I have a backlog of submissions I’m slowly getting posted, but serendipity strikes, and I have two horse submissions, very different from one another. We start with the amazing and beautiful art of painting resin horse models, thanks to Kestrel. This is time consuming and difficult work. This isn’t a type of art where the artist gets to simply go with flights of fancy, the object here is intense realism. One such artist, Mindy Berg, has her latest up for auction, and it is a beauty!
I am so very proud to formally introduce to you my newly completed Lucius resin, sculpted by Emilia Kurila. Lucius needs no introduction.. but in case you have not seen him before he is one of the most coveted resins in the hobby (for good reason!). Made from a small edition, he is one hard resin to find, either painted or unpainted. This particular copy has been with me since the start of the edition, and it has taken me since then to complete his coat. Now we all know that time doesn’t necessarily equate to quality, but, I do want accentuate the fact that I have taken my time on this piece with no holds barred, and allowed myself to boldly go where I have not gone before…
Introducing Skywalker. Destined for great things, in this horse I aimed for the stars. He is by far the most detailed and complicated pattern I have ever attempted. Skywalker was painstakingly hand painted in oils, with each tiny hair a stroke of a minuscule brush, and there are thousands upon thousands of tiny hairs. There is a great reason that this technique is not commonly employed! Although a beautifully effective way to create realistic coat patterns, it is an incredibly slow process. Acrylics and pastels, and some pencil, were also sparingly used in his creation as well. He is an example of what I can create without time constraints, my painting “magnum opus” to date.
Then we have some photos from rq, of an interesting place visited for a work event, which also had a horse. I think it would make a cool cabin. They should have made the tarse large enough to slide down! Click for full size.
© rq, all rights reserved.
I had a hard time believing that Skywalker is a model (it’s the mane and tail that give it away, you can’t tell from the face!). A very well-proportioned horse with beautiful colouring and a stately profile.
As for the second, well… from a distance, it reminded me of Magritte.
The first horse is stunningly beautifull. I will not hear a word about “realism” being the enemy of art.
The second one reminds me of Susan Sto Helit and how she was building a horse in the class in the book “Thief of time”. She had prevente the use of a long pipe by one very observant pupil and said “this is a polite horse” (paraphrasing from memory). I see this artist was also very observant and did not let “politeness” stand in the way of using the pipe. It would be a cool cabin, but the entrance is slightly awkwardly positionied for that purpose. It is more of an exit.
Now that I think on it, unless the tarse is specifically for some sort of drainage, it would have been very cool to have a stairway there instead.
Skywalker is a fine example of what we all strive for in the hobby. I’m very proud to say that I own an example of Mindy’s work -- she painted a portrait of one of my horses on a tiny resin called “Yago”. Even though he’s only a few inches tall it took her a long time to do him. I’ll note that Skywalker has already sold! Please don’t be disappointed, in case anyone thought he was still available.
The horse in the forest is wonderful. At first I thought it was simply a sculpture but it looks like it’s useable? Imagine spending the night in your very own Trojan Horse!
@Charly #2: I wonder what it is about adults that makes them worry so much about genitals. There is a giant statue of a Viking in Alexandria, MN, that is (I’m not making this up) guarded by police every Halloween to stop local youth from making the statue anatomically correct. The poor statue has had other misadventures: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/19491
@kestrel
Don’t ask me, I have no idea. Possibly some residuals of post medieval christian culture. When I was in uni, I plastered my room with my drawings. Some of them acts. One of them male. It was seen as noteworthy that the male had a visible penis.
Speaking of genitals, Skywalker’s genitals are also visible, and rightly so. Anyone who has ever seen a male horse, well, they are a tad difficult to miss.
Caine @6: LOL, it’s an interesting aspect of the hobby. The sculptors proudly add those details, very lovingly and correctly done, and then brag about it as a sales point. Quite the contrast to those Breyer models where, just like in dolls, they sort of would gloss over that bit, and there would be a vague lump there. As if any kid who had ever seen a live horse did not know different.