The Secret to a Good Horse Portrait

There are owners who have eyes for only their horses, according to an artist from Walla Walla. The owner disregards the champion status of his horse. There is money to be made from this love, as proven by an artist from a ranch on Springdale Road. She both paints and photographs horses. Aside from her experience with a famous actor's championship endurance mount, Shur Raff Zi, she regularly tends to the regular horse lover.

She has found a rare job that mixes work and play. She first became interested in horses as a teenager. She started drawing pictures of horses when she was 11, and pursued the pencil sketching medium for many years. This experience enhanced her shading ability, which she is now known for. Her canvasses are all about capturing the essence of each horse.

Her style of painting is working from a photograph. She rarely makes sketches on the scene, unless it is a special little mark peculiar to the horse like when she makes notes on the horse's color. She says she needs to satisfy the pickiest of customers. Sometimes the owner has a preference for a particular angle, or will point out some special characteristic of the horse that they want emphasized.

Their horses mean everything to some owners, and they memorize everything about them, from facial expressions and wrinkles to cowlicks. Most clients want to capture their steeds exactly, not enhanced. Her repertoire includes many breeds and different events, like barrel racing and cutting.

She says action pictures are so much different that she has to learn the trick to capture a horse in motion. There are certain angles of a cantering horse that make them look plain awkward. She prefers a telephoto lens when photographing horses in action. When she was active in the horse show field, she traveled to as many as 15 18 shows a year.

For some shows she would take photos of the winners, which she would turn into paintings later as prizes. Those photographers who take on shows full time find it easier to develop pictures on the spot with dark rooms in their vans. Then again, she was always more comfortable using her dark room at home.

Family pets of all kinds are also part of her portfolio. To paint a good portrait, she needs to see the dog or cat or at least see a good picture.