Horse art by Kathleen Beesley

Lou Lou - First Race

2011-01-31T12:21:00.003+01:00

This is a commissioned portrait of a horse called Lou Lou who raced for the first time at the Abu Dhabi racecourse in December 2010. By all accounts it didn't go that well, but she still came in fifth and earned her owner a small sum. This is just by way of a souvenir of that first race! Pastel on Canson paper 20 x 24 inches

Ruby - latest commission

2010-12-10T18:47:00.002+01:00

This little cutie comes with a sad story that has a happy ending. Her owner passed away so she was all alone. My client heard about this and brought her to live with her grandmother, who has also recently suffered the loss of her husband. Now Ruby and my client's grandmother give each other company and solace and lots of love.

another dog in the desert - but not a desert dog!

2010-11-30T09:35:00.001+01:00

Desert Dogs

2010-08-08T15:15:00.002+01:00

This is a painting that I started a while back. It is of my two dogs, that here in Abu dhabi are commonly refered to as Desert Dogs. Desert Dogs are usually a mix of the traditional Saluki with some other breed. There are a wide variety of Desert dogs, some look more like the Saluki and others less so. The are all very keen sight hounds and run really fast! This painting was inspired by early morning walks with my dogs, and I have tried to capture the light and the feeling of these early morning walks - a moment of quiet and contemplation before the next outburst of energy. My dogs are called Girlie and Purdy - Purdy being the white one. Both are rescued dogs Girlie as abandoned as a 5 month old pup in the city of Abu Dhabi, and Purdy was found half-starved in the desert with a bit of rope around her slender neck. I have had them now for over two years and they have helped me greatly adjusting to life here.

Commission No 4

2010-05-30T14:16:00.002+01:00

Meet Tia! This is the fourth of four commissions I have done for the same lady. I hope she will be happy with this one. The markings were particularly challenging, but I didn the best I could. Next commission is a family portrait - people not horses - it will make a change for me. It is a long time since I have done people but I used to prefer doing people to anything else. Have to see if the old skills are still there - lol.

Commission 2 - A dog not a horse!

2010-05-19T13:52:00.003+01:00

Meet Otto! This was number 2 commission for the lady with the three horses - 2 of which are now done. Starting work on the final horse tomorrow - a bit of a challenge as it is an appaloosa pony, so getting the markings right won't be easy!

commission 3

2010-05-18T10:36:00.002+01:00

Meet Kizzy, this is the second of three horses I am doing for a lady who is offering the paintings to her mother as a gift.

New commission

2010-04-12T15:37:00.003+01:00

This is Bridget. She is the horse of a lady I work with in the Strays of Abu Dhabi. She commissioned this portrait of Bridget for her mother who is currently looking after Bridget. The portrait is pastel on canson approx 10 x 12 inches which is a bit smaller than I ususually work, so have focussed on the head. I am not quite finished, but am pleased with the progress! :)

Daisy

2009-12-04T12:59:00.004+01:00

Daisy is just about done now. Am relatively happy with how she turned out. I find these light dogs quite difficult to do as the chages in tone are very subtle, and it is easy to go to little and then it looks flat, but then it is easy to go too far. I have to say that usually my paintings look better from a distance, but in this case, I think this one is better closer up.

Puppy Eyes - Done

2009-10-31T12:56:00.003+01:00

I am calling this one done. The last little bit got very frustrating, and I started losing the flow. It is best to quit while you are ahead I think, so will put it down to experience, and not get quite so confident so early - pride comes before a fall as they say.... ;-)

2009-10-29T10:53:00.003+01:00

Worked a bit more on thsi today. I tried to just cover the canvas and made a start on the eye. Most of the pieces are in place now and tomorrow I can start work on the more detailed stuff. This is quite small, so for me the details are quite fiddly and it takes me longer than when I work on bigger things. I am enjoying working with the oils again, and am beginning to feel like I know what I am doing with them.

