New Beginnings

It's not the things we get but the hearts we touch that will
determine our success in life.
~Mac Anderson

I don't think there is anything as sacred as young babies; human and animal alike. This is my first piece of the new year and it makes me think about new beginnings.

A lot of people I have talked to are very excited about the new year. There is a feeling that people have that amazing things are going to happen. I felt this too as the new year changed..... for some unknown reason I feel it is going to be a special year for all who embrace it as a new beginning.

Like this foal there can also be new growth with a new beginning. New growth can often be painful but often leads to new discoveries.

When we journey with horses we are led to new connections within ourselves and also with others.

Enjoy new beginnings in this new year.
Hugs,
Susan
www.windhorseone.com

X-mas Commission

Nick and Bali

Nick and Bali 2

It seems like it has been ages since I have done much of anything with social media! A waxing and waning like the moon if you will.

Nick and Bali are brother and sister and only a few weeks apart in age. Here is the interesting fact..... they both have the same mother and sire but are not twins. In fact they were carried by two different mares so their mother could continue her training. This is certainly a first for me!

They are three coming on four and have dressage in their future so lets just say it was a bit of a surprise when I showed up to photograph them and I saw a western saddle on Bali! It was her second day of training with a natural horseman.

Another first for me is that the print is going to be 54". To date 40" has been as large as I have done so I can't wait to see it when I pick it up from the printers this Friday!

I just returned from a trip to Conn. to photograph some PMU foals that were rescued from a potential kill buyer purchase so I should have lots of stuff to Blog about in the upcoming weeks!

Be back soon,
Susan

Pretty in Pink

Here is another shot from the Snowmass rodeo. This team was in the barrel racing competition.

I just love how this young girl's shirt matches her horses reins. The horse probably had pink leg wraps too!

Horses are kindred spirits for many girls and women. I know they are for me. A harmonious partnership with your horse is very beautiful and is cause for celebration.

Take a moment to pause and reflect and give gratitude for all the horse has given to us.

Have a great weekend!
Susan

Snowmass Rodeo Western Wednedays: Snowmass Village Colorado

I returned home Fri. eve. from 6 days in Snowmass and Aspen Colorado. I attended a photo/painting hybrid class at Anderson Ranch. What a blast! So much happened in the last week I still have not stopped spinning!

While we were there we went to the Snowmass Rodeo Western Wednesdays which is held every week during the summer. I haven't gone to a rodeo in quite some time and I hoped to get some cowboy shots. But being an avid horse photographer I am happy to say I did manage to get some liberty shots. Nothing makes me happier than watching a beautiful horse run around freely without any tack.

Meet Hannah Montana, a beautiful bay mare. They let Hannah run loose in the arena while they told the crowd a little bit about the bucking horses. You see, Hannah is a bucking bronc and while it may appear so - I was not in the arena with her!

I don't believe she ever came out of the chutes that night which I was grateful for. I want to remember her like this and not with the whites of her eyes showing and her mouth wide open as she thrashes about wildly to remove the man on her back. I read in Monty Robert's book that broncs are prize animals that are well cared for and actually love their jobs. You can see by the pic. that she is in fabulous shape but you could have fooled me about the loving their jobs part. Well maybe the part about unleashing the cowboy!

Susan

Art at the Draft Horse Classic

I just wanted to share this image with you from the Draft Horse Classic out at the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley CA. Every year they have an art show while all the gentle giants strut their stuff. This is one of my submissions that I worked up recently.

It was at this event last year that I fell in love with the Friesian breed. I am not sure but I think this is a Percheron horse. Please correct me if I am wrong! I would love to go back and exhibit again this year but we have decided to stay in CO this year. Boo Hoo! I loved it there.

Well this blogger has had about enough writing for today. I was busy reactivating and communicating on my new windhorseOne Studios Facebook page and I am throwing in the towel!

Thanks for reading!
Susan
windhorseOne Studios
www.windhorseone.com

Another on Relationships

Hi Everybody!
I am back from over 2 weeks in glorious Europe where I was able to visit a villa where Andalusian horses are raised in the beautiful country side of Andalusia Spain. What an honor an a privilege. I also became quite a fan of passionate Flamenco dancing, also from that region. More on that in a future blog....

Here is another portrait from the series I submitted on the relationship project. This one has more of a narrative quality to it. One of the things I love about horses is that they have the ability to be mirrors to our own humanity.

This is also true of art. We become engaged with a piece of art because of our own stories. Each person may have a different dialogue with a piece of art which is why I choose to give my work generalized names. It is my desire that each person experiences the work however they choose!

That is all for now! I am still trying to regroup from yesterday's long travel day. I am glad to be home and have lots of news to share!

Appaloosa Portrait: Number Two

Here is my second appaloosa portrait using similar colors to the first. I am working with a bit of blue again and I think it has really enhanced the horse. I will probably do at least one more.

This picture was taken last year at a roundup in Craig Colorado. Every year the Sombrero ranch brings the horses in from their winter wonderland to prepare them to go back to work. The horses are leased out to various dude ranches and outfitters until their season is over. It is truly an amazing site to witness! There is dust flying and horses whinnying and there are about 100 photographers who go to take pictures. The horses just run by and around us and I know that I was so in the moment that I could have been bumped and trampled at any time!

There is something about running horses that mesmerizes people. I think it is because there is such a feeling of freedom and power that accompanies a running horse. We can hear the hooves pounding and the wind on our face even if we have never ridden before. Many people who buy my art do not have horses yet they are so captivated by the archetypal energy associated with the horse.

Tonight I am going downtown to Denver for the First Friday opening. I haven't done that for a while so I am really looking forward to it!

