8" x 8"
oil on cradled wooden panel
You never know who is going to be your best mate.  In this case, it's a big black horse and a little donkey.  This seemingly simple oil sketch went through many stages.  Part of it was figuring out just how much or little I needed to create a space for them to be in, and what kind of brushstrokes would create that space.  I wanted them to be standing in a field with some old snow, but I wanted most of the attention to be on the horses, with the field barely suggested.  So the question became, how can I do that in a few, loose brushstrokes?  The background looks like an afterthought, but it has been painted and repainted many times to get to that casual, minimal stage.