began with an outline of a horse figure and worked within its body afterward.  I purposely exaggerated some features, such as the above horse's neck being so broad and arched, and went for a geometric yet natural feel to the drawings.

I might do a painting with this sort of theme in mind; I would use warm subtle earth tones like those found in the cave paintings of Lascaux.

War Cry
graphite
small leather sketchbook