Have a super weekend!
Susan
windhorseOne Studios
www.windhorseone.com

The Windhorse

I have always been drawn to horses with unusual markings and blue eyes. There is something very surreal abut blue eyed horses and dogs for that matter. There is a mystical quality to this horse and I imagine him carrying a Shaman or Native American medicine man. That is just what popped into my head as I was writing this. This could possibly be the start of a new body of work since I am not sure where it fits in with my other work. New directions; I love it! The creative process is such an adventure and I never know where it is going to take me.

This week I have been reading "She Flies Without Wings; How Horses Touch a Woman's Soul" by Mary D. Midkiff. It is a beautiful book with stories about how horses capture the hearts of young girls and women. It explains so eloquently the mystery and process of how many of us who are horse artists and equestrians alike have identified with the horse. We all know there is a special connection but there are several aha moments in the book. It took me back to my horse crazy childhood.

Happy March! Spring is on its way and along with that the large CO spring snowstorms. It has been a dry winter here so I hope we get some good storms to keep the mountains moist and the fires away.

Susan
www.windhorseone.com

Of Horses and Dogs

Meet Foose. I can never remember if he is a border collie or Australian sheep dog mix. Any way I am not too sure it is important. He is absolutely gorgeous! All I know is that with horses there must also be dogs. At least there have been wherever my horses have been. Dogs have come and gone in my life and right now I am sad to admit I am dogless. With a busy art show schedule it is easy when your horses are boarded but it is not as easy to board your dog. Yes it easy in the sense that you can drop them off at a kennel but I have never really had the heart for that.

But on the bright side I get to see Foose and his girl Scout. Scout has had some leg problems lately and I do not have any photos of her but she is equally as spectacular! What I love about Foose is his wonderful vigor for life. When I arrive at the farm (I am from the east where we say farm but now I am in Colorado so I guess I should say ranch!) he comes flying down helter skelter to greet me. He loves to jump up to say hello but if it is muddy he is a gentleman when I tell him down. Foose found his forever home after a former guardian decided it was too much effort to continue to feed him. I guess I can't imagine somebody coming to decide something like that.

If there is one thing I have to say about Foose, it is that besides being an amazing companion, he takes his herding responsibilities quite seriously! And while he is very much the serious fella about this, sometime the horses think he is a pest and will chase him! He is quite the tenacious guy though and often his patience wins out. I have to admit that I love photographing dogs as much as I love photographing horses. Really, the two are inseparable!

As always, thanks for reading!
Susan
windhorseOne Studios
www.windhorseone.com

Boys will be Boys

These are my two young colts horsing around in the field a few weeks before I brought them to the mountains. Recently I was notified by Equine Wellness magazine that this picture was awarded 6th place and will be published in their March/April issue! Woo hoo, what an honor! The contest called for photos of people's horses. I know I am partial but I have to admit that they are way too cute. :)

They look like brothers but they are not related. The standing colt is called Kairos and the lad on top is Zephyr. They are both named after Greek gods. Zephyr is the god of the gentle west winds and Kairos is the god of time (Cronos is also a god of time and that is where chronological comes from). Kairos is symbolic for instances with small windows of time where there is an opening and one must act with gusto or lose the opportunity.

This was actually a pivotal point in these boys lives. Normally Kairos would be pestering Zephyr, who is so sweet and gentle. But Zephyr has decided he has had enough! And if you knew the two then you couldn't really blame him. They absolutely adore one another and are inseparable!

Bye for now!
Susan
windhorseOne Studios
www.windhorseone.com

Black Messenger

Once again it is late in the evening when I find the time to work on one of my photographs. It was just last year when I was exhibiting my work at the Art at the Classic at the Draft Horse Classic in Grass Valley, Ca. that I fell in love with the Friesian horse. As exhibitors, we were given a free ticket to an evening show. My breath was taken away when a team of six Friesians entered the ring. That was all it took and I was immediately hooked. Somehow I was immediately transported back in time to the medieval ages. It was an amazing site to see all six horses moving in sync!

We were busy at the show but I did manage to sneak out for about an hour and go back to the barns to take some photographs. I have read somewhere that the black horse is a metaphor for a messenger of esoteric knowledge. You have to wonder what this fine animal is thinking. There is such wisdom in its eye. The Friesian breed certainly is the horse of kings (and of course queens!).

Susan
windhorseOne Studios
www.windhorseone.com

The Fratsters

If horses could speak what do you think these two would be saying? This photograph is quite comical and during the process of photographing I did not even see it through the lens as it was happening! One of the things that is so special about photographing horses is that they are so animated and full of expression that you can never be sure about what you will have recorded until you get home!

One colt is nine months and the other is ten months. They are not even related, and really look nothing alike, but yet they almost look the same in this image. They were born on the same farm and they while their personalities are at the opposite ends of the spectrum they are connected in a really special way.

I have been busy collecting imagery of these two special boys and hope to put together a children's book or two. For some strange reason I am finding it more challenging to achieve the results I want and I am not sure if it is because I know these two intimately and perhaps have higher expectations from myself. Something to think about :)

Best,
Susan
windhorseOne Studios
www.windhorseone.com

New Addition to Baroque Series

This past summer I had the good fortune to watch this Andalusian stallion strutting his stuff during an evening performance at a draft horse event we were exhibiting at. I took a break from the booth and to my delight he was at liberty in an outdoor arena getting some exercise and playing with his handler. I had never seen anything like it before.

I just finished the piece recently in time for another event we were attending called Horsecapades. It was a benefit for the Cowboys Up organization which uses horses for equine assisted psychotherapy. The event had a great lineup of costumed riders and horses performing to music.

My favorite was an Andalusian stallion called Acierto who does amazing maneuvers around his person/owner while at liberty. I can't wait to go through the photographs to see what I got. I am hoping for a good shot of him rearing.

Bye for now,
Susan