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​I never get tired of watching horses, especially in a natural group setting. This painting recalls a beautiful summer day when a friend of mine took me to see her horses. They were like a wild band with mares and foals and yearlings, in a lush pasture at the base of the picturesque hills. Besides several blue roans, there were paints, a buckskin, various sorrels and a black - all gorgeous, of course - a horse lover's paradise. This particular mare seemed to be in charge, leading them all onto greener grass. Her colt seemed to have inherited her personality as he was confident and not a bit shy like the other younger ones. I love to observe horses in groups such as this - an opportunity to study the dynamics and behavior patterns - very interesting! 

Currently available unframed. Please contact Trish for other framing options.

This is an original oil painting of a young blue roan. I love to see a horse's mane blowing in the wind - it's beautiful and evokes a feeling of freedom to me. It's much the same feeling as when riding a horse -  racing with abandon,  the wind in your face - exhilarating! Admittedly, something I have not done for awhile, but...you never forget the feeling!
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Nature is amazing. A few hours after a foal is born he is pretty wobbly trying out his adult-size stick legs but just a day or two later he can gallop and keep up with the band. This one in the painting is a couple of months old so he is doing quite well, even staying ahead of his mother. 

I liked this grouping of colors with the buckskin, the blue roan mare and her smokey-looking foal. I decided to forego details in order to focus on the movement of the horses. I could watch horses running all day long!

This was from a little band of domestic horses that were friendly but also wary as they had been in the hills all summer and none of them were broke. I really enjoy trying to capture different aspects of the horse's personality - each horse has it's own unique characteristics, so much like people. Some are outgoing and greet you right away while others hang back a little more careful. This one seemed to be saying "I'll stay back here until I figure you out!"

This is a detail from a large mural I recently completed. I give a quick simplified step-by-step progression in my latest newsletter - if you would like to see it, click here.

This painting was inspired by the Nokota horses, native horses of North Dakota. I had the opportunity to observe them (or descendents of them) in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, beautiful Medora, North Dakota.I was particularly struck by a roan stallion that had the thickest mane I have ever seen on a horse and it shone like silver in the sun. I knew nothing about these horses, but observed that there were many beautiful roans, both blue and red. Since then I have discovered that there is an organization that was started to preserve the breed, The Nokota Horse Conservancy. One thing for sure, if these horses survived the winters in this part of the country, they are definitely a hardy breed. Here is their website - www.nokotahorse.org.  

Blue Roans have always been a favorite color of mine, (another one!) but I have really never painted any until now.