22 SIDELINES OCTOBER 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
“Hey Bay Bay” Oil on Gessoed Panel 18 x 18
than sticking with something that’s “safe,” I like to explore,
experiment and push my own boundaries. It’s by constantly
stretching our muscles (literally and figuratively) that we learn to
be better at everything we do. “Success” and “failure” mean little;
they’re only stepping stones along the path. What is important is
that you constantly try to become better at everything you do.
How did your childhood growing up with horses affect your
art?
Horses were always part of my life. I grew up riding Shetland
ponies and then got a Connemara when I was about 12. I read
every book I could find about horses and from the beginning they
were my favorite subjects.
How did you get into painting and drawing?
When I was about 11, I copied one of my mom’s dog portraits. Mom
set me up with pastels and other supplies and I would do
portraits “from life” of people’s dogs at the dog shows mom went
to. Sometimes, I would also do portraits of horses from life at the
local saddle club shows. I essentially went “pro” at age 11.
What are some of your greatest accomplishments in art?
My paintings have been in museum shows like the Leigh Yawkey
Woodson Museum’s “Birds in Art” show in Wisconsin. My painting
of a grizzly bear, “Shore Patrol,” won the John Clymer Memorial
Award for wildlife painting at the Clymer Museum Show in
Washington State. My paintings won Best Painting in Show three
years in a row at the Ward Museum Show in Maryland. I was
