the movement of horses

Bolting horse. I just wanted to give a feeling of speed, and the sound you get when a horse gallops - at once very light and very hard. They appear to move so lightly, you forget the amount of force that is going through their legs into the ground.

Hindquarters. I just wanted a feeling of strength in this sketch. In a way it's quite still, despite the whispy tail. 

Playful horse. Sometimes horses express a lot of contained tension when they play - they pinch their lips and their nostrils together and flatten back their ears. Their movements become very grounded. It's as if they're winding up to let loose. And they soon do, with a big buck or a gallop!

music, art, words ...

I didn't realise how much I had missed playing the guitar until I started again. It all happened because someone loaned me Siamese Dream by the Smashing Pumpkins and I remembered I didn't mind guitar solos one bit. Not at all actually.

Operation save-up-for-electric guitar begins. Strangely (in the meantime) I'm working on Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring - but it's just because I never learnt the end when I used to play. And I'm determined to fill in all the gaps and do the things I left undone - through sheer laziness and lack of belief. Plus - it is well known that Bach is excellent and leads to happy ears.

Sometimes I wonder what I would do if I had my right hand chopped off. Yes, odd I know - I suppose it's like wondering what you would do if your beloved partner left you. It's a worst case scenario survival plan. Well you can ride a horse one-handed (or no hands), learn to draw and write with your left hand and ... well, I guess - some sort of device for rhythm guitar? Music, words and visual art - just different ways to express the same thing. What is that thing? Not sure yet. But I know there's about million of us working on it.

saddle drawing

Drawing of saddle - have to practice drawing tack as well as the horses themselves!

cats

After the well-defined lines and musculature on horses, I find cats can be very challenging. They are very clearly and symmetrically structured, but it is partly hidden under fur. Siamese and other short hairs are a little easier. Another challenge with cats is to capture their often quirky characters, while keeping a sense of their elegance and presence.