Puppy eyes

2009-10-28T14:02:00.003+01:00

Only started this today. I am playing with my oil paints and was drawn to this little guy because of his cute watery puppy eyes - of which he only has one at the moment. Was constricted by time, but hopefully should get this done tomorrow. Am working with a limited palette as usual, but am being a bit more bold with my colours, and hopefully it should give something a wee bit more dramatic. We shall see..... ;-)

Lulu portrait finished - just about!

2009-10-20T09:06:00.005+01:00

Something new for me. I put together some of the progress photos of the painting I did of Lulu, and made a mini film so you can see the process. Enjoy!

Lulu Portrait

2009-10-18T10:50:00.003+01:00

This is Lulu - the painting is only in the early stages at the moment. I have been working on getting the basic shapes in place. Now I am more or less happy with the positioning, I will start work on the more detailed aspects. This is not an easy horse to paint as she is strawberry roan in colour and there are flecks of white in the reds, and reds in the white, so it will be quite challenging to render her accurately. I was hoping to have had her finished last weekend, but ended up being too busy - I am hoping this week will be less hectic.

Charlie

2009-09-29T16:30:00.002+01:00

Meet Charlie! This is my latest commission - a present for the owners by their family. It is acyrilic on canvas 14" x 16" or thereabouts. Not quite finished, but should be done by the weekend.

Sortudo

2009-08-01T22:14:00.002+01:00

This is Sortudo - the horse of my friend Marta. It was her birthday recently, and this is what she wanted as her present. Happy birthday Marta!

Newky finished

2009-06-13T04:09:00.002+01:00

Well I think Newky is finished now. It is always a challenge to do a black animal, especially when there isn't much light reflected in the coat. The whiskers were a big challenge for me, but I am quite happy with the end result.

Newky

2009-06-10T11:07:00.003+01:00

Finally got the ref photo from the owners of Newky. Have made a start, but there is still a way to go with this until it is finished. This is acrylic on cavas board. Very difficult as it is a black cat and there wasn't a lot of definition in the photo.

2nd of 4

2009-05-24T15:30:00.002+01:00

This is the second commission, I have now only 2 more left to go - a cat and a dog. The dog will probably get done over the summer break, but I have to chase up the owners of the cat to give me a reference photo or let me take one for myself. Given that they have already paid for the painting, it is funny that I have to be chasing them up. You would think they would be hassling me!

Mare and foal done

2009-05-06T11:04:00.003+01:00

Think this is just about finished now, maybe some tidying up to do but not much else.

Mare and foal update

2009-05-02T10:12:00.002+01:00

Have got most of the body in now, but have to work on legs and then shadowing and grounding. The colour looks a bit off in this photo, the real colour is closer to the first photo.

Alison's mare and foal

2009-04-30T11:22:00.003+01:00

I have just started this pastel painting for Alison. It is only in the early stages, but it gives the idea of where it is going. The foal is wearing a headcollar which for the meantime I have removed, but it can easily be drawn in again if necessary.

Desert dogs update

2009-04-29T11:42:00.003+01:00

Got a little bit further with this, but as I have four other comissions on the go at the moment, it is hard to find the time to do anything, let alone paint this. Got some colour blocked in on Girlie and have started to play with the light a bit. Need to get the legs and head done and work on Purdy - she needs her hind legs!

Part 2

2009-03-31T12:19:00.003+01:00

Have positioned the dogs, and have started putting in some colour and shape, but obviously there is a long long way to go!

Desert dogs part one

2009-03-29T10:23:00.002+01:00

Okay, so no dogs yet, but there will be... my two desert dogs Girlie and Purdy who I take for walks in the desert before I ride. This is a painting inspired by those walks and for the moment you will have to imagine the dogs, but for now just enjoy the desert.

Molly done

2009-03-22T04:37:00.003+01:00

Just about finished Molly. Might have a play around with the markings but otherwise.... Have to get these to the framing shop so that they will be ready for the SAD ball on 17th of April. Hope it raises lots of money!

