Two Geldings in a Paddock - Original Art

Two Geldings in a Paddock, 18" x 24", mixed media on 1 1/2 Cradled Panel. Oil, Cold wax, Oil bar, Paper, Crayon.

This painting has been juried into 'Cold Wax International - A Juried Exhibition' 2024. 839 entries, 78 selected.  Gallery of Accepted Works 

On any given day in my studio there are generally 3-4 paintings in progress and they fall into a working rotation. Sprinkled in between those days are a few Alla Prima sessions, where I aim to complete one painting on that particular day. There is also usually a painting that sits longer. I work on it sporadically; when I have some extra paint on my palette, or perhaps I'm experimenting with an idea. Such is the case with this, Two Geldings painting. 

Originally I started tight and thought the horses would be represented classically, however as I kept evolving through ideas, the traditional way just seemed – boring. Once the horses were marked in I created a paper mask to protect the figures and started laying in shapes, textures and colour in cold wax, crayons and oil bars. Then I ripped up some papers and old newsprint and layered them in the cold wax too. This completely disrupted the image the way I wanted. Then, uncovering the mask I worked the horses into the disruption. To complete the image I zoned in on editing and refining shapes in offset cross composition.