drawing horses in pastel

There's something about drawing horses in pastel. I'm not sure how to express it, really, except that the pastel requires it be laid down on the paper in a certain way. I find myself thinking in terms of blue shadows and luminous highlights. The pure quality of the pigment is very moving. I feel that immediately I am required to express something of the spirit of the horse. I feel pushed out of my comfort zone. I love it!

free jump - ink

Ink drawing from my sketchbook of a warmblood 'free jumping'. The initial drawing used Wolff's carbon pencils, which are lovely to use for dark, fine lines, rough texture or softened with water. I then used artists' pigmented ink over the top. This was quite a quick sketch.

horses I know - la maglia rosa

Here is a drawing of a friend's horse, Maggie AKA La Maglia Rosa. She is a Thoroughbred/Warmblood cross, which seems to mean she has the endless energy of a Thoroughbred and the size (and enormous movement) of a warmblood.

My husband and I have got so much joy watching her grow from a gangly, enormous-eared and rather silly adolescent to a magnificent (but still rather silly) adult.

Is there anything more moving than having a horse gallop up to you at the fence? Maggie comes to a sliding stop, enveloping us in dust, and expecting to be petted and entertained. She has to be involved in anything that's going on. She is also the most tactile horse I've ever met, loving to be scratched everywhere, and having a tendency to lick your face and hair for as long as you allow (or until her teeth make an appearance). Here's a drawing of her, with reference to some photos my husband took (she moves too fast to be sketched!).

Here's a pencil drawing of a horse doing the dressage movement 'half pass'. The horse travels sideways and forwards at once. This particular drawing was inspired by Ulla Salzgeber's Olympic dressage horse 'Rusty'. I wanted to convey the power and dynamism of his movement.

An unfinished pastel. Drawing is just like fiction writing - the beginning comes easily, but endings are difficult. Some artists only have unfinished paintings. I plan to finish this one. Soon ...