I had assumed, like petticoats and roller skates, that my horse crazy days were long behind me. The summer 2009, living next door to a horse named Cassidy, rekindled many childhood memories and desires. I guided Cassidy's walk and trot across paper and canvas. Interwoven among the horse tracks I traced river rocks and listed words.


Back in Raleigh I started the paintings in my studio. Words hint of stories, of place, conditions or interactions. The words could be included at any stage in the process or not at all. When I took the pieces to a nearby farm I worked with the horses and their tracks recorded the process. The individual stride, rhythm, the size and pressure of the mark are unique to each horse. Many trips between studio and farm were required before the paintings were mounted on stretchers. The drawings were photographed on a black background.

Buckskin
2010
ink, graphite, oils on canvas
50" x 28"
Summer Haze
2010
ink, acrylic, oils on canvas
56" x 28"
Chestnut
2011
oil on canvas
28" x 28"
Ask Soften
2011
oil on canvas
36" x 30"
Head Up
2011
oils, graphite, wax, sand on canvas
28" x 24"
Paddock
2011
oils, wax, sand on canvas
30" x 30"
Track On
2011
oils, wax on canvas
46" x 26"
On Center Line
2011
ink, charcoal, acrylic, oils on canvas
60" x 28"
summer
2011
ink, charcoal on paper
30" x 22"
Paint Pony
2011
ink, charcoal, graphite on paper
30" x 22"
Rocky Trail
2011
in, charcoal, graphite on paper
36" x 22"
Dappled Shade
2011
ink, charcoal, graphite on paper
36" x 22"
More Mesa
2011
ink, charcoal, graphite on paper
30" x 22"
Mesa
2011
ink, charcoal, graphite on paper
30" x 22"
Birthday Wish
2011
ink, charcoal, powdered pigment on paper
30" x 22"
Shady
2011
ink, charcoal, graphite on paper
30" x 22"