Horse Whisper. Photograph, 7 x 6 in. Copyright 2008, Tania Nault.
I’m very excited to finally be able to announce that I will be one of the contributing artists on The Glory of Horses Mural Project! This project will benefit retired and otherwise homeless horses by generating funds, resources, attention and a network of support for these wonderful animals who have given so much to humanity.
I’ve never been a part of a mural project before, and actually had to look it up to see how it all worked. Basically a large “mother image” is designed and painted by a lead artist. The mother image is then divided into many (over 200) individual panels, each containing a section of the original painting. Individual artists receive their panel, and using the shape, tone and colour of the portion of the mother image painted on that panel as inspiration, design a painting to fit within the confines of that shape, tone and colour. Once all the individual panels are complete, they are placed on a large grid to re-create the original mother image.
I will admit: I am a bit nervous. Once I receive my panel I’ll have about a month to be inspired, design my painting and paint it. Oh, didn’t I mention that? Yes, the project must be completed in acrylic paints, eek! Nothing quite like fear to get the blood pumping, eh?
Longing. Scratchboard, 10 x 8 in, 2007. $280.00, framed.
Well, I’m all packed up for the members show of the Nipawin Art Club; it runs throughout July and August. In addition to the horse above, I’ve entered the leopard scratchboard:
Camouflage: African Leopard. Scratchboard with acrylic ink, 5 x 7 in, 2007. $120.00, framed.
And I’ve also entered the larger grizzly board as well; remember, from May?
Grizzly. Scratchboard with acrylic ink, 12 x 9 in, 2007. $380.00, framed.
So, if you happen to be in Nipawin this summer, check out my work at the Nipawin Library and Art Gallery in the Central Park Learning Centre. And if you come that far… stop and play a while - Nipawin has great camping at Nipawin Regional Park, fishing at Tobin and surrounding lakes, or play a round at the Evergreen Golf Club.
WIP: Horse in stable (detail). Scratchboard, 10 x 8 in, 2007.
As someone who loves language, you’d think I’d be better at titling my artwork - at finding names for things. But I’m not; I once agonised for two whole days over the name for a newly adopted Dwarf Holland Lop rabbit - I eventually settled on “Darmaris” (the gentle one). I spent practically my entire university art career making up elaborate versions of “untitled” for example, “untitled no. 237″ for my artwork. Yeah, pitiful. At any rate, I find myself “trying on” titles as a work progresses. Maybe I can ask a dolphin for help?
Stable: pencil study. Graphite on paper, 10 x 8 in, 2007.
Here’s the pencil study for my new work. I picked the reference image by “karpati” from www.morguefile.com . I was completely taken in by the lighting in the photograph, but wanted to change a few details. The horse in the photo has such an intense expression of longing, I thought it would be easier to communicate that if the horse was looking out the top of a stable door. Now, I doubt any Dutch door was ever that high, but I wanted to keep as much of the shadow across the bridge of the nose as possible.
The horse in the photo doesn’t have much mane (I think it’s a rather young animal) but I wanted mine to have a mane. I also included more space in front of the subject to give a better sense that he is looking out of this space into another - making this change also moves the eye into a more compositionally pleasing spot in the picture plane.
This sketch doesn’t capture the intensity of dark and light I want in the final work, but it wasn’t really meant to do that in the first place. Although, I have been seriously thinking about ditching the graphite on white paper sketch process in favour of a drawing in white on black paper drafting process. I think it would help me - not only with layout and composition (which is what the sketch is for in the first place) but also with light and value in the final work. And let’s face it, that’s scratchboard’s biggest feature.
