Horses: How They Feed My Art and Soul

Those who know me know that I’m never very far from a horse. When I was 5, my mother declared that it was time for me to have a pony, and since the day Bluebell arrived, I have always had at least one horse under my care and in my life. At about that same time, I discovered C.W. Anderson’s “Billy and Blaze” books and, of course, the cartoons by Norman Thelwell. C.W. Anderson was a good friend of my mother’s best friend, Zoe, so we had ALL of his books. They’re wonderfully illustrated – usually in pencil. As a kid I would spend hours poring over my Mom’s collection, looking at all the beautiful drawings of racehorses, foxhunters and backyard ponies. When I was 7, for Christmas I got two hardcover Thelwell books with more wonderful (and hysterical) drawings. I would try to draw those adorable, fat ponies ad infinitum. In my 20s I wrote and illustrated several children’s books (that I have yet to publish).There was a definite combination of Thelwell and Anderson showing up on the page!

Cindy, Kate and Swayze

Fast forward to life in Vermont. Bart and I moved here in 1994 with our 2-year-old daughter, Lauren, and our three horses. I was looking for a quiet “country” life with my family, my horses and my art. Vermont has been the perfect place to blend those three things. My studio windows give me the chance to gaze at the view of the horses grazing in the field with Mount Ascutney in the background. This Vermont life allowed me to be there for Lauren when she came home from school each day and we would go over to the barn to play with the critters. She had (well, still has) her own little Thelwell pony, Cinderella, and together we trained her (or she trained us!). Little Miss Cindy shows up in a lot of my work. She has such a huge personality and just begs to be drawn.

Now Lauren has flown the coop and is living the dream; working for one of the country’s top event riders and I’m here in the studio with more time to focus on my love of painting and caring for the horses. Every day I look forward to working with my young horse, “Kate”. (Formally “Winslet”. She’s a movie star, ya know.) She and I are venturing up the training scale of the world of dressage. I love every moment of the process. Dressage is an art form. You learn the skills then teach them to your horse, until you can communicate through the slightest hint of a gesture and create the dance which becomes dressage. As I paint, I’ve learned that less is WAY more. Like dressage, communicate the meaning with as few gestures as possible. I struggle with both (dressage and painting) in that I tend to overthink the task at hand. The days that I can relax and “be” always give me the best results. But just showing up and trying, every day, guarantees me some successes now and then. There are little moments when everything clicks. The paint flows. Kate relaxes and her back begins to swing. Life is good.

“Away!” ©2015LCM