Sunday, January 28, 2007

"Friesian Morning"


This is of course Phantom, my Muse, in a 6"x8" oil on canvas. This Royal Friesian had a bigger and brighter personality than many people I have come across! He was kind and brave and supremely intelligent, with a wickedly sharp sense of humor. I like how this photo captured him in a quiet and relaxed mood. We had turned him loose in a big arena and he blew off a lot of steam, and was his usual brilliant and magnificent self. Later when he was tired, he was cooling off and just walking by the the six or so people in the center of the ring. Three of us were photographers slung with wildly expensive equipment and long stalker lenses like paparazzi, and he exuded the confident, untouchable and distant air of a Broadway star who knew he was being recorded by admiring fans and was above it all, and I got this image. In actuallity he was a "people person", so we had to shoo him away from the party he thought we were having. I loved the backlit morning light. I need to reshoot this digital, it does not show the soft lavenders and cerulean in the background, or the luminosity of the colors.

4 comments:

Antonietta Kies said...

I love the way you've done the smooth and oddly-shaped, but very familiar, surface of the back meeting the rump. And at such a difficult angle. I wonder what this sort of scene could look like against a bluish pink sunrise sky. The lighting on the body seems to imply it.

TK said...

Thanks for stopping by, Kirby, and for your comment! I was drawn to this image because I loved the repeating arcs and planes. It was a cool, foggy early morning, so I put a soft lavender and turquoise background in. It shows more as gray on the monitor, so I need to make good on my promise to reshoot it.
I like your color suggestions.
Best Wishes,
TK

Anonymous said...

So deftly, briefly you describe a scene quite alien to me, AND suggested the horse's personality. This is unexpected, for me: thanks again.

TK said...

Thanks for sharing your experience, it means a lot to me. I personally feel that if I find a painting is evocative to me, then it is a successful painting.