On The Easel
October 11, 2007
There is quite often some time between the first glimmerings of an idea for a painting and doing the painting. It can be as long as years or as short as days, but there is always a period of pondering before a painting begins.
In this case, the first ideas were presented on July 28, 2006, when I took this photograph during a jaunt through the Flint Hills. Though I am always looking for horses to photograph as possible subjects, on this occasion it was actually the two bulls along the fence beyond the horses that drew my attention. They were in adjacent pastures but "conversing" over the fence. It seemed like a likely candidate for a future painting.
But in the end, it was the combination of the landscape and light and the horses that finally brought this idea to canvas. Of the three or four photographs taken of this setting, this one provided the best starting point and, therefore, was chosen as the primary reference source.