Self Directed - Calendar Digital Portrait Illustrations

On the 22nd of February, I started a series of digital portraits on Procreate on my iPad. At first, I wanted to experiment with realistic digital drawings because before I started working digitally my style used to be realistic. After my first portrait, I decided that I really enjoyed drawing these and wanted to do more. I thought that I could start by drawing a series of 12 portraits which could be used as a calendar. They could also be shown in book form, either on their own or added with my photographs and equestrian quotes. This, in turn, became one of my final pieces, 'A Celebration of the Horse'.

FRONT COVER

↓ This is Paxman. He is a riding school horse at the Alkham Valley Community Project in Kent. I rode him when I visited my friend Becky and her horse Nelson over Christmas. Since riding schools have not been open during Coronavirus, the horses have been turned out to the fields instead. Becky sent me some photos of horses out in the fields so that I could have more first-hand images to draw from. I loved this one of Paxman. The horses that I draw are usually much more formal and I really enjoyed drawing something funny for a change. I thought this would make a good front cover for the calendar as it shows off my art, as well as being entertaining. The blue background was picked from the sky in the original photo, I thought this made it striking and eye-catching, especially if used on the front cover.↓

JANUARY

↓ Immy Kennedy (@immykennedy) https://www.instagram.com/immykennedy/?hl=en used to loan Ko-Ko until she became too big for him and Hannah Hares (@hannahhares_sj) https://www.instagram.com/hannahhares_sj/?hl=en now loans him. Ko-Ko is a piebald (black and white) Welsh Part Bred gelding who stands at 142cm. I chose this drawing for January as it is quite a striking piece to start off with! I originally had a pale olive green background but decided to make it brighter. This makes a nice contrast to the drawing itself, but the colour ties in with the green on his muzzle from eating grass! Definitely an image for Spring ↓

FEBRUARY

↓ Becky Potter owns Nelson (@nelson_the_cob) https://www.instagram.com/nelson_the_cob/?hl=en Nelson is a piebald (black and white) Irish Cob gelding who stands. I chose this drawing for February as it is Becky's birthday in February and it would be lovely for her to have a calendar with a drawing of her own horse on her birthday month. I chose the pale blue/lilac background as it compliments his coat and fits the Spring colour scheme. ↓

MARCH

↓ Pippa Camilleri (@pippa_camilleri and @pippasspaddock) https://www.instagram.com/pippasspaddock/?hl=en and her dad Mark own Tyrone. As far as I can remember, Tyrone is a 12-year-old black Sardinian Anglo-Arab gelding. This was the horse that I rode on my holiday to Pippa's Paddock in Sicily. He is a truly lovely, quiet but forward going horse. Pippa told me that he was more confident and faster with me than he usually is with other people. We had such a good bond and I trusted him completely and we had amazing gallops across the Sicilian countryside. I couldn't' not draw him! I also knew this image had to be used for the month of June as that was the month we went to Sicily, and it is also my birthday in June! This was the first of my portraits that I added a coloured background to. I chose pale pink as it complimented the evening sun shining on his neck. This photo was taken on the last day of our trip. I can't wait to go back and see him again soon ↓

APRIL

↓ Kait Wilson (@eyesupdarling) https://www.instagram.com/eyesupdarling/?hl=en loans Lexington. He is a chestnut gelding and is stabled in Toronto, Canada. I thought this image was perfect for April due to the flower in his mouth. I originally had a pale yellow background for this drawing as Kait's colour scheme is beige, yellow and orange to match her horse. The colour was picked from the flower in his mouth. I changed this background for a bright blue as I felt this was more inviting and went with the rest of the theme. April is known for Easter yellows and I wanted to change this up. ↓

MAY

↓ Elizabeth Somers (@elz_equine) https://www.instagram.com/elz_equine/?hl=en used to own Phillie. I don't know much about this horse but she is a beautiful bay. I struggled to choose a background colour for this illustration, but upon searching through summer colour schemes I fell in love with this pink. This was one of the first illustrations I drew in this style and you can tell from the muzzle etc. The tack looks good but it is lacking a lot of detail that my new drawings have. ↓