Molly for SAD - Strays of Abu Dhabi

2009-03-20T08:35:00.003+01:00

Well, this is a work in progress (WIP) of Molly - a Saluki mix. It is the third painting I am doing for SAD - Strays of Abu Dhabi as a fund-raiser. The idea is that they are going to have a silent auction at the SAD ball in April. In addition to a painting I have donated for auction, and potentially also these three dog paintings, I have donated a "pet portrait" as one of the auction items. I will paint a picture of whoever bids for that, and so that people can get an idea of my paintings, I have been working on three different media and three different dogs.

Molly needs a good home. She was homed, but was given back to the SAD programme for some reason. She is a super dog, very calm and easy to deal with. I hope she finds a home soon.

Girlie Done

2009-03-17T12:15:00.003+01:00

I may still have a play around with this, but it is mostly done. Only one more to go in acrylic.

Another example for SAD

2009-03-16T15:50:00.003+01:00

This is an example of my work in pastel - it is only in the very early stages and I have only spent a few hours on it so far, however, it is shaping up. This is our dog - Girlie. She is a Saluki mix - otherwise known as a desert dog, so it seemed appropriate to put her in a desert setting. I am doing this on stretched cavas, which is not my usual support for pastel, but it seems to be working out okay so far!

Safi done

2009-03-14T04:57:00.003+01:00

Made a few changes to head and ears and put her dog tag in, but I think this is finished now.

Not a horse - again

2009-03-12T14:54:00.002+01:00

Seem to be doing more dogs than horses at the moment. This is an example of my work which I have done to go to the Strays of Abu Dhabi fund-raising ball - where they will be holding a silent auction. I have donated as a prize my services to paint a pet portrait, for whoever bids the most. The organizers asked if I had an example of what people might expect, and as Ollie and Tigger will be going back to Portugal at Easter, I thought I had better get painting - quick!

So this is Safi -11" x 14" oil on canvas board.

Not quite finished but moving along nicely I think.

Ollie for John and Kate

2009-01-18T12:21:00.003+01:00

Well, this is Ollie. Acrylic on wood panel. I did this for Hailey's parents. He has a different look from Tigger, but he is a handsome dog nonetheless.

Tigger portrait for Hailey

2009-01-10T08:45:00.003+01:00

This is an acrylic painting done as a present for Hailey Blunden who was brave enough to travel by herself to come out and visit us in Abu Dhabi. This is her dog - Tigger. I hope I have managed to get a good likeness.

latest commission

2008-12-10T13:21:00.002+01:00

This is a big change for me. Lots of green and foliage. The type of horse is new to me as well. These are Friesiens, big black and very long manes and tails with lots of feathering on the legs. Some time I would like to return to these horses to paint them in more detail. The detail wasn't great on the reference photo, so I have gone for action and feeling - I hope it works. This is a 14''x 16'' acrylic on canvasboard.

Ramadi update

2008-10-28T15:36:00.004+01:00

I think this is just about done now. I like how it has turned out.

Ramadi

2008-10-19T11:02:00.004+01:00

I have just started a new commission. This one is of Ramadi. She is an old horse and the idea is that she is reflecting back on a couple of the important events in her life.

This is really only at the beginning stages, but I like the way it is going.

Think I finished now

2008-10-11T10:58:00.002+01:00

Well, after some minor and some major changes on this, I think I am now done with this one.

Nizam al Rayyan in oil

2008-10-09T13:45:00.004+01:00

Almost finished this one, may make some changes or add more detail to the head, but am pleased with the result especially given that the reference photo for this one was extremely poor quality. It required a lot of filling in the missing bits - a bit like a CSI project!

The hardest part has been getting any detail on the head. None of the features were visible. I still have a bit o work to do on it, but I think it is looking more promising than a while ago!

Changes to Nizam al Rayyan

2008-10-02T15:06:00.002+01:00

I made a few changes to the commissioned piece. I've put a graduated colour in based on the tones in the original paper. I think it helps the image to 'pop' more effectively.

Nizam Al Rayyan portrait

2008-09-27T14:14:00.003+01:00

Well, I was recently asked to do a portrait of Nizam al Rayyan. Although the reference photos weren't too good, I think I am basically happy with the result. This is pastel on canson paper, but it is quite big 40cm x 60cm and flowers are not really my thing, but hey...

