Quarter (Barrel) Horse Pencil Drawing Portrait Commission

Horses have been a favorite animal of mine since early childhood so it comes as no surprise that I embrace every opportunity I have to paint or draw them!

I was asked to draw this beautiful horse's portrait as a memorial tribute for a friend. I used mainly 8B and F pencils along with my tortillions, chamois and Q-tips for delicate blending.

The original photo included a busy background and the horse was wearing a halter but it was decided to leave those out of the drawing to focus on the subject.

"Darby"

11x14

graphite pencils

COMMISSION

View the work in progress below: 

Horse Portrait progress

I am happy with the progress I've achieved so far on this portrait, considering this is larger commission than usual for me.  You can see my pastel pencils at the bottom of the image for size comparison.  

 

Tennessee Walker Horse Portrait in Pastel

I have just received approval tonight from the client in regards to this commission! I will be busy securing and packing the artwork so that it is ready to ship tomorrow. All of my artwork is shipped flat... the portrait surface is protected with a sheet of glassine paper and then carefully sandwiched in between several layers of cardboard. Then, I use plastic wrap to "waterproof" the artwork before securing with an additional layer of cardboard on either side, which is taped and sealed shut with clear packing tape.

The Tennessee Walking Horse featured on the portrait is described as dark bay. The original photos were not really good and so I had to use several different shots that the client gave me to come up with this composition.

Tennessee Walker
Pastel
14x18

To read more about this painting, visit my website http://www.colettetheriault.com/descriptions/paint1description/Tennessee_Walker_Horse_painting.php

More progress on the horse painting commission

This horse's coat color is what is called dark bay. I am achieving the dark color by adding many layers of pastel on top of each other, with a reddish brown being the base coat. One can still see areas where the base coat still appears even though the darker grey black pastel has been added on top.

Horse Pastel Painting update



In this step, I pretty much have completed the horse's neck and mane.  During the next sitting, I move on to the shoulder and leg area before adding the reins last.

Pastel Horse painting-update

I took advantage of my creative energy and continued to work on this pastel painting tonight. I'm not certain anymore if I am going to add the background as on the mock as I kind of like the darker simple background...which would be less work for me!! I tend to not want to do backgrounds that much unless they are necessary for the composition.

You can view a larger image on my website here:

http://www.colettetheriault.com/descriptions/paint1description/mare_foal_painting.php