JUNE

↓ Megan Rose (@thatspeckledmare) https://www.instagram.com/thatspeckledmare/?hl=en owns Missy. Unfortunately because of coronavirus and lockdown in the UK, I haven’t been able to get out and take photos of horses for my coursework. So Megan kindly let me use some of her photos as references for my drawings. I just had to draw Missy, she was my favourite horse when I rode at Quob. She helped me so much with my confidence in the canter and over jumps! And she is just so beautiful. Missy is a 16hh Connemara x Andalusian who stands at 16hh. I’m so glad Missy now has a forever home and an owner that will love her more than anything. I gave this drawing a dark burgundy background to match Missy's headcollar (and the rest of her tack and Megan's riding gear). However, I wanted to give it a brighter background to match the summer theme. ↓

JULY

↓ Pegasus is owned by @pegasusdiares https://www.instagram.com/pegasusdiaries/?hl=en . He is a dappled grey Irish Draught Horse gelding. This illustration has become such a large part of my project. I chose red as a strong contrast to the grey of the horse, and in autumn there are lots of red maple leaves. I had also seen photos of Pegasus wearing a commemorative Poppy on his bridle, as well as a red ribbon in his tail when hunting (this is used as a warning for other riders that he kicks). Pegasus' owners were thrilled with this drawing and want to buy a copy of the calendar and a print of this drawing. I would like to draw their new horse Paddy too. ↓

AUGUST

↓ Goldrush is owned by Alycia Burton (@alycia_burton_freeridingnz) https://www.instagram.com/alycia_burton_freeridingnz/?hl=en Alycia truly is a modern-day Cinderella story. Having started from very humble beginnings growing up in a small rural town of New Zealand she started working with difficult ponies & breaking in at 11 years old which is also when her love of Free Riding began. Alycia has started many young horses and has retrained many dangerous horses with severe behavioural issues. Working with hundreds of difficult & traumatised horses lead Alycia to discover her true passion in life which is Youth Mentoring. Alycia has dedicated her life to mentoring Youth through her inspirational & motivational youth speaking & Youth Retreats which she runs throughout the year. Alycia’s mentoring resonates highly with teenagers who are suffering from anxiety, depression, bullying, lack of self-worth, wanting to get into the equine industry and much more. Alycia’s Nationwide Free Riding performances on Goldrush are intertwined with stories & lessons from her own journey. From the highs of feeling success to the lows of unexpected storms, school struggles, breaking free from financial hardship, sacrifices, the REAL cost of following your dreams and much more- Alycia shares all. Having taught over 2500 riders and trained hundreds of horses herself she gives very easy to follow advise for a range of issues such as rushing, backing off, taking rails, loss of confidence for the horse & rider, anxiety, getting left behind, gaining a bond with your horse, bareback balance, Free Riding and much more. She is currently separated from Goldrush due to Coronavirus, with herself in NZ and Goldrush in the US. I chose the colour background to match the theme of the harvest in August. ↓

SEPTEMBER

↓ Tequila is a riding school horse at Shedfield Riding School (@shedfield.equestrian) https://www.instagram.com/shedfield.equestrian/?hl=en She is a Thoroughbred X bay mare who I rode in lessons and my inter-house show jumping competition. Tequila was lovely to ride. She was honest to jump and would never refuse but she was quite speedy! ↓

OCTOBER

↓ @lilywarbs @flaxenpony Lily Warburton lives on the Isle of Man and owns Gordon. Gordon is a bay Irish Sports Horse gelding who stands at 17hh. I chose this drawing for the month of October because of the orange tones. Gordon usually looks brown, but in the sunlight, he definitely glows! I originally had a pale blue background for this drawing, but in the end, I chose this dark blue/grey colour. I thought this matched his mane, contrasted his coat whilst feeling very Wintery! Lily thanked me for drawing her horse, and she has since shared this drawing on her Instagram which has 77,100 followers! It is saved under her highlights called 'edits/drawings'. I gained quite a few followers from this too and this inspired me to draw other people's horses more too. ↓

NOVEMBER

↓ Morph is owned by Elizabeth Somers (@elz_equine) https://www.instagram.com/elz_equine/?hl=en who used to own Phillie. Morph is a dappled grey warmblood Elz's colour scheme is pale blue hence the background colour. I experimented with grey and pink backgrounds but the blue works very well. I would like to draw her other horse Smythson. Elz has since commissioned artwork from me to use as her logo and animations in her vlogs.↓

DECEMBER

↓ This is Star. Star belongs to the Alkham Valley Community Project in Kent. I saw Star when I visited my friend Becky and her horse Nelson over Christmas. I had wanted to use a dark green or red background for Christmas but this illustration just works so well with a black background. The Christmas element comes in with the donkey, like in the nativity. I loved drawing te fur in this one. ↓

There are some illustrations that didn't make it into the calendar.

Mo

Frosty