June 1, 2025
I figured it might be nice for you to actually see me paint something, so I created a small timelapse showing me painting a horse! Well… in the process of painting a horse. I am only in the stage of the underpainting, but it will give you an idea on how projects like these are developed…
I have only painted one horse since I stepped up to working with acrylic paint and it was a very loose piece on paper. This time I was interested in trying to see if I could faithfully paint a fairly large portrait of a nice dun horse.
Konik pastels
In a previous life, I created many pastels with horse sketches dedicated to the Konik, a fairly untouched breed of small Polish horses that walks free in many national parks in my country or origin, The Netherlands. Their name is well-chosen and means ‘small horse’. These semi feral ungulates are at most 15 hands at the withers, but do not mistake them for a pony. They are full-blown horses in their behaviour and I once was so mesmerized by them that I produced a series of 100 sketches and drawings, that were in several exhibitions. Most of these have been sold, but I keep a few at the house out of sentimental reasons.
Tip: you can come and see them when you visit me during the upcoming 2025 Studio Tour in Elgin County, later this year in the weekend of 27-28 September!
The colour of my (random) reference photograph reminded me of some of the dun coats of the koniks. Which does not mean I only need one type of paint! The palette may be fairly limited with natural shades, but there are still more than you would see at first glance.
Going classic
The process I have chosen follows the same lines as the classic way to paint a human portrait. It was created a long time ago and is based on an underpainting. What is an underpainting? It is a first set-up on the canvas of the subject, executed in fairly thin paint. This enables the artist to get a good feel for the subject and if there are any mistakes made, they can easily be corrected in the later detailing layers and finishes.
I started with a black and white sketch, to familiarize myself with all the details in this lovely horse’s head an body. Once that was done, it was time to move to the final canvas. I hardly ever work on a pure white surface – my canvases are usually toned with a base colour. Once that colour is applied and dry, it is time for some sketching, based on the reference. And then, finally, the brushes and the paints can come out to start mixing what is needed for the portrait.
I hope you enjoy the video. It was just done on my iPhone, so forgive me for the lack of high-standing cinematographic quality 🙂
Click the video below to start watching!