When I was young, like a lot of little girls, I was horse OBSESSED. The margins of all my schoolwork are full of horsie doodles. I couldn't wait to get out of class and to the barn.
My fantasy was to go to the barn instead of school. There was this boarding school on Vancouver Island called Queen Margaret's where they had an equestrian program (still do!). They advertised in all the local horse magazines I liked to read and I wanted to go there "sooooo baaaaad!!" It was, of course, out of the budget for our family, so I made do in the public system.
Fast forward to now... my brother, 
a) she's an awesome teacher who cares deeply about her work and her students and
b) they are attending the school I so badly wanted to when I was young.
So, when I did my recent post with the whale, asking for suggestions for what to paint next, Kim asked her students, and, of course, they suggested I try painting HORSES.
It was strange how this made me feel. I was really nervous just thinking about trying to paint a horse. I stopped attempting to create any sort of 'horse art' when I stopped riding (due to it being too damn expensive). I think it was painful- it made me miss it. And I had lost a horse to illness around the same time as when I gave it all up so it was all a bit of a negative association. I can't paint horses! I'm not a legit "horse person" anymore!
I wasn't going to do it! I've been working on Aussie critters (HOW is a creature shaped like a log so difficult to portray?!) and I know that I struggle with getting big, beautiful beasts right in drawings and paintings.
Well, I sat down and pretty sure I blacked out. When I came to, there were three horse heads sketched on the paper. Huh. Weird. So I painted them:
They're certianly not my best work, but I just can't believe that I did it at all! I guess all those margin doodles created some form of muscle memory... cause these vaguely look like horses, right? :)
Anyway, if you made it this far into this post, thank you for reading, I really appreciate it!
I'm still very open to painting suggestions! I'm trying to expand my skills and techniques as I'm still very much a beginner, so let's have it!
Until next time! Cheers!
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Peace & Love!