Clippity-clop...

I've always loved drawing horses... When I was a little girl, my dad gave me a charming slender hard-cover booklet on "How to Draw Horses", somewhat worn from previous use, and softly pencilled in the inside cover with that trademark booksale price. I loved it so much, and pored over it endlessly, absorbing the energy of spirited horses in action caught in those wild graphite strokes all the way to those peaceful lines of the creature at rest... the intensity in its eye...the swish of its tail...the shaggy winter coat... And so you see, my pencil was much inspired by that book.

So far, the hoof has been the most challenging part for me - how the shape of the ankle merges into the foot and how to obtain the most pleasing proportions to the rest of the horse. Having a picture at hand is very helpful.

The below artwork was inspired by my husband, a little while ago when he suggested I try a horse on fire. He is unbelievably creative. So here it is - I first sketched it lightly, then blocked in the flames and finally the horse's body. The landscape evolved around the creature, as my own imagination took flight! So I dub it the Flaming River Horse, who is rarely glimpsed galloping down its river in this remote majestic canyon.

I used pastels chiefly, then used my pencils for finer details and also in the shading of the canyon walls. I intend to give this one another go on my large A2 sketchpad (got some better ideas for it!).

Flaming River Tashunke (Red Indian for "horse")

The other night Marius little daughters organized us mature adults for some drawing competitions (of which they would be the judge and the prize, a giant slab of chocolate). We had 20 minutes for each round, and I won't post my sketch here as I feel ashamed of it, but below is one I completed afterwards in my own time. This was the photo my husband and his contestant were given for the challenge, and I really felt like trying myself. It posed some real challenges because of its particular angle and the horse's funny expression. But I liked that face...

My tip for the week
Creating depth of field/perspective - By working in lots of fine detail and strong colours in the foreground, gradually fading to less detail and lighter application of colours in the background, will create the sense of greater distance. Also try to imitate the effect of a camera lens, crisp and in focus in front, fuzzy and undefined towards the back.

Happy doodling!