A chicken for Zeca

2008-09-14T13:55:00.007+01:00

Before I left Portugal to return to the UAE I did a portrait of one of Zeca's chickens. It is a small 6x8 inch oil on canvas destined to decorate the kitchen at the horses where I ride at the Quinta de Pateiro.

New Medium - oil at last

2008-07-28T12:57:00.005+01:00

Been having some fun this summer just messing about with oil paint for the first time ever. I like the feel of oils but hate the time they take to dry.

These are all 4x6 canvas board with no reference other than the images in my head - I just played around with the paint and

that is what came out. it has been fun, and I will definitely try something more ambitious with oils in the future. It is a shame I couldn´t get a better quality with the scans. Since I didn´t have my camera with me I had to scan them - oh well...

A blast from the past

2008-07-03T16:32:00.005+01:00

Back in Portugal for a few months. Came across this watercolour that I did some time ago. As watercolours go, it has to be my best to date. The horse is called Baunilha, which means Vanilla, and it reminds me of the rides out we used to do in this area in the springtime. There was another that I found, which is also a watercolour of the mares and foals that were born quite some time ago. There are two new foals this year, but I haven´t had time to paint them yet!

Second of two

2008-05-31T09:22:00.003+01:00

Here is the second commision piece - not quite finished but just about done. The colours as they appear on screen are much harsher than in the original, but that may be to do with my camera.

Arab Portrait

2008-05-24T10:43:00.003+01:00

Just finished the first of two portrait commissions of Arab horses.

A picture for Tracey and Ali

2008-05-03T14:10:00.003+01:00

I showed Tracey and Ali the picture I did for the GOH and they liked it so much they asked me to do one for them. It's not the same but I hope they will like it.

New works

2007-12-17T09:38:00.000+01:00

Well, moving here has been a challenge in itself, but from the art point of view, I have been helped by the EAG (the Equine Art Guild) who have been running weekly art challenges. The challenge is to work from a reference photo and produce a painting within two hours. It is much harder than it looks, but it has been an interesting project and these are some of the results.

Nisa

2007-10-20T06:54:00.000+01:00

I'm calling this one done. I think I managed to capture the quiet gentle nature of this mare. It is not a great photo of the piece, but you get the idea.

Nisa almost done

2007-08-20T18:21:00.000+01:00

Well, I have almost finished this, but time has run out for me here in Portugal, so either I have to take this with me to finish, or come back to it in the holidays. I am really pleased with the way it has gone and it would be a shame not to finish it.

Wall Painting - night time view

2007-08-10T12:18:00.000+01:00

I was at a birthday party at the stables where I ride, and the owner put up lights to illuminate the painting I had done on the wall. I thought it looked pretty good. The owners are really pleased with results, and that is the main thing.

Nisa revisited

2007-08-04T13:49:00.000+01:00

Well, I have restarted work on this after a long break. I either have to finish it before I go to Abu Dhabi, or I just bin it. I think it is quite promising, so I have decided to try and finish it. It is very slow work however, so the race is on...

Wall Painting almost finished

2007-05-25T16:54:00.000+01:00

There is a bit more to do on this, but for the most part it is finished. Rain prevented me finishing this earlier, but I hope to do the last bit on Monday.

A new challenge

2007-05-10T20:44:00.000+01:00

Well, a new challenge popped up at the end of March. It was suggested that I paint a wall - a forty foot by eight foot wall. I accepted and since April 10th, I have been working most weekdays to get it done. The challenge was bigger than I expected. First I had to clean off all the moss and then fill all the cracks. Then the wall took two coats of primer before I could start painting. I lay down the underpainting first just to cover the wall with colour, and then I started putting in the horses. It was pretty daunting at first. As always, it is the getting started which hurts the most. What I am trying to capture is the life of the horse in liberty. The horses depicted all work in a riding stables. They have a pretty hard life at weekends, but they are well cared for and get time off in the pasture. Then they can relax, play, eat or do whatever comes naturally to them. That is what I am trying to show, and I have paid attention to their characters so that they seem natural doing what they are doing.

