The Herd - Artist Statement

Having grown up on a farm and caring for my own horses from the early age of three, I have always held a passion not only for my horses, but animals in general. My love of horses led me into a lifelong hobby of competing with many different equine partners. From my very first Quarter horse, Miss Shy As a Daisy, to my most recent guy, Intended (aka Stanley), I have collected my own herd over the years. When I bought my first house I wanted to decorate my walls with the many horse photos I had accumulated over the years, but I was having a hard time placing them. I didn’t want to simply hang photographs around my home, I wanted something more creative, more me. Using the chosen earth tones of my home, and simple black outlines of each of the equine partners I have held in my life, the “Galloping Herd” was born. Having previously been more of a realism artist, I was surprised how much I loved the fluid and wild creation of this painting! I found so much joy in splashing paint, blending colors, and painting without the rigid structure of perfection I had previously found myself striving for. I was so freed by my abstract designs and I fell completely in love with this new style. I wanted to continue this adventure of abstract animals so I moved onto a herd of cattle, then whitetail deer, then buffalo, and I never looked back. With each new painting I add to this collection, I want every collector and viewer to be captured by the shapes and lines and expressions of each of the animals on the canvas. Every one of the animals posed on the canvas has their very own story and personality, and I want to capture every one of them and give the viewer a new animal to decipher in every corner of the canvas! My hope is that each painting provokes the viewer to feel attracted to, and pulled in, by the wild lines painted throughout the canvas, while also being calmed by the realization that there are so many individuals just waiting to be discovered within the larger Herd.