Horsies!

Me and Missy

 Oh, how I love the magnificent horse. They have a heart that cannot be matched. Here you see me a hundred years ago with my precious friend Missy. I cannot tell you how much I loved her. She was my constant companion, my confidant, my best friend. She was loyal and true. When she was frightened by something she would run over to me and place her forehead against my back so that she could not see what was scaring her. I would giggle since I am only 4'10" and here was this large animal hiding behind me! It was an amazing place to grow up, out there in the middle of nowhere and to have a friend like Missy. I was a part of that land and it was a part of me. Missy and I would ride all thru those mountains and ranches. I enjoyed riding along the fences and would report back to the ranchers if I saw something out of place, since I did that and respected the land, didn't bother the cows or ride thru the hay fields, the ranchers allowed and even liked me riding on their land. When I was a teenager they offered me a job as a cow hand. This is where I lived. We owned all the buildings you see here, it was part of a ghost town called Slate Creek in Colorado and was sandwiched between excessively large ranches and forest service land.

Our home in Slate Creek Colorado

And this... was where I rode almost daily. I would get up at about 5am and head out. I would stay out a few hours before I had to get back to either do school or go to work. Some days I would be out all day.Eventually I ended up adding Nazan (Missys brother) and Rusty a very funny shetland pony to the family. I would always take my sketchbook and  would spend hours drawing horses. In fact it was the only thing I felt I was good at. I studied books on how to draw horses and I had pages and pages of drawings in my pad.

My back yard

I was there when the ranchers still used horses to round up the cattle and to pull the hay sled out to the fields in the winter to throw hay to the cows. It was a quieter time, then one day everything changed, we had to leave this beautiful place and in the process I had to give up my precious horses. It was heartbreaking for me. I stopped drawing horses, I even threw away all of my drawings and never started drawing horses again. Up until a few months ago I resisted painting horses and that is why. It has been an interesting process for me as I began painting them again.  I had to learn how to tap into my memories and to remember them with fondness instead of sadness. When I paint, I paint with my heart, with memories of somewhere or something that I saw, experienced or imagined in a certain place or time. What has happened as I paint more horses, I've become freer and lose a little more of my sadness each time. Here are a few pieces that I've finished.

"Fireflies" Sold

The one above was the first time I painted a horse. I did it because a friend of mine kept encouraging me to do it.

"Aspen Ranch" sold

Having some new found courage I painted another horse.

"Freedom" sold

And then another.....

"Idlewild" sold

Now that I've begun painting horses again, I hope I won't stop. It has been an interesting experience dipping my toes back into the water of painting horses. Who knows how many I will eventually paint!

Here's to precious memories! Have a great week creating memories everyone!