I have a passion for heavy horses and the Friesian is at the top of my list. The model for this painting was based on a horse from the Minnesota Horse Expo.

This lovely horse was standing outside in the staging area being attended to by several people. They were brushing out the mane and tail, bringing his coat up to a high shine and polishing his hooves. And as for the question so many people ask, yes his hair was really that long. In fact it spread out on the ground as well.

As to what drew me to create this horse painting was the fact that I was particularly attracted to the rolling curves and ample mane and tail.I also like the almost deco feel to the piece.

In truth this horse painting was me just sort of playing around with oil pastels which for me at the time was a new medium.I never really expected it to be anything more than a study but when I finished it I kinda liked it. My husband on the other hand really liked the painting and convinced me to add it to the horse art prints that I offer. I have to say he was right. It's been the most popular horse art print ever since.

The original horse painting was done in oil pastel on museum board.