I endlessly fill sketchbooks with quick action sketches of the horses on the marshes near my home in Hackney, in which I'm always trying to capture the movement; the shapes made; the arcs of motion; the fleeting gestures of equine behaviour; theie energy and their expression.
I also make studies - anatomical observations of the physical structure that generates all this movement - analysing structures of skeleton, muscle & tendon;; centres of gravity; points of balance; angles of flex and poise; and particular features of conformation - all of these produce unique movement that can be spectacularly elegant but also powerful
But most of all I try to capture and express the individual personality of the horses I draw and paint.
To me, this is the most important element. A painting of a horse has to be more than an accurate rendering of its physique, it has to evince a sense of a real, living horse's own individual character.
Painting can depict the exquisite way light falls on the contours of the equine subject to reveal the form and structure, to beautiful effect, but I'm not happy if there is no sense of its individual living, snorting character.
That's why I try to catch my muses in behaviours that are characteristically horse-like; such as playing with each other in the paddocks...
With a portrait commission, even if I am asked to paint from a photograph, I make dozens of reference sketches and photos to help me develop a sense of its character; I use digital tools to help me develop the compositional elements until I feel I have worked out what the the painting of this particular horse.will be. Even when I move onto the canvas, I know the paint itself will invigorate the portrait even further, to bring it truly to life.
