Artwork in Paintings and Pencil

The Shiner Ranch in Lemhi, ID was the scene for this drawing. When I visited the ranch on branding day, one of the first things I saw was a group of two-year-old horses tied along the fence where they could see the action. Each horse was bridled and saddled, ready to take his turn out in the corral where the cowboys would rope calves and drag them over to be branded. It was a long and strenuous workout for the colts and the cowboys traded them every so often for a fresh mount.

The young horses soon learned that it was much easier to stand quietly and rest rather than fuss at all the commotion around them. Using up all that energy being nervous and fretting just made them more tired when they had to go work the cows. It’s an important lesson every good ranch horse knows.

I came across this colt watching me. Quiet but alert he was curious about why I was there. He was my favorite of the bunch and was also a great model. I hope you enjoy this demo as I bring him to life in pencil. 

To get started, I sketch out the drawing and make sure the composition is right. Working from left to right to avoid smudging, I lay in the hindquarters and saddle.

The saddle is done. Oh, that lariat took a long time to draw! For the neck, I use several pencils with different hardness ratings. I want to show the curve of the horse's neck and how the light hits it by using soft leaded pencils for the darks and harder leads for the light areas. I start laying in the fence as well. 

A little different perspective from my drafting table. You start to get a feeling of the rough-sawn fence boards, and the dark shadows under the fence poles make them stand out. 

The home stretch! Drawing the head and face of a horse is my favorite part and brings it to life.

Finished! After many long hours of work, "Learning the Ropes" is ready to go to the framers. Just for fun I included a picture of it framed.

“Learning The Ropes” will be featured at the Mountain Oyster Club Art Show & Sale on Nov 18, 2018