Sometimes it's a good idea to remind myself what it is I am actually doing when I sit down to paint. It helps to re-affirm my focus so that I stay on track with what I'm painting and why, and hopefully it will help the viewer to understand what my paintings and I are about. It's no surprise that I love painting dogs, cats, and horses, and I love painting my home valley and the animal events that take place there. I want to portray these creatures and scenes with the love and respect I have for them and hope that I can share it with you, the viewer.
When I start a painting, I keep in mind that one of my main goals is to portray the relationship between an animal and a human, because that is something that is SO important to me. I love that we can relate to another species, often without words, or in a dual sort of language that we have worked out together. I love the non-judgemental acceptance and unswerving devotion. And it just blows me away that a thousand pound horse quietly, willingly, and gently does what I ask him/her to do.
I also focus on the relationship between animals - I love to watch them interact. We can learn so very much from them - patience, pragmatism, and the way they will use just enough clout in the herd/pack to get the necessary thing done, what ever that might be. For the most part, greed, jealousy, and aggression for the sake of it, does not happen.
And as shown in the first image in this blog, I take delight in portraying the animals in harmony with their surroundings. To me, they always look as though they belong in whatever scene in which I find them, no matter where it is, or what the weather.
I've talked about this bond, the interaction, the harmony, and my enjoyment of painting the English Riding events and the Western -type lifestyle that co-exist around here in interviews, in my blogs, and on the social media, but it never hurts to sit down and remind myself why I'm painting what I paint.
