Pastoral Patchwork

"Pastoral Patchwork" is a drawing I've been working on for years - no kidding! It's something I started at least 5 years ago when my friend Sandy shared photos of her trip to the Isle of Man. Since it wasn't a commissioned drawing, it was something I'd pick up and put down in between other projects. My intent was to enter it in the Art at the Classic equine art show at the Draft Horse Classic one day. Well that day finally came and I finished the drawing in time to submit it for this year's show! It was accepted and will be on display from September 18 - 21 at the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley, CA. Art at the Classic is an excellent juried art show featuring equine art from around the country. I've gotten a few drawings accepted over the years and have even won a ribbon or two. And of course, the Draft Horse Classic is a can't-miss event if you love horses. The gentle giants are powerful, impressive and beautiful.

Now back to the drawing process. Sandy had visited the Home of Rest for Old Horses and took some photos. One in particular caught my eye. She was using an Advantix camera that took panoramic photos and I really liked the composition of this one:



I knew it would make a great scratchboard drawing, so, I got a digital copy from her and converted it to greyscale


. . . and as I usually do, I tweaked the contrast a bit to give me darker darks and lighter lights


Here's the finished drawing - in India ink on EssDee scraperboard (scratchboard)


I thought you might like to see just a bit of the detail



For more information on the Home for Rest for Old Horses check out these links:
You Tube Video

A blog post by Phil Parker

This is pretty cool too - Sandy's souvenir, a harness fob from the Home for Rest: