Jump 7 at Pebble Beach, Work In Process
This is Shilo. He was my first horse from 1976 through 1991. Shilo was a small pinto mustang… and my partner in crime in the horse show circuit up and down the California coastline. We competed at the Pebble Beach 3-Day event a few times and always had a wonderful time. I remember the first time we competed there in 1978… we were working our way to the cross country course when we came over a hill and saw the ocean for the first time. Shilo tensed up when he saw it… like he was saying… “ahh, that’s a BIG WATER JUMP!!!” We came in 4th place that year, the same year that Bob Hope came by at the finish line and congratulated us on a beautiful run. At 14.3 hands, Shilo was always the underdog at all our competitions, but he always put on a great show and was a joy to ride. This pastel on velour painting is simply for me to remember him by.
This is a work in process, I have quite a bit to work on still. At first it was a major struggle, but it’s coming along and I’m feeling good with it so far. I have very little experience painting people… this is supposed to be me, but so far it doesn’t really look like me. I’m not too concerned about that as it’s more about Shilo than me! But hopefully, before I’m done it will look a little more like me!
How fun to see a work in progress! I always find it interesting that people are a struggle for most artists to “get right.” And then there are some artists who paint or draw people so convincingly, yet they might not be able to draw animals! I suppose part of it is just practice, practice, practice. I imagine this piece is bringing back all sorts of wonderful memories of Shilo and horse shows… sweet memories, eh?
Yes, people are a mystery to me. When I see someone’s painting of a person, I think I can do it too. But when I try it… well, it never seems to come easy, that’s for sure. And yes… wonderful memories of Shilo. He was my heart horse for sure.