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Monday, January 30 2023 / Published in Weekly Feature

Vanessa Whitell: Finding the Feeling Through Equine Art

By Shya Beth

What sets dressage rider and artist Vanessa Whittell apart from the crowd is her ability to paint not just the image she sees, but the feeling of the piece through the paint. It’s one thing to be skilled at sketching the design and composition, choosing the right paints, mixing and blending to get that perfect shade before finally putting the brush to the canvas. It’s a whole other thing to bring the horse alive through the paint, while infusing her intentions into the canvas. Vanessa does both.

Living and working in Canada, Vanessa knows that sometimes the most unexpected things work out for the best. After graduating from Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s visual communication program, Vanessa originally worked as an illustrator. As the digital age took over, she moved more into design and then art direction. Some years later, the company she worked for downsized, and then she had an unfortunate riding accident that left her house-bound for a few months. Away from work and her horses, with a sudden abundance of free time, Vanessa picked up her paint brushes and started painting. “I just got going painting horses,” she said. “If it wasn’t for that time off, I might have waited another 10 years to get started.”

Born in the UK, Vanessa’s love of horses was formed at the age of 3 when she started riding. Then having moved to Canada with her family a few years later, she continued taking lessons. “I think it might have been my love of horses that made me an artist,” she said. “Drawing and dreaming of horses so much when I was little definitely helped develop my drawing skills and my interest in art.”

When Vanessa was 9 years old, her mom got the family’s first horse that they shared. Since then, she’s always had a horse. She’s done it all, from Pony Club to hunter-jumper and upper-level eventing.  “To this day, I am still full of riding hopes and dreams,” Vanessa said. “I find the art of riding completely fascinating, and there are so many aspects to it. Horses are so amazing about putting up with our learning curves, so I feel like we owe it to them to keep getting better every time we ride.”

Experiencing the Artistic Journey 

Vanessa’s paintings are an interesting combination of both realism and abstract concepts, used in a way that allows you to feel the emotion and see the beauty of her subject. She’s honed her painting process to a point where, although she works from images provided by her clients, she can take a seemingly ordinary image and turn it into a visual masterpiece. The detailed sketching and composition process before starting to paint allows her to focus more on the feeling of the piece through the paint and painting effects.

During this process, Vanessa works closely with her client so they can be a part of the artistic journey. “My process starts with going through client photos to find out what they like and don’t like,” Vanessa explained. “We discuss where the painting will hang, determine the colors, size and shape, and then afterwards I take the photo or photos we select and edit or redraw it so that the client can visualize what the painting will look like once completed.”

Once the client confirms the edited image, it’s time to get painting. Providing photos and video updates of the progress along the way, Vanessa really wants the client to enjoy the experience as much as they enjoy the final product. So far, she is focused completely on painting horses. “I’m still just scratching the surface of exploring the concept of the horse and rider,” she said. “I try to balance commission and non-commission work so that I’m able to offer a line of large prints as well.” 

One of Vanessa’s greatest moments was hosting an equine art show in her hometown of Langley, B.C., at the Thunderbird Show Park during Carl Hester’s Masterclass event in 2018. She had the opportunity to invite several of her equine artist friends, and together they were able to share their equine art with the attendees of the clinic. “We all got a full weekend to talk art and horses with a lot of people,” she said. “It was really the best!”

With big goals in motion, Vanessa’s love of dressage is pushing her to get to the Grand Prix level. Currently training with her horse Vancouver, aka Nemo, while starting with another green horse is a challenge that is proving to be quite rewarding. For her art, the dream is to continue to do work that she is really proud of. “This is a moving target because as you progress, the bar keeps getting raised,” she said. “I believe that staying with one subject forces you to be more creative, which is where more interesting art starts.”

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A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself The spor A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself 
The sport of eventing is a demanding and mentally challenging discipline that requires a combination of physical and mental fortitude from both the rider and horse. While having a coach can be incredibly beneficial, self-coaching can also play a crucial role in a rider’s success.

I think that given the opportunity, most riders would like to be coached every day. The reality of life in the horse world, however, is that the majority of us need to absorb as much from the lessons we have on a limited basis and then practice those skills at home to improve.

