96 SIDELINES DECEMBER 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
e
Arizona Art
By Kathryn Murphy
H
er love of horses is what spurred Carole Andreen-Harris
.
successful career as an artist into motion. Their amazing
beauty, elegance and athleticism is the inspiration behind
her breathtaking artwork. Her nationally recognized paintings have
won multiple awards, and they have been exhibited across the
country for years. While her focus is primarily equine, Carole also
paints a variety of other subjects such as wildlife, southwestern
landscapes and people.
Carole thinks of her paintings as her children, and is attached
to many of them. While it’s hard to say which is her favorite piece,
she noted that the first one that comes to mind is “Hug,” a painting
of a girl hugging a bay horse. “...Simple, but I think it reflects the
deep connection we have towards our horses!” she said.
Although she has used a lot of mediums over the years,
including watercolor, acrylic, graphite and pastel, Carole is now
exclusively using oils. Depending on the piece, she may start with
a monochromatic (one color) under painting, before moving to
color. She started drawing at a very early age, but chose painting
as her artistic medium when she received her first acrylic set
at age 13. Ever since then, she has used painting as a way to
express what moves her: primarily, horses.
At an early age, Carole was drawn to the power and grace of the
equine animal. Although she did not have horses of her own, she
grew up in an area of Minnesota that was surrounded by pastures
and stables. “I began painting horses as an outlet initially because
I desperately wanted one,” Carole recalled. When she moved to
Arizona at age 16, she was ecstatic to own her very first horse, an
Appaloosa/Arabian cross named Foxy. “I rode almost every day
... as much as I could and, when I couldn’t ride, I groomed. I love
Captured on Canvas:
The Stunning Equine Artwork of
Carole Andreen-Harris
grooming.”
Carole
’
s passion for horses is reflected in her artwork. Her
artistic visions start as photographs and come to life on canvas
after a great deal of preparation. The hardest part about creating
a masterpiece for Carole is getting started. “All of the prep and
planning takes up more than half the time of creating a piece ...
“Hug” – 16 x 20 oil on canvas
Photos by Carole Andreen-Harris
“Morgan Mystique” –
12 x 24 oil on canvas
