A Horse with No Name

Horse With No Name
by
Marilyn Lott

He was a horse with no name
But he sure did have style
Strong and handsome he was
and I visited him one in awhile

I was captivated with him
His eyes were bright and clear
Intelligence was obvious
Packed his head from ear to ear

No other animal is like the horse
They are so magnificent to me
Whether in a fence 'round the farm
Or on the range and running free


I found this cute little poem that was just the perfect sentiment  for what has been much of my studio focus these past few weeks.  Towards the last half of my annual Ely, Nevada art sabbatical part 2, I stepped out of my comfort cow zone and began to paint a piece that was of a beautiful gray mare.  It turned out so well that I couldn't stop and wound up painting 5 total horse pieces that week.  Three of which sold immediately when I posted the image on social media.  Each reminded the new owner of a horse they had fond memories of.   

The canvases were relatively small (8 x 8 in) but the horses were dramatic and filled the space perfectly.   The dark background really added to the drama and made the horse seem to pop right off the canvas.  I've picked up more 8 x 8 inch canvases because I'm not stopping.  I feel compelled to paint more.

This week I worked to create a nice print and a set of note that feature my equine art.  These are available for purchase on my Etsy Shop.  I would love to hear your comments about this series of work. 

Set of 5 note cards for $20

The Gray Mare- SOLD

The Paint- SOLD

The Palomino- $150 

The Quarter Horse- SOLD

The Mare and Her Foal- $2

Seeing Eye to Eye

"Eye to Eye"- Acrylic on 12 x 14 stretched canvas

I was completely intrigued by a photo my niece posted on her Facebook wall of a close-up of her horse Spartan's eye.  There was such expression and depth in the photo and I knew it would make a dramatic painting and so I started this 12 x 14 piece in acrylic a few weeks ago.


So as I put the final strokes of paint on this one, I decided to find out more about the vision of this amazing animal.  Frankly, I find that most eyes, regardless of the animal to be interesting.  But there is something special about a horse's eye.   Maybe that has something to do with just how very large, complex and expressive their eyes seem to be.  A horse is such a beloved animal and the bond between horse and man is very strong.

Just a few generations ago many of our ancestors depended on horses to provide their substance, travel and often their lives depended on their horse.  A few years back, my life was greatly impacted when my car was stolen.  It was then that I suddenly had a new appreciation for the wild west and their handling of horse thieves. That was a really big deal!

 Horse ownership has greatly decreased as has our dependency on horses for our livelihood.  A high percentage of households that own horses own more than one horse. Some of the statistics online were not as clear as I had hoped as I started to research the percentage of Americans that own horses but one thing I do know, owning a horse can be very expensive and labor intensive if they are only used as a pet.  So hats off to my niece Emily and her beautiful horse, Spartan!

Here are just a couple facts that I found to be just fascinating.

1. The equine eye is the largest eye of any land mammal—yes, including giraffes!
2. Horses can see a total of 350 degrees around them
3. Horses have “Dichromatic” color vision meaning they can see two colors—shades of blue and gold.  (https://woodsideequineclinic.com/the-amazing-eye-of-the-horse/)

I thought I would share with you a couple more equine themed paintings that I have worked on recently.  If you are interested in seeing more of my work, please check out my website gallery.  There is a little bit of everything there so you might just find something you really like.

"Riding the Buckskin"

Light-em Up

Fence Post Rendezvous

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