THE STORY BEHIND THE
PAINTING AND PRELIMINARY PREPARATIONS
A few months ago, I
was invited to be on the creative team for a new mural
project being created by Mural
Mosaic, called
Le
Cadeau du Cheval,
or The Horse Gift. You can read about this project on my
blog since I will be discussing its creation there and just
posting the steps here, for the most part. In a nutshell,
however, this mural consists of a mother image that is
divided into multiple panels. Each artist is given a panel
to paint using the theme of horses. The colors and values
are to be kept close to the provided panel, but other than
that, the artists have free rein to create as they please.
1. Step One was
receipt a few weeks ago of my panel from the Mural Mosaic
creative team. Much thinking then began about what image I
saw in the panel and what I wanted to paint on it. I
envisioned an ocean scene and then thought about the legend
of how the Chincoteague ponies came to live on Assateague
Island. Legend has it that the ponies swam ashore from a
shipwrecked Spanish galleon. Since another of my loves is
sailing ships, it seemed a natural fit to use this as the
theme for my panel.
2. After much research
on the internet, I created this drawing of a Spanish Galleon
in order to familiarize myself with its structure. A galleon
will be a very important part of my panel. In fact, I
got so caught up in "research" that I went far beyond what I
needed to do the panel.
3.Next, on the
computer in Photoshop, I created this composition for the
background. It shows a Spanish galleon run aground on a reef
during a storm. Dawn is breaking, and the storm clouds are
receding, but the waves are still large. They will carry to
shore horses which were freed from the ship as its hull
broke open.
4.Here I have drawn
the horses as they emerge from the sea. They were most
likely Andalusians; much prized by the Spaniards of the
times and would have made excellent mounts for early
explorers and treasure hunters. Whether they came ashore in
the New World by escaping from shipwrecks or merely
travelled across the ocean in ships, these horses became the
ancestors of the mustangs which have roamed the north
american continent for centuries. They were Poseidon's gift
to the New World.
5. Painting the panel.
See the top of the page for the latest update on the
painting as it progresses.
PLEASE
RESPECT COPYRIGHTS These
horse paintings have been registered with the
Copyright Office and may not be reproduced, copied,
displayed or otherwise appropriated without the
consent of the artist.