When I am riding, I try to have a plan for the horses each day and focus on what I’m looking to achieve. It’s important to be aware of the steady improvements rather than trying to solve everything all at once. This is especially important when teaching horses new movements or exercises that they might struggle with, and we need to give them time to learn and understand what we are asking for.

I have a couple of quotes that I use regularly when I’m teaching, and these are mottos that I hold myself to in my daily work as well.

The first is, “If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten.” This is a quote that was said to me many years ago when I was still motor racing and I keep it in the back of my mind each day. It’s easy to get stuck doing the same thing every day with your horse and bad habits are hard to break, from both riders and horses!

This leads me to my next quote, which is, “If what you are doing isn’t working, try something else.” It really is as simple as that! Many riders I see keep asking a horse to do something the same way over and over with an ongoing negative response and they wonder why things don’t get better. In these circumstances, I recommend that the rider change something, even if it’s wrong.

Read the full article by clicking the link in our bio! Don’t forget to keep your eye out for our April subscription!
📸Photo by Alex Banks Photography
The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here and we are so excited to feature three-day eventer Liz Halliday on the cover! Big thanks to photographer Melissa Fuller for the beautiful photo of Liz and Cooley Nutcracker- Liz Halliday-Sharp - HS Eventing. Liz and her horses have taken the eventing world by storm - and find out how Liz is at the top of the sport as a female eventer! As the horse world gears up for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event 2023, it's the perfect time to enjoy our eventing issue!! We also feature eventer and woman entrepreneur Frankie Thieriot Stutes, who is not only an eventer, but also runs Athletux and FRANKIE CAMERON handbags and accessories. And don't miss our eventing story on Robert "Bobby" Costello, who will be leading the US Eventing team to the 2024 Paris Olympics- and US Equestrian has named Bobby the eventing technical advisor/chef d'equipe!! Liz, Frankie and Bobby all have GREAT stories - don't miss any of them and don't forget to get your tickets for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day event! We are also excited to introduce you to hunter-jumper rider Casey Lorusso Smith, who is not only a talented rider but also a psychotherapist and incorporates horses into her career. If you are up for adventure, then read the story on dressage rider Priscilla Baldwin who certainly doesn't let any grass grow under her feet! We also head to the west coast to catch up with hunter-jumper trainer Jim Hagman of Elvenstar Farm, we feature beautiful art by equestrian artist Tammy Tappan, and we get to know Miranda Jones and her family. Miranda is not only an attorney who spends a lot of time in the courthouse, but she's a rider and spends lots of time riding, and is joined by her daughters also! We are excited to feature Stephanie Lightner in our Unbridled column, and don't miss our columnists George Williams, Robert R.L. Jacobs and Margie Sugarman! It's a great issue - and you can read it online, but don't forget to go to the website and order a subscription and get every issue delivered to your mailbox!! Enjoy this issue and enjoy the ride: Link in bio!!
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Marie Meyers has been around the world because of Marie Meyers has been around the world because of dressage, but it’s her farm in Moorpark, California, that has captured her heart. The farm and the business that thrives there represent Marie’s lifelong journey—a journey made up of good friends, spectacular horses and relationships made to last.

Marie was raised in Southern California, and spent her childhood playing just about every sport under the sun, but she didn’t discover riding until she was 14 years old. “I loved animals so much, so I started taking lessons. I did jumping at first, but I was very bad at that, for sure!” Marie laughed.

After some time, Marie moved on to take lessons at Foxfield Riding Academy and began riding dressage. “I fell into dressage by accident,” Marie said, “At the beginning, I thought it was extremely boring, but then I got hooked. By the time I graduated from high school, I had plans to travel to England to work for Franz Rochowansky, a former head of the Spanish Riding School.”

In 1988, Marie’s hard work paid off, and the pair was selected as alternates for the 1988 Summer Olympic Games. “They didn’t take the alternates that year, so we didn’t go to Seoul, but the experience, the training and the European Tour afterwards set me up for the 1990 World Equestrian Games in Stockholm, Sweden,” Marie said.

In addition to having success representing her country, Marie was busy with her life—marriage, a business, teaching lessons and clinics. 

Learn more about Marie in this month's edition of Sidelines Magazine. Click the link in our bio for more 🦄

📸Photos by Lindsey Long Equine Photography, www.lindseylong.com

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