I “can” draw just about anything – but I love drawing horses, birds and trees would probably be second. So this is Maddy Jade – a friend purchased this commission through a Horse Trials BC ( horsetrialsbc.com ) fundraiser.
Maddy Jade is extra cool because I actually considered buying her from New Stride ( newstride.com ) in 2014. It was a toss up between her, and the horse I did buy – my Dharma Queen. Here is a picture of Maddy Jade on that spring day 6 years ago:
Years later she ended up at Chase Creek Eventing ( www.chasecreekeventing.ca ) and then eventually my good friend Taylor ended up with her. She is a beautiful, sweet mare and I am so excited that she is going to have a foal in a month (eek!! cuteness overload – I’ll have to draw the foal of course!). Here is a recent photo of Maddy Jade – the one I drew:
I tried a different drawing technique this time. I have a new favorite artist – Bethany Vere ( www.bethanyvereart.co.uk) – and she does realistic drawings using pencil crayon. Bethany likes to start at one spot and slowly moves across the piece. Finishing each section as she goes. I usually do the entire piece in layers. But its messy (my hand smudges everything) and maybe not as accurate. So I developed this piece loosely following Bethany’s method. I used Pan Pastels, which are amazing, and pencil crayons. I was also very diligent taking progress photos (pat myself on the back).
And the first comment I hear – “Aren’t you going to draw the rest of the body?” The answer is no – I find people are super hard to draw and this piece isn’t about the rider. But I do need to figure out a better way of cutting it off – maybe a straight line at the waist instead of jagged. I have also seen drawings where the rider is completely left out – so where the leg appears on the saddle – that area is left completely blank, like a silhouette (I couldn’t find an example).
Stay tuned for a drawing of baby – once it’s born of course….