Horse with a Fly Mask, 2015, oil on panel, 10 x 8 inches
This is the my most recent studio painting which will be exhibited early in June at Mehu Gallery in NYC. Although the subject of the painting is a horse at pasture wearing a fly mask, the focus of the piece is the landscape and the almost brooding effect the light of dusk has on the space. I was invited to show in an exhibition titled
Equus and Such, and the theme is the horse. On a trip to Main in 2007 I encountered a pasture where two horses grassed wearing fly masks. Not knowing much about horses or their upkeep I thought it strange and slightly frightening. Since then I had been wanting to paint what I saw that day, and this exhibition provided the nudge I needed to get it started. My main concern was how to paint a landscape with a horse without it looking cute or sentimental? I knew the mask would take care of part of the issue, but I needed something else. I thought of a painting I love at the Met, a beautiful landscape by
Charles-Francois Daubigny that is tucked away in a quiet corner of the museum, away from the other nineteenth French landscape painters such as Corot and Rousseau. Not sure how I came to think of Daubigny's work when I did, but I'm glad it happened because thanks to that I was able to execute a painting that is different than what I have done in the past.
Equus and Such will be on display from June 4 - July 12, 2015. Opening reception on Thursday, June 4 from 6 - 9 pm. Mehu Gallery is located at 21 W. 100th st, NYC. 212.222.3334. Gallery hours: Tuesday - Sunday 1 - 6pm. Closing reception Sunday, July 12 from 3 - 6pm.
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