It is a long way from finished, but I think you get the idea now. I'm beginning to put some of the details in now. This is from the left hand corner.

Nisa update

2007-03-09T10:41:00.000+01:00

Well, as I said this is slow progress, but I have had a little time to work on her face and muzzle. There is still a whole lot more to do, but it is coming together. Once I have got in all my basic colours, I will start work on the details. The colours are a bit more muted than then look here in the photo of the painting.

Not a horse

2006-12-10T10:34:00.000+01:00

This is my first commisioned piece. A friend saw my drawings and paintings in the summer and asked if I could do a painting of her dog. I said I would try and this is the result.

It is 24 x 24 cm pastel on canson paper. I enjoyed doing it, though it was a challenge to find the colours behind the black!

The dog is Liebe, a pedigree Munsterlander.

Nisa in Watercolour

2006-12-09T09:42:00.000+01:00

I have struggled to capture Nisa in any media. She is a very gentle, kind natured horse, but I can never get her just right. On the EAG there is an Exhibition of the Artist's Horse as Muse - for me that has to be Nisa, and althouth I have yet to capture her as I want to I will be entering this picture in the Exhibition. I have set her in the countryside typical of my area here in Portugal. It is not done from any reference, just from my impressions of driving the kids to school, going shopping and such. As we will be leaving Portugal in the coming year, these views have become more precious to me.

Acrylic blues

2006-10-25T11:08:00.000+01:00

This is only the second acrylic painting I have done in my life, so I shouldn't really complain, but this just doesn't seem to be working for me.

I guess I will get round to finishing it eventually, but it has had so many problems that for the moment I think I just need to put it aside for a while. I think the main problem is that the canvas is the wrong shape and so the horse looks like he is falling out of the picture.

"Interpretations" Exhibition

2006-10-15T13:13:00.000+01:00

Okay, so today is the day that the "Interpretations" Exhibition launches on the Equine Guild Website. You can view it here. Have fun! http://www.equineartguild.com/gallery

Exciting times ahead

2006-10-09T09:16:00.000+01:00

Well, there are exciting times ahead for me towards the beginning of next week. On 13th October I have two paintings up for auction in the States. It is to raise money for the Churchill Animal Protection Society http://www.capsnv.org It will be the first time any of my paintings have been up for auction and I'm interested to know how they do.

The one the left is a second version of a painting I did previously of Mephisto. It is similar to the previous painting, but the colours are quite different. The one on the right is a painting of a horse called Aladin. They are both mixed media paintings - watercolour and pastel.

The 15th October marks the start of the "Interpretations" exhibition on the website of the Equine Art Guild http://www.equineartguild.com The two paintings I have entered for that exhibition are on a previous post so I won't bother to insert them here. This marks the first time that my paintings have gone on public show!

Eye of Ice - Finished

2006-10-03T12:05:00.000+01:00

Well, I think this is largely finished now. Not alot has changed but I finished the cheek and darkened the mane. On the whole I'm fairly happy with it.

Eye of Ice - update

2006-10-02T12:38:00.000+01:00

Not a whole lot new to show. I've been working on the hollow areas around the eye, and am taking a top down approach to this. There are some really tricky folds around the eye, but it is coming along slowly. Ice is a relatively old horse and as horses get older their eyes become more "sunken" into the skull. This is what I am trying to portray with this painting of his eye - I also want to catch the kind gentle personality. Anyway, here is the update! Still more to do...

Eye of Ice - beginnings

2006-09-30T17:23:00.000+01:00

I started the pastel aceo of "eye of ice" today. I have so far just put in the basic shapes with colour which will form the background or underpainting for the final image. I started putting in some of the detail around the eye, but there is still a whole lot to do. I will post as I go along with this one. I'm working with 300g watercolour paper, and although it needs alot of working in for the colour to take, I am beginning to get used to it.

2006-09-30T09:50:00.000+01:00

I have started a series of eye studies. The first is one of a horse called Safira. She is a very sad looking horse, and I especially like the sad expression in her eyes. This is an aceo card done in pastel.

