Sweetie Pie and GhostWriter

My friend, Mary Beth, is a writer of young adult novels and lives in Texas with her family and a menagerie of animals (including fainting goats!). Sweetie Pie, her chestnut and white paint mare, gave birth in May to Ghostwriter. Ghostwriter is a visually reverse copy of his mother - a white paint with splotches of chestnut, and blue eyes.

I love this portrait of mother and colt taken just hours after he was born. The nuzzling of noses, the sweet face of Ghostwriter combined with the contrasting coat colors and hints of color in their bridles all made for a stunning portrait.

Some of my first memories of drawing were of horses. They are gorgeously eloquent animals to paint, with their lean, muscular lines, shiny coats and flowing manes and tails - the perfect artist's muse.