Hi Guys!

Well, here's the painting so far. At first I struggled and regretted ever having tried it but as time has passed I have become quite fond of trying this one. I think it may become an addiction because this isn't even finished and already I'm planning the next horsey painting! :lol:

It isn't finished yet, still quite a way to go, but I wanted to hear what your thoughts were on this. Do you think the shadow area under the horse works? Should I add more detail to him or leave it kind of loose and unfinished?

I want to put something in the foreground particularly to the left and was thinking maybe long grasses. Any ideas?

C&c appreciated as I want to learn as much as possible from this one in the hopes there will be improvement next time.

Shaz

Hiya Shaz,
I personally like this as it is. The space on the left adds to the feeling of this horse being able to run around freely and have fun. thssupp

Hi Shaz,

Sky, distance, field are all fine.

At first glance the horse looks convincing, but on closer scrutiny there are a few faults that could stand improvement.

The front of the horse 'pops out' nicely to give a 3 dimensional look, but the body and rump of the horse don't quite fit the same perspective or viewpoint. Some small adjustments might improve it. ie The back could dip between the main and rump. The chest/belly could look more rounded and fuller. The hind leg thigh could be bigger and meatier from groin to knee. Perhaps the bulge of the belly should come in front of the leg/groin crease. Bring the near hind hoof in front of/over the rear hoof. It's the twist of the body that is difficult to portray.

I find the shadow too dark/black for such a bright sky and should be faded out around the edges and quite neatly shaped even if slightly grass ragged.

Compositionally it needs something on the left just to maintain pictorial interest. Position the something on a line drawn (imagined) from top left corner to bottom right corner and put 'something' on the upper line between the two buildngs (aprox). A spot of sharp sunlight or flowers would do, just an accent without distracting.

Aesthetically decide how romantic or realistic you want to go in regard to the main and tail.

These are my thoughts for your consideration, but I am neither an oil painter or a horse expert.

Good luck - you are doing very well so far. :)

I think you have done tremendously well with this Shaz, my only comments are the shadow a tad too dark, plus I think there is too much mane on the horses back 12painter

I to think you are winning with this one Shaz (thumbs)
I do wonder whether placing the head on a third works ? particularly without another horse or something else across the centre line.

Horse is quite good and just needs small tweaks maybe

The Horses mane needs shortening to show a wee bit of back
The inside rear leg seems to extend too far under the belly but only very slightly

Shadows below horse a wee bit dark

The dark green trees on right need to be lighter and one or two on the left need darkening for balance as at the moment all the power is on the right.

Or curve some more land down the left to stop the land running off too sudden.


Looks very promising Shaz (thumbs)

Neil

(claphands) (thumbs) (claphands) Hi Shaz, loads of comments already given, so I'll just say well done in attempting this - it's looking really good so far, looking forward to seeing the finished thing! (loveh) Sylvia

I can't add anything (no experience of horses or oil paints), except to say "Well done". It will be a winner if you act on the advice given so far.

Well Shaz you really didnt let us down with this, its excellent. Thanks so much for showing us all the stages and how you paint. (claphands) (grins)

looks good to me (claphands) although i absolutely nothing about horses (grins)

Most been said. I think long grass is an idea, but not too long. Roughen the ground up a bit with some suggestion of tuffets and maybe a bit hint of clover/daisys/weeds.

Did you do any more work on this one Shaz ?

Hi Shaz, I mist this one first time round, but it look great to me. Well done. thssupp (claphands)

I will agree with Neil statement.
However if it is your first horse in Oil. Very well done with handleling the medium for a difficult subject !
Try to rectify the few details given by Neil and it will be a winner. (thumbs)

Thank you for all your lovely comments and helpful advice, which has all been taken on board. Apologies for not updating sooner. (Bat)

The horse painting is not yet finished as I have been distracted for a while by sky paintings, but I will get back to this to finish it off before very long. In the meantime, here is where it is at the moment - altered the mane, put in a bit of a dip in the back, changed the angle of the back leg etc.

Regarding the left hand side, I do have quite a few ideas and hope to put them into action soon but I intend to keep the sense of space as this painting is all about Freedom so I don't want to 'fence' him in at all. :D

Thanks for looking and will post when I complete.
:D
Shaz

Looking good.