I'm passionate about horses and I've been studying and drawing them since I was a little kid.
I'm drawn to hyper-realism because it transcends photo-realism and blurs the line between what's possible and what's imagined. I find it's not just the devil that's in the details, but the unique personality of each horse lives there as well.
The dramatic background is achieved by printing a black digital file on Arches fine-art paper. A one inch grid is drawn lightly in pencil, and the horse is then hand-drawn (focusing on getting the details just right - one inch at a time), layered with gouache, and finally finished under 5x magnification with pastel pencils, India & metallic inks using Rapidograph architectural pens. Individual hairs and even eyelashes are painstakingly added.
Once the details are complete, the pencil grid is erased and black charcoal powder covers any imperfections. The final portrait is sprayed with archival matte spray. Each portrait takes between two and six hundred hours to complete.
Once the details are complete, the pencil grid is erased and black charcoal powder covers any imperfections. The final portrait is sprayed with archival matte spray. Each portrait takes between two and six hundred hours to complete.
"Gray Ghost" installation with the artist.
"Spring Break"
Featuring Juliet Dawson, a bay Morgan mare
"Showtime"
Featuring Dell' Fino, a German Warmblood dressage horse
"Showtime" was the 2013 Grand Prize winner of the Light, Space & Time Gallery's International Animals in Art Competition:
"The Watcher"
Featuring George, an Irish Throroughbred Grand Prix jumper
"Moon Dance"
Featuring "Steely Daen," a Friesian/Andalusian gelding
