Horses, Horses, Horses

A little morning chill but sunny and clear for painting. We visited a horse farm in Winters. There were lots of horses, individually housed in a luxurious stable in a French Chateau like building or in small stables or sheds. They all had plenty of room to wander around and that created a problem. I'm not used to drawing or painting horses especially moving ones. After plenty of quick sketches, I set up at the beginning of a road that ran between some stables. I was fascinated with the mottled light from the cast shadows of the young trees. After several sketches I settled on one. Behind me was a huge arena which was continuously used by owners exercising their horse or riding them. Plenty of chatter with the attendants about the health of their animal. It must be wonderful to own a horse that you can ride and talk to anytime of the week.