The next one I am planning to do is of a horse called Ice. Because he is getting old his eyes are more sunken into his head, and it gives him an interesting look. I'll post more as I get it done. I am also planning to do this in pastel. Pastels for me are more like drawing than painting, but it is drawing in colour.

2006-09-26T16:56:00.000+01:00

Interpretations Exhibition In October I have entered two paintings for the "Interpretations" exhibition on the Equine Art Guild site www.equineartguild.com . The exhibition is based around two horses owned by members. The horse's names are Doc and Monster. There were several reference photos that we could choose from to do our paintings, but the idea is to see how different artists interpret the images, so that it becomes more obvious just what the artist can bring to an image. It will be interesting to see how the different media and the imagination of the artist comes into play. These are the two pictures that I entered. The first is a painting of Doc in acrylic. It was based on a sketch I did of Doc from the reference as I sat bored one evening watching TV. I liked the idea of him running through the wind, but how do you paint wind? I used modelling paste on the canvas first to create the idea of "flow" and then I painted over it. I tried to create Doc within this modern art style and used gold and bronze in the actual image of Doc. For me it was a little experimental. i haven't worked in acrylic before, but I quite liked the results, so I will definitely "play" some more in this medium. The second is a pastel on velour paper of Monster. I was inspired by seeing Apassionata in Madrid with my daughter, and so I thought Monster would look good in the show, so I put Monster in the spotlight and this is the result. If you want to see what the reference images are like, then it is best to check out the Equine Art Guild site in October when the "Interpretations" exhibition goes online.

Kathleen

2006-09-20T13:47:00.000+01:00

I've been interested in horses and art all my life, but only relatively recently have these two passions come together. It is strange how life's events push you in ways you had never expected and sometimes the results can be extremely surprising and often very satisfying. I live close to a riding stables that teaches children and adults to ride using classical methods. My daughter started riding there about two years ago and then about a year later I also started to ride again after a break of about twenty years. I was struck by the beauty and gentleness of the Lusitano horses the we ride and one afternoon I took out some oil pastels that I had bought as an impulse buy and started to draw one of the horses at the stables. His name was Ramases and he struck me as such an intelligent horse. My attempts to capture him were not very good, but I really enjoyed working with the pastels and it gave me heart to go on and learn to develop this medium. hadn't drawn or painted since I was at school. I knew that I was finding my feet again and that it would take time and a great deal of practice. So that was the beginning. The next few efforts gave me enough encouragement to continue. I drew other horses from the stables. An old chestnut called "Gentille" who looked like a cavalry horse and "Quixote" a dark, shaggy, heavy-built cob. and one of the foals. By now, I was changing how I thought about things. I was beginning to get itchy fingers wanting to do more than just pass the time on a Sunday afternoon. While I liked working with the oil pastels I wanted to try other things so I opted to try some watercolour painting. I had never really used watercolour except as a wash over some of the drawings I had done at school. My attempts with watercolour were not what I had hoped for I couldn't get the softness that I was looking for, and I couldn't control the colour but I was shocked to find out that people around me seemed to prefer the watercolours that I did rather than the pastels. Pastels felt more comfortable to me, but the reactions I got from people on the watercolours made me go back and try to come to terms with this medium. Little by little, I think I might get somewhere in the end.

In May this year I joined the EAG http://www.equineartguild.com/

The Equine Art Guild has been a tremendous help to me. As well as giving me the inspiration of professional equine artists, it has given me new ideas to try different things and support in developing my chosen media. As a result of joining the group two of my paintings are up for auction in the States on 13th October http://www.capsnv.org/

I have also entred two more paintings into an exhibition which will run on the EAG website. It is called "Interpretations" and will feature the work of various artist from all over the world based on images of two horses owned by members of the group. The idea of the exhibition is to show how different artists interpret the same reference images. Having previewed some of the work, I think it will be tremendously exciting.

So all in all, as you have seen, I am just getting started. However, it is my sincere hope that one day I will be able to call myself "an equine artist".