Equine Art Horse Portrait Painting Commission

Here's a recent equine portrait commission. This work was in pastels on board and measures 9 inches by 12 inches. This is probably the smallest size a decent horse portrait could be done in pastels. Dogs and cats can translate well enough into portraits at half the size, but not people or horses. The mouth and eye detail are some of the defining characteristics for capturing the likeness of any animal or person, and it is very difficult to achieve that likeness at a smaller-scale, in pastels, when it comes to people or horses. Horses are more work portrait wise, especially as there is often a preference for them to be portrayed with bridle. For this reason, you will find that most portrait artists charge slightly more for equine portraits compared to say dogs or cats (not because they believe horse owners have more money!)

The horse in this portrait painting is a race horse and was a pleasure to draw as I had been given some very good quality photos to work from. I should add that the photos were sent to me by e-mail - a very convenient method I encourage. I hope I have captured this horse's lively character!

If you are interested in commissioning a portrait or other artwork from photo visit my gallery page on the web site for further information.