December 2, 2008

"Tally Ho"

Oil on museum quality, archival ampersand gessobord™ panel - 6” x 8”


I have attended the Blessing of the hounds at St. John's Episcopal Church in Glyndon, Md for the last couple of years.  The church is a charming neo-gothic cathedral nestled in the heart of horse country.  It has always been pet friendly. For instance; my wife and I often attend Christmas morning service there where our dear friend Father Frederick Hannah has been the guest rector. I grant you it is a tiny church but I can only surmise that the bulk of the congregation was in attendance on Christmas Eve since the 10:00 am morning service never boasted more than two dozen or so parishioners.  One Christmas morning, as we knelt at the alter awaiting communion, we notice a tiny nose poking out of the jacket of the man next to us.  He had a tiny puppy with him.  Father Fred gave the man the host and blessed the little dog, he did not let the puppy drink from the common cup.


I don't normally cut off heads in my compositions but this painting cried out for ambiguity and abstraction.  The negative spaces, the pull of red and green, and the free brushwork came together to form a very pleasing painting (at least to me).


20 comments:

Liza Hirst said...

Beautiful! Love the colours, the contrast of the red and white. And the horse is painted sooo well!
Congratulations, Mark!

Mark Adams said...

Thanks, Liza. I'm trying to loosen up a bit. I had fun with this one.

Carol Schiff Daily Painting said...

BRAVO Mark! Stunning!

Mark Adams said...

I'm flattered, Carol.

Thanks for following me BTW

Diane said...

A perfectly captured animal.... as always. Love the shading of the horse's white coat... and the contasting leather tack.

Mark Adams said...

Thanks, Diane. It's a horse of a different color.

Alice Thompson said...

This is SPECTACULAR!!!!
Equine Perfection in Paint.

m collier said...

Very Nice !!!

Roxanne Steed said...

OMG! absolutely stunning! love how the horse is "listening" to its rider (reminds me of a mare I used to have!)..sigh- so lovely!

Mark Adams said...

Alice, I'm glad you still check in, after my TMI tag offerings. Thanks for the praise.

Mark Adams said...

Thanks, M

That means a lot coming from you.

Mark Adams said...

Roxanne, you really know your steeds (sorry). Nice pick up on the pricked ears. Do you still have horses?

Roxanne Steed said...

hehe! my husband swore I married him for his name! (I was a horse-crazy girl!). No, I sold that mare to a pony-clubber in San-Diego.It was a perfect match, nice-kid, really nice older horse. We were moving back to cold-country & she was thriving in SD...& I wanted more time to paint...& my kids did not get the horsey-gene from me, multiple reasons, but those were 10 of the best years of some very intense fun! whew- does sound like I miss her at times! ;-)

Mark Adams said...

Roxanne,

I was a big Avengers fan back in the day and John Steed was my hero. I'm sure there are a few people out there who still remember me briefly wearing a black bowler hat and carrying an umbrella. (I told you I liked costumes)

Roxanne Steed said...

hehe, I can see it now! very cool duds...

Unknown said...

Wow - not only are you a great painter of cats and dogs, but now I find out you are an equestrian master painter as well!!! I love how you have shown that "white' is never truly white in a painting. As someone else commented, the color combination is striking... and I love the little bits of negative space throughout this piece. Hard to believe it is only 6 x 8". Beautiful, Mark! BTW, I forgive you for the 3rd tag...

Mark Adams said...

Joanne, You're right. This painting has more holes than a Henry Moore Sculpture. I'm quite happy with it. Thanks for the kind words.

Rhonda Hurwitz said...

WOW! this is amazing. Mark, you have really topped yourself with this painting. It may be small, but it makes a big impact.

Mark Adams said...

Thanks, Rhonda.

yich said...

You have captured the majesty of this horse beautifully. I am in awe. Perfect.